Xander Schauffele produced a sublime final round at Royal Troon to win The Open Championship. And after waiting so long for his first major triumph, he has bagged two in as many months to cement his status as a modern great.
Schauffele carded a six-under-par final round of 65 on the Ayrshire coast, beating Justin Rose and Billy Horschel to the Claret Jug by two shots. It was heartbreak for Rose, who had battled gamely throughout the week after playing his first three rounds in the worst of the conditions.
The 43-year-old Englishman declared it was his dream to win The Open as he enters the twilight of his career, but this chance passed him by. He started one shot back from overnight leader Horschel and went round in four-under-par, but it was not enough to keep pace with the brilliant Schauffele as the pair settled for sharing second.
South Africa’s Thriston Lawrence had hit the front with a faultless four-under-par front nine, but his charge stalled on the back as Schauffele cruised clear. He finished in fourth at six-under.
Schauffele, 30, started alongside Rose at three-under and it was a pivotal stretch after making the turn that saw him take command of the tournament, pouring in birdies at 11, 14 and 15 to surge clear.
For so long, Schauffele was the nearly man at the majors, but his success at Valhalla to win the PGA Championship in May finally got the monkey off his back. But Troon was a totally different test, with many great players falling by the wayside in brutal conditions throughout the week.
Schauffele, however, held his nerve, hanging in there when the going got tough before making the most of his opportunity arrived. His reward is the Claret Jug, perhaps the sport’s greatest prize.
In the process, Schauffele completed an all-American lockout of the four majors for the first time since 1982, with Scottie Scheffler and Bryson DeChambeau winning The Masters and US Open respectively.
Horschel, an eight-time PGA Tour winner, was chasing his first major title but was hampered by costly mistakes. Three front-nine birdies were cancelled out by dropped shots at three, eight and 10, leaving him adrift of the leaders.
World No. 1 Scheffler lurked ominously at two-under-par at the start of the day, two shots behind overnight leader Horschel. A birdie at three saw the two-time Masters champion close in on the leading pack and he was four-under by the time he arrived at the par-four ninth.
But the 28-year-old got himself into a mess and walked off with a double bogey to drop him out of contention. He needed birdies and quickly, but his next did not arrive until the 16th when it was too late and he finished at one-under-par after a double bogey at the last.
Shane Lowry seemingly had control of the tournament on Saturday, leading by two at seven-under-par in the third round before falling foul to brutal conditions coming home. He started the day at one-under and hit the turn at four-under but he ran out of steam and finished with a card of 68, having to settle for sixth-place at four-under.
The moment proved too big for Sam Burns. He was out in the penultimate group after getting in the house at three-under the previous evening. Burns made two early bogeys and wilted at the turn with a sequence of bogey-double-triple at 10, 11 and 12 on a chastening day for the 27-year-old, who finished outside the top 30.
Russell Henley, meanwhile, was hampered by a cold putter as he went bogey-free but could not convert enough of his chances on the greens. He finished four back at five-under.
