Xander Schauffele said his final-round 65 to win The 152nd Open was his best ever, adding that “there was no chance I was going to let go” of the lead as he pushed clear of the field during a stunning back nine.
Schauffele went into the final round at Royal Troon as one of six players sharing second, a shot behind Billy Horschel, but took control after following back-to-back birdies from the sixth with four more in a six-hole stretch after the turn.
The reigning PGA champion finished nine under, two clear of playing partner Justin Rose and overnight Horschel, who kept the pressure applied with two and three birdies respectively over the final three holes.
“I’ve always dreamt of doing it,” Schauffele said following his win. “That walk up 18 truly is one of the coolest feelings I’ve ever had in my life, with the yellow leaderboards, the fans and the standing ovation.
“I got chills walking down and quickly had to zap myself back into focus because the tournament wasn’t over yet.”
Asked where he ranks his final round, Schauffele added: “At the very tip-top. The best round I’ve played.
“It is an incredible feeling to be up here with the Claret Jug. But it is just a result at the end of the day, and I really do believe that.
“Sometimes things go your way, and sometimes they don’t. Today I felt like I really controlled a lot of it… I kind of grabbed onto it, and there was no chance I was going to let go of it.
“All those tough losses in the past or those moments where I let myself slip up and dream too early on that back nine, I was able to reel myself in today and make sure that didn’t happen.”
Schauffele suggested he was looking forward to continuing the tradition of having a drink from the famous Claret Jug
Considered one of golf’s ‘nearly men’ after 12 top-10 finishes without winning a major prior to his PGA Championship triumph in May, Schauffele believes his success at Valhalla helped him close things out on the final day at Royal Troon.
Needing a birdie at the par-five last to hold off the threat of a play-off with Bryson DeChambeau, Schauffele holed from six feet to win with a score of 21 under – the lowest 72-hole score in men’s major history.
Schauffele talks Sky Sports through some of his key shots from his final round at Royal Troon
“Winning the first one helped me a lot today on the back nine,” Schauffele said. “I had some feeling of calmness come through and that was very helpful on what has been one of the hardest back nines I’ve ever played in a tournament.
“It’s a dream come true to win two majors in one year. It took me forever just to win one, so to have two now is something else.”
He added: “There’s super stressful moments when you’re trying to win a major championship. I felt them in the past, the ones I didn’t win, and I let them get to me.
“Today I felt like I did a pretty good job of weathering the storm when I needed to.”
Sky Sports’ Dame Laura Davies:
“The reason he won this is because he holed that putt [to win] at Valhalla.
Schauffele claimed a maiden major with a birdie on the final hole of the PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club earlier this year
“And the reason he won Valhalla was because he was more aggressive on the Sunday. He always seemed like the guy that was happy to just have a good tournament, rather than go out and win it.
“If he hadn’t won at Valhalla, he’d still be in that situation of having never won a major despite being one of the best players in the world.
“That has released all the pressure. He’s up to number two in the world now… we’re going to see more and more of him.”
Sky Sports’ Andrew Coltart:
“Valhalla changed the amount of belief he had. He had been knocking on the door so many times… we wondered whether he had it in him to make that next step up
“To continue to deal with what was thrown at him at the PGA Championship, to shoot that 62 again at a major championship… that stuff eventually starts to permeate through to the brain that ‘I’m pretty good at this’.
Schauffele became the first player in PGA Championship history to card a round of 62 with a sensational performance on day one at Valhalla
“Schauffele’s game doesn’t have a weakness but it’s also his mentality. The ability to come from America where it’s pretty much one-dimensional golf all the time, they don’t have to deal with testing conditions or with tough bounces, the wrong side of the draw…
“He’s come over here and he’s handled everything that the Royal Troon has thrown at him. It’s that ability and belief that has made him almost impenetrable.”
The PGA Tour heads to Minnesota for the 3M Open at TPC Twin Cities, with live coverage on Thursday from 6pm on Sky Sports Golf. The next regular DP World Tour event is the D+D Real Czech Masters from August 15-18. Stream the PGA Tour, majors and more top sport with NOW.
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