Congratulations to Xander Schauffele, then. He kept grinding during tough conditions, never buckling when some of the world’s finest fell by the wayside … and when opportunity presented itself, made four birdies in six holes on the treacherous back nine to seize the day. A most deserving winner and a name that won’t look out of place on the Open roll of honour. Commiserations to Justin Rose, Billy Horschel and Thriston Lawrence, who came so close to glory. And thanks to you for reading this blog over the last four days. See you again next year at Portrush? It’s a date!
-9: Xander Schauffele
-7: Justin Rose, Billy Horschel
-6: Thriston Lawrence
-5: Russell Henley
-4: Shane Lowry
-1: Jon Rahm, Im Sung-jae, Scottie Scheffler
E: Matthew Jordan, Adam Scott, Daniel Brown
Updated
The acceptance speech over, the new champion now talks to Sky Sports. “I just can’t wait to drink out of the Claret Jug … my dad’s here, so it’s whatever he wants … it really is a dream come true … it hasn’t sunk in yet … my brain is still grinding … I can’t wait to sit back and have a moment with this Claret Jug … I thought [winning the PGA] would help me and it did … I had this sense of calm … calm I didn’t have when I played earlier at the PGA … I felt calm and collected … I told my caddie I was calm and he said he was about to puke on the 18th tee!”
“Oh man, thank you everybody!” Schauffele begins. “It’s quite a journey … I feel very honoured … to hear your name called with Open champion after it, it’s something I’ve dreamed of for a very long time … I watched the highlight of Phil and Henrik in 2016 to motivate myself for this week, I guess that paid off pretty nice … I’d like to congratulate Calum Scott … I’d like to thank the R&A … we all feel very honoured to partake in this great tournament … I’ve been in Scotland for two weeks now, you guys have been amazing … you’ve made it feel like a second home for me and I can’t wait to come back.”
“With a score of 275, the winner of the gold medal and the Champion Golfer of the Year is Xander Schauffele!” The new Open champion takes receipt of the Claret Jug, and raises it into the air with the most delighted smile. He takes a long look at it. All that history. He’s part of it now!
Calum Smith is called up to receive his silver medal. A huge ovation for the young lad from Nairn, who can dream of future days. It’s a prize won in the past by the likes of Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, Matt Fitzpatrick and Justin Rose, major champions all. Congratulations to Calum for a fine tournament, and a final total of +8 that Woods, McIlroy and Fitzpatrick couldn’t manage this week.
Xander Schauffele is the first player to win two majors in the same season since Jordan Spieth managed it in 2015. With Scottie Scheffler having won the Masters, and Bryson DeChambeau the US Open, this is the first time all four majors of the year have been won by USA golfers since 1982, when Tom Watson won both Open and US Open, Ray Floyd won the PGA, and Craig Stadler won the Masters. And the USA are currently on a seven-major winning stretch, the longest since they won 13 in a row in the mid-1970s, between Gary Player’s 1974 Open victory and his 1978 win at Augusta.
Xander Schauffele becomes only the sixth player in history to win the Open and the PGA Championship in the same year. Walter Hagen did it first in 1924, and it was another 70 years before Nick Price matched the feat in 1994. Tiger Woods did it twice, in 2000 and 2006, after which Padraig Harrington (2008) and Rory McIlroy (2014) added their names to an illustrious list. Schauffele is good enough to belong in their company.
Billy Horschel pours his birdie putt into the cup. Three consecutive birdies to finish, and a round of 68. He could be forgiven for considering that good enough to get the job done, but when somebody shoots 65 on Open Sunday, what are you gonna do? He ends the week in a share of second with Justin Rose. Then some more feelgood vibes as Thriston Lawrence scrambles his par to secure fourth spot for himself. He deserves that after battling so hard, but there were no birdies to be had for the South African on the back nine. Xander Schauffele made four to come back in 31!
-9: Schauffele (F)
-7: Rose (F), Horschel (F)
-6: Lawrence (F)
-5: Henley (F)
-4: Lowry (F)
-1: Rahm (F), Im (F), Scheffler (F)
E: Jordan (F), A Scott (F), Brown (F)
A slightly slapstick end to Thriston Lawrence’s brave bid. He drives into Greg Norman’s bunker down the right of 18, then in attempting to reach the green with a Hail Mary, slams his second shot into the face of the bunker and nearly takes himself out, the ball whizzing past his startled ears. At least it’s out. He finds the green with his third; Billy Horschel is on in two. Lawrence at least sees the funny side.
A 69 for Russell Henley. A 75 on Sunday costing the American dear. He’ll be delighted with his fifth-place finish when it all comes down. He ends the week at -5, and is beginning to get used to high finishes at the majors, having tied for fourth at Augusta last year and seventh at the US Open last month. A disastrous back nine for Sam Burns, though; back in 43 for a round of 80. He ends up back in the pack at +6.
Xander Schauffele: 2024 Open champion!
Xander Schauffele embraces his family. Sweet times. It’s not quite over yet … but everyone knows it’s a done deal. And so it proves as Thriston Lawrence, the only man who can still catch him, and that by making birdie on 17 then holing out with his second on the last, misses his putt on 17. The outcome rubber-stamped! Schauffele wins his second major of the season!
-9: Schauffele (F)
-7: Rose (F)
-6: Lawrence (17). Horschel (17)
-5: Henley (17)
Updated
Birdie for Billy Horschel at 16, par for his playing partner Thriston Lawrence. Both then pepper the pin at 17, setting up a valedictory hurrah. But up on 18, Xander Schauffele prowls around his 20-foot birdie putt. He nearly drains it, but the ball dies off to the left. No matter, he taps in for par, and that’s a blemish-free 65 for the 30-year-old Californian! He allows himself a small smile, but with nothing certain yet, he’s not celebrating yet. Well, apart from a putter calmly raised into the air. Justin Rose then strokes in his 15-foot birdie putt and raises a clenched fist. A huge roar for the English veteran, and the pair embrace warmly. A brilliant final round of 67 for Rose, and yet it wasn’t quite enough.
-9: Schauffele (F)
-7: Rose (F)
Xander Schauffele takes two careful strokes down 18 to find the green in regulation. Not a nerve jangling. Not outwardly, anyway. This is a player who was beginning to gain a reputation for struggling to get over the line in the biggest tournaments. But now he’s got the PGA Championship on his resumé, and it won’t be long before the Open Championship goes on there too! Troon rises as one to shower him with applause as he takes the greatest walk in all golf, up the 18th at the Open, knowing the title is pretty much in the bag!
Updated
Daniel Brown bogeys the last. A disappointing final round of 74, but a sensational week’s work for the 29-year-old major-championship debutant. He ends the week at level par, and he’ll tie for tenth, guaranteeing him a place in the field next year at Portrush! That also means Matthew Jordan gets in again; two ties for tenth in a row for the Hoylake member. Great news for English golf.
Pars for Justin Rose and Xander Schauffele on 17. The latter is one competent tee shot away from surely wrapping this up. Meanwhile up on the green, Scottie Scheffler takes two putts to end his week with a double bogey. A 72, and he’s -1 overall. Had his putter been even lukewarm, he might have given Schauffele a fight, but here we are. He looks disappointed, as you’d expect from a man with his high expectations, but he’ll enjoy the warm ovation he receives, and deserves, from the Troon gallery.
Updated
It’s amateur hour on 18 … and it’s the world number one Scottie Scheffler giving every weekend hacker some succour. He takes iron off the tee for position, only to thin it into nearby rough, his ball not even reaching the fairway! He’s forced to take a drop, after which he nearly hits his playing partner Dan Brown, waiting 150 yards up the hole. He ends up wedging four into the heart of the green. Not particularly close. Scheffler’s not been on it at all this week by his usual skyscraping standards, and yet despite that fiasco on 9 and this farce, he’s still going to finish in the top ten at an Open which has laid waste to so many other big stars. He’ll be back!
… but it’s really unlikely to happen here. Xander Schauffele aims for the meaty part of the 17th green as opposed to the flag. No need to get too greedy and bring the bunkers on the right into play. He lands his ball pin high. It’s going to be up to the others to make a dramatic move … which Russell Henley does with a 25-foot rake for birdie across 15. But it’s much too little, much too late.
-9: Schauffele (16)
-6: Rose (16), Lawrence (15)
-5: Henley (15)
-4: Lowry (F), Horschel (15)
Par for Shane Lowry at the last. A 68. Yesterday afternoon cost him so dearly. He ends the week at -4 having come so close to a second Claret Jug. Licked by the Postage Stamp. He got as far up the leaderboard as -8 yesterday … but now Xander Schauffele breaks new ground, cleaning up on 16 for his fourth birdie in the last six holes! Justin Rose birdies as well, but knows the jig is almost certainly up, barring a big collapse. Schauffele looks happy and relaxed enough for that to be a majorly unlikely occurrence … and yet the closing holes of an Open … we’ve seen it happen before …
Xander Schauffele takes no chances at the par-five 16th. A fairway wood off the tee. He can’t reach the green with his second, but then that wouldn’t have been certain even with driver. He leaves himself a tricky chip over a bunker for his third. But no matter. He clips it crisply to four feet. The putt that remains has a little bit of tricky swing, but should he make it, he’d be so close to victory. Meanwhile back on 15, Thriston Lawrence finds the green in regulation, but nowhere near the flag, and he’ll have to settle for par.
Im Sung-jae joins Jon Rahm in the clubhouse lead at -1. The 26-year-old Korean, a joint runner-up at the Masters in 2020, came back in 32 strokes. He’s assured of a top-ten finish this week, his best return at the Open yet, and by some distance. Meanwhile another top-ten finish may be just outside Matthew Jordan’s reach: his 71 today means he ends the week on level par, and will need Dan Brown to do him a favour by bogeying the last if he’s to be exempt next year.
Thriston Lawrence doesn’t hit his birdie putt on 14. Xander Schauffele’s effort on 15 dies to the right. We are where we were, with the fairly major caveat that both players are one hole closer to the clubhouse, and the Californian is one step closer to claiming the Claret Jug. Birdie for Scottie Scheffler on 16, meanwhile, but it’s too little, too late for the world number one, who will surely be sickened by his double-bogey carelessness on 9. Without that, he’d still be right in this championship.
-8: Schauffele (15)
-6: Lawrence (14)
-5: Rose (15)
-4: Lowry (17), Henley (14), Horschel (14)
-3: Scheffler (16)
Shane Lowry comes up short at the par-three 17th. But never mind! He takes out the old Texas Wedge and from the best part of 50 feet steers a putt over a big mound and into the cup! He roars in wild celebration. It’s not quite over yet! Another birdie up the last, and the 2019 champion will post a number that would give the leaders something to think about as they make their way home. He’s -4.
Updated
Xander Schauffele is relentless right now. He’s on 15 in regulation with another good look at birdie coming up. But there’s a huge break for Thriston Lawrence on the par-three 14th, a tee shot leaking left but caroming off the shoulder of a bunker and kicking right, ending up pin high, 14 feet away. Couple of big birdie putts coming up, that could almost decide this Open or put it all back in the balance. “Turns out Buckfast is illegal over here,” writes a disappointed Joe Pearson of Indianapolis, who is nevertheless bearing up bravely. “I’m a Chardonnay man anyway. After all, it’s just past noon here. Cheers!” Pour one for me. I’ll be round in 28 hours.
One of the shots of the day by Billy Horschel, who had dumped his second into the thickest of filth to the right of 13. He fires a low scuttler out of the rough, judging the undulations perfectly, the ball oscillating this way and that before stopping one inch away from the cup. Simply sensational, though he’s not of a mind to celebrate it. At -4, with holes running out, he really needs something to happen quicksmart. That was so close to be painful. Par, though, and that’s all Thriston Lawrence can manage, his birdie effort always dying off to the left. He remains at -6, two behind the pace set by Xander Schauffele.
Xander Schauffele splits the middle of 15. Justin Rose cracks one down there too. Coming behind, Thriston Lawrence isn’t giving up hope, and arrows his second into 13 straight at the flag. He’ll have a look at birdie from 15 feet.
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Justin Rose’s tee shot at 14 only just hangs onto the back edge of the green. He nearly rakes in the birdie putt from the fringe, but for the lack of one last rotation. He remains at -5 … but now he’s three back, because Xander Schauffele tickles in his gentle left-to-right downhill slider from 12 feet, and that’s his third birdie in four holes. He allows himself a small smile of satisfaction as he walks off the green. He’s blown up from better positions in quite a few big tournaments before … but he didn’t at the PGA this year, and now he knows he can get the job done. Four holes away from glory.
-8: Schauffele (14)
-6: Lawrence (12)
-5: Rose (14)
Thriston Lawrence has bogeyed the 13th twice already this week. That doesn’t stop him unsheathing the driver yet again today. He’s rewarded as he splits the fairway. A staunch response to dropping his first stroke of the day. “‘The Rolex hour’ has just started on Sky, or, as I like to call it in my house, the Buckfast hour,” writes Simon McMahon. “A little tonic wine to steady the nerves ahead of the final stretch. I think the R&A would approve, don’t you?” You can take the man out of Dundee, but you can’t take … actually, he’s still in Dundee, isn’t he? Mine’s an R&A-approved fortified beverage, Simon, I’ll be round in 14 hours.
Thriston Lawrence’s par putt is always dying off to the right. A decent enough effort. The tee shot cost him there, to be fair. But he’s no longer leading the Open … and the new man at the top, Xander Schauffele, plops his tee shot at the par-three 14th pin high. He’ll have a 12-foot look to extend his advantage.
-7: Schauffele (13)
-6: Lawrence (12)
-5: Rose (13)
-4: Henley (12), Horschel (12)
-3: Lowry (15)
-2: Scheffler (14)
From the centre of 13, Xander Schauffele wedges to 12 feet, and makes the left-to-right slider that remains. The birdie gives him a share of the lead at -7! Justin Rose, pin high, can’t make his birdie putt and he remains two behind. Meanwhile back on 12, Thriston Lawrence, who is in a very similar spot to the one Justin Rose found himself a few moments ago, makes a slightly better job of his bump up the bank. Safely on the green, though the 13-foot putt he’s left with is well within his wheelhouse. Big putt coming up.
Billy Horschel does indeed get a lucky break, finding his ball on a trodden-down patch behind a bush he can easily clear. He finds the centre of the green. Thriston Lawrence hasn’t got the best lie, though, and his second flies off towards the gallery on the right. The ball pings off the boot of a punter and settles down in some semi-thick rough near some TV cables. A wee spot of trouble here.
The leader Thriston Lawrence sends his tee shot at 12 into thick rough down the left. Billy Horschel’s effort is even worse – he exclaims an “aw shoot”† as he snap-hooks it towards the gorse bushes – though the gallery may have saved him. If he catches a break here, it might restore some belief that’s been missing since his error at the Postage Stamp. Meanwhile Russell Henley comes up short at 12 with a chip, but curls in the left-to-right 15-footer he leaves himself to salvage par. He pumps the air to celebrate staying at -4.
† He doesn’t say “shoot”.
The wind’s dropped a bit, and the temperature is rising, in more ways than one. So there could be a few more birdies, or at least some more aggressive play, than we’d been expecting. So having said that, there are welcome pars for Thriston Lawrence and Billy Horschel on 11, the hardest hole on the course navigated without drama.
-7: Lawrence (11)
-6: Schauffele (12)
-5: Rose (12)
-4: Henley (11), Horschel (11)
-3: Lowry (14)
-2: Scheffler (13)
Ah, Justin Rose’s ball has rolled into a tuft of thicker rough … and he doesn’t really commit to the chip coming up the bank. His ball only just makes it up onto the green. For a second it threatened to topple back, so not a total disaster, but he’s still left with a very tricky 20-foot par putt over a hump with some right-to left swing. He gives it a good go, but the ball dies off a little to the left just at the end, and that’s a bogey that drops him to -5. It’s only his fifth bogey of the week. Two careful putts for Xander Schauffele meanwhile and that’s a par he might not have been expecting after his errant drive. He remains at -6.
Xander Schauffele sends his tee shot into deep trouble down the right of 12. He’s left with a dreadful lie, but takes a vicious swipe through the grass to fire his ball out of the bother and into the heart of the green. A long two putts for par, but he’d have taken that all day long. His playing partner Justin Rose meanwhile misses the green from the centre of the fairway, though the up and down that remains from the bottom of the swale is far from impossible.
Dustin Johnson briefly arrived on the edges of the scene a couple of hours ago at level par. But he made a couple of double bogeys on the way back, a stretch he navigated in 41 strokes. A 75 in the end and he ends his week at +6, having shown brief glimpses of the old magic for the first time in quite a while. Jon Rahm meanwhile ends the week with an impressive 68. At -1 he’s the new clubhouse leader, his best showing in a major since departing the PGA Tour for LIV.
Sam Burns carves a wild drive at 11 over the railway tracks, and any slim chance he had departs with his ball. He’s -1 but won’t be there much longer. Meanwhile up on the green, Justin Rose hits an overly excitable putt from the fringe, leaving himself a missable four footer coming back. But he makes it to remain at -6 …. while Xander Schauffele, having hit a glorious second from the semi-rough on the left, over a bush 170 yards out to two-and-a-half feet, rolls in his birdie putt to insert himself slap-bang into the mix. This is going to be a nailbiter!
-7: Lawrence (10)
-6: Rose (11), Schauffele (11)
-4: Henley (10), Horschel (10)
Billy Horschel is beginning to get a bit ragged. He sends his second at 10 down a swale to the right, and slightly thins the chip coming up. He can’t make the 25-foot putt he leaves himself, and that’s another shot gone. He’s back to where he started the day at -4. Two careful putts from Thriston Lawrence, and that’s one difficult hole ticked off.
-7: Lawrence (10)
-6: Rose (10)
-5: Schauffele (10)
-4: Henley (10), Horschel (10)
-3: Lowry (12)
-2: Scheffler (11)
If Thriston Lawrence goes on to win the Open, he’d become the fifth South African champion. The unheralded 27-year-old would be instantly elevated into the pantheon alongside three genuine legends and one very, very good player indeed: Bobby Locke (1949, 1950, 1952 and 1957), Gary Player (1959, 1968 and 1974), Ernie Els (2002 and 2012) and Louis Oosthuizen (2010). No pressure, then.
Calum Scott wins silver medal
Calum Scott pars the last, and though he took 40 strokes to come back, his final round of 76 is more than good enough to win the race for low amateur. The 20-year-old from Nairn ends his week at +8, ahead of Tommy Morrison and Jacob Skov Olesen at +11, and Luis Masaveu at +18. A prize for Scotland on home soil!
Updated
You’ll have noticed the absence of Shane Lowry on that leaderboard update. That’s because while he knocks his wedge at 11 from 50 yards to four feet, he can’t make the par saver. He drops to -3.
Thriston Lawrence would surely be the biggest shock Open champion since Todd Hamilton made off with the Claret Jug from under the nose of Ernie Els and Phil Mickelson here in 2004. He’s putting himself in position with some brave play, crashing a drive miles down 9 when others have been playing it safe. He screws his wedge from 140 yards to five feet. In goes the putt, and a potentially huge story is developing here. The 27-year-old South African has some big recent DP Tour wins on his CV – the Joburg Open and European Masters in 2022, the South African Open and BMW International Open in 2023 – but nothing anywhere near this level. He’s missed four of his five last cuts on the PGA Tour, three of his last five on the DP World … but he did tie for second in the European Open last month. So make of all that what you will.
-7: Lawrence (9)
-6: Rose (10)
-5: Schauffele (10), Horschel (9)
-4: Henley (9)
Not for the first time this week, Shane Lowry sends his drive at 11 into the filth down the right. Having come a cropper from this position before – leading to double bogey on Friday – he takes his medicine and chops out. But he’s got a job on now to save his par.
Billy Horschel splashes out from the bunker to three feet. It looks perfectly judged, but a super-slow-mo replay shows the ball shaving the top of the bank as it arcs upwards and out. A couple of millimetres lower, and that was coming back into the sand. But he doesn’t take advantage of his good fortune, pulling his short putt to the left of the cup. A careless bogey. Thriston Lawrence can’t make his birdie putt, the ball always dying to the right, but it’s a par and he’s now one of just two folk in possession of a share.
-6: Rose (9), Lawrence (8)
-5: Schauffele (9), Horschel (8)
-4: Lowry (10), Henley (9)
-2: Scheffler (9), Burns (8)
-1: Rahm (15)
This could be Thriston Lawrence’s day. His tee shot at the Postage Stamp looks like heading for the Coffin bunker, but it stops on the top of the bank and rolls back into the heart of the green. He’ll have a good look at birdie, pin high from 12 feet. Billy Horschel is the last man to play this wee beastie … and could become the last to come a cropper here, because he sends his wedge too far right, the tilt of the green taking his ball towards the depression that gathers it into the bunker on the right. Big moment coming up at the top of the standings here.
It’s been a birdie-fest on the front nine. Thriston Lawrence makes the latest of them, at 7, to join the leaders at -6; Sam Burns adds another at 8 to claw back the shot he dropped at 7, returning to -2. On Sky, Sir Nick Faldo repeats his prediction that the back nine will be a “scrambling fest”. Their analyst Paul McGinley digs deeper to explain why: as the players turn back, they’ll be facing a 15mph wind, and the back nine is averaging +2 today. Only two players so far have come back below par, and both of those were only -1 for the back nine. This is golf. Real old-school golf. The Open in Scotland!
Supreme carelessness from Scottie Scheffler at 9. From the semi-rough to the left of the fairway, he leaves his second just off the front. A strange misjudgement. A mishit? His birdie putt from the fringe trundles six feet past. He misses the one coming back, then yips from a couple of feet. The ball horseshoes out, he covers his mouth in shock, and that double bogey could be extremely costly for the world number one, who crashes back down the standings to -2. Still just four off the pace set by Justin Rose and Billy Horschel, but with six players ahead of him, and birdie chances at a premium on the back nine, the world number one has put himself behind the eight-ball.
We have a new clubhouse leader: Jason Day birdies 18 to sign for a fine final round of 68. Last year’s joint runner-up ends his week at +1. And we have a new joint leader out on the course, Justin Rose sending a tramliner into the cup and raising his fist in celebration. He really is enjoying this. Xander Schauffele’s effort looks like dropping too, but turns off to the left at the very end. Unlucky.
-6: Rose (8), Horschel (6)
-5: Schauffele (7), Lawrence (6)
… but seconds later, Billy Horschel birdies his second par-five of the day in similarly straight-down-the-middle style. Par for his partner Thriston Lawrence. Xander Schauffele meanwhile lands his tee shot at the Postage Stamp in Scheffler Country, front right of the green. Justin Rose pin high on the other side. Big birdie chances coming up.
-6: Horschel (6)
-5: Rose (7), Schauffele (7), Lawrence (6)
-4: Lowry (9), Scheffler (8), Henley (6)
-2: Burns (6)
-1: Rahm (13), An (10), A Scott (9)
E: Jordan (9), Brown (8)
London Bus dept. Xander Schauffele waited six holes for his first birdie of the day. A second has come along in the shortest of order. He sends his wedge over the flag, screwing it back to eight feet. In goes the putt. It’s all happening!
-5: Rose (7), Schauffele (7), Lawrence (5), Horschel (5)
An Byeong-hun moves into the red. He follows up birdie at 6 with his second of the day at 10. The 32-year-old Korean has yet to notch a top-ten finish at any of the majors. He’s inside that mark right now at -1. Just the treacherous closing stretch at Troon to navigate!
Dan Brown follows up birdie at 7 with bogey at 8. He’s only made one par so far today. His playing partner Scottie Scheffler is on the move, though: after his birdie at 7, he spins his tee shot at 8 pin high and walks in the straight eight-footer that remains. He’s just one off the lead now at -4, and like Shane Lowry before him, a figure that looked downcast not too long ago has renewed spring in his step!
Bounce-back birdie for Scottie Scheffler at 7. A wedge from 44 yards to 18 inches doing the business there. Xander Schauffele breaks a run of pars with birdie at 6. And Shane Lowry makes it four birdies in five holes by sticking his tee shot at the Postage Stamp to 12 feet and steering in the right-to-left curler! The 8th did a number on Lowry yesterday – five, to be precise, a misstep that sparked that collapse – but it’s paid him back today! What a tournament this is turning out to be.
-5: Rose (6), Lawrence (5), Horschel (5)
-4: Lowry (8), Schauffele (6), Henley (5)
-3: Scheffler (7)
-2: Burns (5)
Thriston Lawrence and Billy Horschel both miss the par-three 5th green. Lawrence wide left, Horschel in a deep pot bunker. But both get up and down sensationally, the former stunning his second into the bank by the side of the green and running it out to a couple of feet, Horschel nearly slam-dunking, evoking memories of Mark Calcavecchia here from the top of the bank at 12 back in 1989. Both remain at -5.
A big mistake by the world’s best player on 6. Scottie Scheffler’s tee shot finds a fairway bunker and, forced to hack out sideways, he’s always out of position. A bogey at a hole he’d have hoped to birdie. He trudges off sadly, though at -2 he’s still only three off the pace. Bogey for his playing partner Dan Brown too, his third in a row and fourth in the first six holes. His race looks run. Birdies at 5 for the penultimate pairing of Russell Henley and Sam Burns; they’re now -4 and -2 respectively. And up on 7, a third birdie of the day for Shane Lowry, who screeches his second to kick-in distance. Good luck calling the outcome of this.
-5: Rose (5), Lawrence (4), Horschel (4)
-4: Henley (5)
-3: Lowry (7), Schauffele (5)
-2: Scheffler (6), Burns (5)
-1: Rahm (11), A Scott (7)
E: An (8), Jordan (8), Brown (6)
Billy Horschel bounces back from his bogey at 3 with birdie at 4. A similarly calm and collected affair, straight down the middle, just like Justin Rose before him. A slightly more freeform affair by Thriston Lawrence, who again finds rough but again chips close to make birdie of his own. A three-way tie at the top!
-5: Rose (5), Lawrence (4), Horschel (4)
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Jon Rahm eases a chip from 50 yards to three feet. In goes the putt, and that’s a textbook example of damage limitation. He slips back to -1, a scenario he’d have grabbed with both hands while watching his tee shot sail towards the train tracks. Meanwhile birdies at 5 and 7 for Matthew Jordan, who is not letting this lie despite that seven at 4. He’s fought his way back to level par, and while victory is probably a pipe dream, another top-ten finish suddenly looks very much within reach.
Jon Rahm finds his first ball at 11. He takes a penalty drop and lashes it back into play. He’ll be wedging in four from 50 yards. What he’d give for an up-and-down to limit the damage to bogey.
Justin Rose’s impressive start continues apace! Two big hits down the middle of the 608-yard par-five 4th, then a wedge from 60 yards to seven feet. He walks in the putt, and the 43-year-old Englishman hits the front at -5. A reminder that the last English player to win the Open was Nick Faldo at Muirfield back in 1992. Could he become England’s 15th winner of the Claret Jug? It’s currently on! Dan Brown is also in the hunt, of course, but he’s just bogeyed 5 after flying the green.
-5: Rose (4)
-4: Lawrence (3), Horschel (3)
-3: Scheffler (5), Henley (3)
-2: Rahm (10), Lowry (5), Burns (3)
-1: A Scott (5), Brown (5)
Potentially dream-wrecking trouble for Jon Rahm at 11. He carves his tee shot towards the railway. The ball doesn’t fly out of bounds, but it does appear to have whistled into a large gorse bush. He plays a provisional down the middle, then begins the five-minute search for his first ball.
Billy Horschel sends another tee shot to the left, this time at 3. He finds a fairway bunker, from which he can only chop out. It costs him bogey and sole ownership of the lead … which he now shares with his playing partner Thriston Lawrence, who finds thick rough with his drive but gouges to 12 feet and steers in the putt.
-4: Rose (3), Lawrence (3), Horschel (3)
Dan Brown and Scottie Scheffler both find a bunker 40 yards from the 4th green. Scheffler finds the middle of the dancefloor, from where he makes par, but Brown batters his attempted escape into the face of the trap. He gets out second time round, and does well to limit the damage to bogey by rattling in a confident 12-footer. He’s back to -2 again. But meanwhile on 5, Shane Lowry most certainly isn’t finished! He drains a monster and clenches his fist hard in celebration of consecutive birdies! The sullen figure skulking off 3 now a forgotten man! He’s -2 and there are going to be a lot of twists and turns this afternoon.
Perhaps Shane Lowry isn’t done yet. He gathers himself after that disappointing bogey at 3 by bouncing back on the par-five 4th. A splash out from greenside sand to a couple of feet, and he tidies up to move back into the red at -1. Meanwhile back on 2, Billy Horschel gets a free line-of-sight drop, a TV tower in his way. He finds the green safely and two putts later walks off with his par secured. Bogey for Sam Burns at 3.
-5: Horschel (2)
-4: Rose (3)
-3: Scheffler (3), Brown (3), Schauffele (3), Lawrence (2)
-2: Rahm (9), A Scott (4), Burns (3)
-1: Lowry (4)
Bob MacIntyre couldn’t take the Claret Jug home for Scotland, but it seems likely that Calum Scott will win the silver medal for the auld country. The 20-year-old from Nairn is currently level par for his round through 10 holes, and +3 overall. The other three amateurs to survive the cut are already back in the hutch: Tommy Morrison and Jacob Skov Olesen at +11, Luis Masaveu at +18.
A big hook off the 4th tee looks to have cost Matthew Jordan any chance of glory. Last year’s local hero at Hoylake runs up a double-bogey seven as a result and falls back to +2; a repeat of his top-ten finish of 12 months ago will be the limit of his ambition now. He’s +2.
A final round of 77 for the defending champion Brian Harman. He finishes the week at +11, a brave if unspectacular defence, and will always have the Wirral.
The second Justin Rose joins Billy Horschel at the top, Billy Horschel pulls away again. He rolls in a 25-footer across 1 for the perfect start to his round. Thriston Lawrence meanwhile manages to advance his ball well up the hole from the fairway bunker, bravely taking on the face, then gets his reward with a staunch up-and-down to scramble his par. Then a stroke of good fortune for Horschel at 2, as he flays a dreadful drive over the heads of the gallery down the left, but instead of finding deep rough – or even flying out of bounds – gets a trodden-down lie. He breathes out.
Justin Rose sends an iron at 2 from 172 yards to seven feet. He guides in the left-to-right slider, and the 1998 low amateur and 2018 joint runner-up grabs a share of the lead in 2024! Meanwhile another birdie for Adam Scott, at 3, while Dustin Johnson hits the turn in 34 to arrive on the scene, just in time.
-4: Rose (2), Horschel
-3: Scheffler (3), Brown (3), Schauffele (2), Henley (1), Burns (1), Lawrence
-2: Rahm (8), A Scott (3)
E: D Johnson (9), Noren (8), Im (6), Jordan (3), Lowry (3)
Updated
The final group of the 152nd Open Championship takes to the tee. Thriston Lawrence sends his drive up against the face of a bunker down the left; the 54-hole leader Billy Horschel splits the fairway. Up on the green, Russell Henley’s long birdie rake lips out unluckily; further along the coast at 2, Xander Schauffele’s chip from thick greenside nonsense stops one dimple shy of dropping for birdie. But it looks as though Scottie Scheffler will make his first move of the day, screeching his wedge into 3 to a couple of feet. Yep, in it goes, and the world number one is, like the news in Citizen Kane, on the march.
Justin Rose and Xander Schauffele lag up for their pars at 1. Shane Lowry yips a short par putt at 3, and already wears the hangdog expression of a man who suspects there’s no coming back from yesterday’s collapse. He’s back to level par. But bouncing back impressively, yet again this week, is Dan Brown, who sticks his second into 2 pin high and makes his birdie putt to return to -3.
A disappointing end to the round for Mackenzie Hughes. Bogey at the last, but the 33-year-old Canadian still signs for a fine 68. He’s the new clubhouse leader at +2. It won’t be his biggest letdown at the Open, though: Hughes is one of only five players to fail to win the Open despite shooting four rounds in the 60s. That happened to him at Sandwich three years ago, when he trailed winner Collin Morikawa by seven shots and five places after posting 66-69-68-69 as his week’s work. (The others, for the record, are Ernie Els, twice, at Sandwich in 1993 and Troon in 2004, Jesper Parnevik at Turnberry in 1994, Rickie Fowler at Hoylake in 2014, and Jordan Spieth, also at Sandwich in 2021.) Apologies, I’ve gone well off piste here.
Jon Rahm absolutely batters his drive down the nearly reachable par-four 7th. He then wedges from 55 yards to three feet, and tidies up for his fourth birdie of the day. It’s not taken long for the big man to get seriously involved in this final round. Look!
-4: Horschel
-3: Lawrence, Burns, Henley, Schauffele, Rose
-2: Rahm (7), Scheffler (1), Brown (1)
-1: A Scott (2), Lowry (2)
E: Jordan (3)
The 2013 US Open champion Justin Rose is out. He’s wearing the same red he sported when lobbing out from 40 yards to secure fourth place as a 17-year-old amateur at Birkdale in 1998. He’s just short of the 1st green in two. He’s going round with the current PGA champion Xander Schauffele, who makes it onto the green, but only just, a few feet ahead of his partner. Both will have a look at birdie from 40 feet or so.
Trouble for this week’s surprise package Daniel Brown at 1. His opening tee shot shoved into deep rough down the right, his second dunked into a pot bunker to the left of the green. Before he can take a club to that, his playing partner Scottie Scheffler takes Texas Wedge from off the front of the green. He lags up from 45 feet and taps in for par. He really needs the flat stick to work if he’s to win this tournament, as it let him down horribly yesterday: he’s ranked 61st out of 80 in the putting stats so far this week. He remains at -2, where he’s joined by Brown, who can’t get up and down from the bunker.
A closing birdie for local hero Bob MacIntyre. A 74 to finish at +9. Not the week the Troon gallery was dreaming of, but he’s still got fresh memories of the Scottish Open and he did himself proud to make it to the weekend after that 7-5-5-8 start on Friday, so there are warm smiles all round anyway. Paul Lawrie, the carpe-diem champion of 1999, remains the last Scot to lift the Claret Jug.
Shane Lowry responds to yesterday’s nightmare 77 by taking driver at 1. Blooter! He’s obviously come to the conclusion that there’s nothing to be gained by dying wondering. But his short wedge in is no good, pulled into a greenside bunker. He splashes out to six feet and salvages his par. He remains at -1, and he’s joined there by Adam Scott, who sends his second to eight feet and strokes in for an opening birdie. It doesn’t work this way, of course, but the Open owes Adam Scott, who came so close at Lytham in 2012 only to stumble over the last four holes with the Claret Jug in his grasp. The fairytale is not yet impossible!
Matthew Jordan’s approach into 1 is gathered up by the bunker guarding the front left of the green. Never mind! The links expert – he grew up playing at Hoylake, where he finished tied for tenth last year – nearly holes out with a delicate splash. The ball stops on the lip. The shot deserved more, but he’d have taken par when watching his ball disappear into the trap. He remains at level par, unlike his poor playing partner Justin Thomas, who ends up with a triple-bogey seven, his bid over after one hole. He’s +3, and it’s been a topsy turvy week for JT all right. An opening round of 68, a 67 yesterday, and a 78 in between that was a microcosm of the entire week in itself: 46 out, a battling 33 coming back to survive the cut. If the 31-year-old American can rediscover some consistency, he’ll become his old super-dangerous self once again. But this week is over.
A nightmare start for the two-time PGA champion Justin Thomas. A wild slice, and his drive goes sailing towards the beach. That’s not necessarily the worst opening tee shot at an Open Championship – Ian Baker-Finch (below) has JT’s back – but it’s up there. So far off beam. Thomas’s second finds a fairway bunker, from which he’ll be forced to chop out sideways. A triple bogey looks on the cards now. His hopes and dreams – he’d started the day at level par - over in a matter of seconds.
By the time of the 1995 Open at St Andrews, [Ian Baker-Finch’s] confidence was twisted almost beyond repair. He stood on the 1st tee, paired with the legendary Arnold Palmer, having not made a single penny in prize money all year. Then came the sort of mistake even a weekend hacker would have trouble making. Standing in front of the widest fairway in championship golf, Baker-Finch snap-hooked his ball straight over the parallel 18th fairway and out of bounds, nearly 180 yards to his left. Baker-Finch shot 77, six shots better than his playing partner Palmer, but then Arnie was 65 years old.
Alex Noren has been on the fringes of the action all week, without ever quite getting involved. The Swedish veteran birdies 1 and 3 to rise to level par. Timing his run towards the heat of battle perfectly? Well, like Jon Rahm before him, he’s probably a little too far back, given the sheer number of players ahead of him … but shoot something super-low, and you never know.
Jason Day’s approach at 10 comes up short of the green. It costs him his first bogey of the day. He drops back to +1. Joining him there, but moving in a more positive direction, Dean Burmester. The South African has birdied 2 and 7. He missed a series of short putts yesterday – four tiddlers across the piece, if memory serves – and that has proved the difference between a potential high finish and a genuine shy at the title. The small margins in golf.
Jon Rahm started within range, though, just about, six shots back. The erstwhile US Open and Masters champion has shown signs this week of rediscovering his major-championship mojo, and finally things seemed to have clicked. In spectacular style, too. He’s opened with three birdies on the bounce, having made a couple of big putts at 1 and 2, then wedging close at 3 to complete the set. The big Spaniard is right in the mix now. This is going to be one heck of a stramash at the top of the leaderboard this afternoon! Can. Not. Wait.
-4: Horschel
-3: Lawrence, Burns, Henley, Schauffele, Rose, Brown
-2: Scheffler
-1: Rahm (3), Lowry
Making Hay On The Front Nine exhibit B. It’s Jason Day, last year’s joint runner-up. The Aussie, an Open nearly man on a couple of occasions (see also 2015 at St Andrew’s), has just turned in 32 with birdies at 4, 6, 7 and 9. He’s level par for the championship. Too far back to harbour hopes of snatching the Claret Jug from under everyone’s startled nose, sadly. He’ll be ruing yesterday’s back nine of 40 strokes.
Now then, Troon hasn’t been as defenceless early doors like it was yesterday morning. This wind has seen to that. So there haven’t been as many birdie rampages. But there are exceptions, enough to suggest someone could make a proper tilt at the top from the middle of the pack. First up, let’s consider the very early clubhouse leaders Ryan Fox and Corey Conners. Fox carded 67 this morning, Conners 68. They’re both +5. Fox did most of his good work on the easier front nine, out in 32, but Conners spread his load more evenly, out in 34, back in 34. That’ll give succour to any challenger who fails to make sufficient hay going out, the usual method of shooting low at Troon.
Updated
The brisk wind is expected to keep up for most of the afternoon, but ease into the early evening. That might help matters should we require a playoff, and with the leaderboard so bunched, there’s a fair chance of one of those. Should there be a tie at the top after 72 holes, the players involved will play 1, 2, 17 and 18, with the lowest aggregate score winning. If that doesn’t find a victor, it’ll go into sudden death. For the record, there have been two previous Open playoffs at Troon, Mark Calcavecchia beating Wayne Grady and Greg Norman in 1989, Todd Hamilton seeing off Ernie Els in 2004.
Sir Nick Faldo - three times an Open champion, three times a winner at Augusta, arguably the greatest British sports star ever (yet so often strangely overlooked in such discussions) – is worth listening to all right. Here’s what he’s just told Sky Sports: “The number-one story is the weather, the wind … I think it’s brutal … it’s coming straight across the golf course … when they turn, and come down those last six holes, it’s a hard left to right for everybody … I think we’re going to see some drama around the greens … it’s going to be a scramble all the way to the finish.” You heard the man. Buckle up, people!
Preamble
At one point yesterday afternoon, Shane Lowry led the Open at -8, one stroke ahead of debutant Daniel Brown at -7. Then the Postage Stamp happened, after which … well, the subsequent wind and rain didn’t help any of the leading pack either, and now the top of the leaderboard has concertinaed to the point at which you could make a great case for a dozen players, and a pretty good one for at least a dozen more. Here’s how the top of the leaderboard looked after 54 holes …
-4: Billy Horschel
-3: Thriston Lawrence, Sam Burns, Russell Henley, Xander Schauffele, Justin Rose, Daniel Brown
-2: Scottie Scheffler
-1: Shane Lowry
E: Adam Scott, Justin Thomas, Matthew Jordan
+1: Im Sung-jae, An Byeong-hun
+2: Shubhankar Sharma, Daniel Hillier, John Catlin, Sean Crocker, Chris Kirk, Laurie Canter, Alex Noren, Jon Rahm, Collin Morikawa, Dustin Johnson
… and this is what today’s tee sheet looked like as a result (all times BST, GB&I unless stated). It’s on!
0735 Darren Fichardt (Rsa), Andy Ogletree (USA)
0745 Luis Masaveu -a- (Spa), Young-Han Song (Kor)
0755 Darren Clarke, Tom McKibbin
0805 Ryan Fox (Nzl), Hideki Matsuyama (Jpn)
0815 Rickie Fowler (USA), Aaron Rai
0825 Corey Conners (Can), Tommy Morrison -a- (USA)
0835 Brooks Koepka (USA), Marcel Siem (Ger)
0845 Matthieu Pavon (Fra), Jeung-Hun Wang (Kor)
0900 Jorge Campillo (Spa), Thorbjoern Olesen (Den)
0910 Matthew Fitzpatrick, Richard Mansell
0920 Rasmus Hoejgaard (Den), Kurt Kitayama (USA)
0930 Nicolai Hoejgaard (Den), Jordan Spieth (USA)
0940 Alex Cejka (Ger), Jacob Skov Olesen -a- (Den)
0950 Robert MacIntyre, Phil Mickelson (USA)
1000 Harris English (USA), Guido Migliozzi (Ita)
1010 Mackenzie Hughes (Can), Joaquin Niemann (Chi)
1025 Tom Hoge (USA), Adrian Meronk (Pol)
1035 Austin Eckroat (USA), Brian Harman (USA)
1045 Si-Woo Kim (Kor), Davis Thompson (USA)
1055 Abraham Ancer (Mex), Matt Wallace
1105 Jason Day (Aus), Max Homa (USA)
1115 Eric Cole (USA), Sepp Straka (Aut)
1125 Emiliano Grillo (Arg), Cameron Young (USA)
1135 Joseph Dean, Ewen Ferguson
1150 Dean Burmester (Rsa), Patrick Cantlay (USA)
1200 Min-Kyu Kim (Kor), Gary Woodland (USA)
1210 Padraig Harrington, Brendon Todd (USA)
1220 Matteo Manassero (Ita), Calum Scott -a-
1230 Dustin Johnson (USA), Collin Morikawa (USA)
1240 Jon Rahm (Spa), Alexander Noren (Swe)
1250 Laurie Canter, Chris Kirk (USA)
1300 John Catlin (USA), Sean Crocker (USA)
1315 Daniel Hillier (Nzl), Shubhankar Sharma (Ind)
1325 Byeong-Hun An (Kor), Sung-Jae Im (Kor)
1335 Matthew Jordan, Justin Thomas (USA)
1345 Shane Lowry, Adam Scott (Aus)
1355 Daniel Brown, Scottie Scheffler (USA)
1405 Justin Rose, Xander Schauffele (USA)
1415 Sam Burns (USA), Russell Henley (USA)
1425 Billy Horschel (USA), Thriston Lawrence (Rsa)
