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Image caption Schauffele’s victory is his first since winning the 2022 Scottish Open.Item information
- Author, Joe Bradshaw
- Role, Keynote USA senior sports journalist
1 hour before
US PGA Championship Final Standings
-twenty-one Schauffele (United States) -twenty DeChambeau (United States) -18 Hovland (north) -fifteen Morikawa (United States), Detry (Bel) -14 Rose (English), Lowry (Ire), -13 MacIntyre (Scotland), Scheffler (USA), Thomas (USA), Horschel (USA)
Other selected: -12 McIlroy (NEITHER), -9 Koepka (USA), Fleetwood (English)
Xander Schauffele holed a nervous six-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole to win his first major with a record score on a thrilling final day at the US PGA Championship.
The American held off Bryson DeChambeau and Viktor Hovland to win at 21 under par in Valhalla, Kentucky.
Having led the tournament since equaling the best round in a major when he shot 62 on Thursday, the 30-year-old Californian shot a six-under 65 to claim the Wanamaker Trophy by one stroke.
“I was excited after the putt went in,” Schauffele said. “It’s been a while since I won; I didn’t really want to play a play-off with Bryson.
“My dad is in Hawaii and I managed to call him but I had to hang up quickly because he was making me cry.”
Six birdies in eight holes around the bend briefly put Norway’s Hovland in the lead, but world number three Schauffele responded with superb birdies on the 11th and 12th to regain it.
DeChambeau benefited with a birdie after his wild drive at the 16th hit a tree and bounced into the fairway, and he birdied the last to shoot a 64 and tie Schauffele, sparking raucous celebrations on the 18th green.
Hovland then had a putt to also get to 20 under, but crumbled under the pressure, taking three shots from 10 feet and finishing at 18 under.
However, Olympic champion Schauffele, who has faced criticism for not closing out tournaments when well placed, withstood the attack and made his own birdie to secure the title.
England’s Justin Rose led the British challenge, finishing in a tie for sixth place at 14 under par and thus becoming the second player over 40, after the legendary Sam Snead, to achieve five consecutive top 15 finishes in this tournament.
Playing alongside Rose, Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre failed to shoot, although he closed with a magnificent eagle to post a total of 70 and 13 under par to cap a great week.
Shane Lowry of Ireland, who spectacularly equaled Schauffele’s record score in a round of a major on Saturday, went cold with his putter as he also rounded Valhalla in 70 shots.
Two-time major champion Collin Morikawa, who led along with Schauffele after the third round, opened with 14 straight pars before making bogey at the 15th. His lone birdie came at the end of an otherwise disappointing round.
The two best players in the world, Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy, completed a disappointing weekend with eight and nine shots respectively.
Schauffele silences the skeptics
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Image caption, Xander Schauffele ranked second in approach to the green and third off the tee in strokes gained this week.
Schauffele has 12 top-10 finishes at major tournaments and is consistently among the best players in the world, but had not won an event since the Scottish Open in 2022.
In fact, the way he stumbled against McIlroy at Quail Hollow a week ago raised major questions about his ability to close out wins.
In Valhalla, having held the lead from the start, more questions arose as the chasing group closed in, especially on Sunday through DeChambeau and Hovland, playing against two groups in front of them.
However, this sensational round of golf should put to rest any lingering doubts about his temperament. The relief and joy were evident when she raised her arms toward the sky and received applause from the crowd after making the winning putt.
He found putts at critical moments, including for par on the sixth, just minutes after a fist-shaking DeChambeau had holed out from 37 feet on the same hole.
There were birdies on the seventh and ninth before, after a mistake on the 10th led to a double bogey and opened the door for Hovland to take the lead, he produced a magical tee shot on the 11th. He then holed another birdie on the hole 10. 12 to an inch back.
The drama continued later.
DeChambeau sent the crowd into a frenzy with his late birdie, pumping his fist and celebrating emphatically when he reached Schauffele’s level.
Schauffele made a par from a fairway bunker on the 17th hole, but his tee shot on the 18th hole twisted in the gross and he had to hit his ball while standing in more sand.
However, as he did throughout the tournament, Schauffele stayed calm, hit his ball confidently forward and then hit his next meter six before holing out to silence the critics.
Only four players have led or co-led in each round when winning their first major, and Schauffele joins an elite group that includes McIlroy (2011) and Jordan Spieth (2015).
European hopes stall as world’s top two countries watch
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Image caption, Viktor Hovland missed the cut at the Masters in April.
Prospects for a first European winner at the US PGA since McIlroy won the last of his four majors on this Louisville course a decade ago were high after a stellar Saturday.
Hovland has been far from the player who emerged last fall when he won twice and starred in the Ryder Cup.
He missed the cut at last month’s Masters but re-linked with his former coach, and in Valhalla, named after the home of the Norse gods, he came close to giving Norway a first major champion.
Given that he now has four top-10 finishes in majors, it is possible that he inherited Schauffele’s previous top player title and has not won any of these titles.
As for Rose, bogeys on the 17th and 18th ruined an excellent round. Like Hovland, it hasn’t been a pretty 2024 for the 43-year-old, but finishing in the top six proved once again that he can still compete at the highest level.
Unfortunately for Lowry and MacIntyre, on a golf course where Team Europe lost the Ryder Cup in 2008, they couldn’t find the birdies needed to threaten the lead.
Meanwhile, pre-tournament favorites Scheffler and McIlroy started Sunday too far behind to compete.
It had been an unusual build-up to the championship with news dropping in the run-up to McIlroy’s impending divorce, as Scheffler returned from taking time off to be with his wife Meredith, who gave birth to their first child on May 8.
In the end, Saturday’s wayward performances cost them a shot at the title, as Scheffler shot over par for the first time in 2024 and McIlroy’s putter abandoned him.
World number one Scheffler was back to his old self in an exceptional final round that included seven birdies, while McIlroy again flirted with moving up the rankings only to find water twice on the back nine.
His quest for his first major in 10 years will resume in four weeks at the US Open in Pinehurst.
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