Xander Schauffele, who began the year as one of the best players in golf without a major, now has two of the game’s biggest prizes after winning the 152nd British Open.
The 30-year-old Californian won a shootout in May at the PGA Championship and backed it up with a gutsy effort in a trying week at Royal Troon, shooting a bogey-free 65 Sunday to win at 9-under 275 by two shots over England’s Justin Rose and Billy Horschel.
Sunday began as anyone's tournament, with 12 players within four shots of the lead, and for the first half of the final round South African Thriston Lawrence was making a bid to be an unlikely major champion. He made four birdies in his opening nine holes but the world No. 98 made his first bogey of the day at the par-4 12th hole after failing to get up and down from off the green. That handed Schauffele the lead at 7 under on the tee at the 14th, then he hit to 12 feet on the par-3 and made the putt to go up by two shots.
He was never in trouble the rest of the way, adding a birdie at the par-5 16th and shooting 31 on the back nine to secure the Claret Jug. Schauffele had one of just two bogey-free rounds on the day and his 65 was also the low round of the week at par-71 Royal Troon. He also was the only man in the field Sunday to birdie the tough par-4 11th hole, which borders a railway.
Americans swept the major champions in 2024: Scottie Scheffler at the Masters, Schauffele at the PGA, Bryson DeChambeau at the U.S. Open and Schauffele again at the Open Championship. The last time that happened was in 1982 when Craig Stadler won the Masters, Tom Watson won the U.S. and British Opens and Raymond Floyd won the PGA.
Schauffele, who played collegiately at San Diego State, also became the first player since Rory McIlroy in 2014 to win the PGA and British Open in the same year.
No one else could keep pace Sunday in a calmer weather day after three days of wind and occasional rain. Billy Horschel, the Saturday night leader looking for his first major, made three birdies opposite one bogey in his first six holes but bogeyed the 8th and 10th. The University of Florida product rallied with birdies on his final three holes to get to 7 under and the tie for second.
Rose qualified to get into the Open at age 43 but won’t have to qualify next year by virtue of his T2 finish. He shot a Sunday 67, the next best round to Schauffele’s 65.
Lawrence finished fourth at 6 under, while Russell Henley shot Sunday’s other bogey-free round (69) and finished fifth at 5 under.
Shane Lowry’s bid for a second Claret Jug was largely done in Saturday with a 77, and a Sunday 68 left him five back in solo sixth at 4 under.
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler began Sunday in the mix for his second major of the season but a three-putt double bogey at the 9th sapped his momentum after two consecutive birdies. He finished with another double at the 18th after a short drive which required a drop from an unplayable lie, shooting 72 to finish at 1 under in a tie for seventh with two-time major champion Jon Rahm and Sungjae Im.
Schauffele, who will leapfrog Rory McIlroy as No. 2 in the world, will play in two weeks at the Paris Olympics as the defending gold medalist, having won in 2021 in Tokyo.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Xander Schauffele Wins British Open for Second Major Title of 2024.
