There have been just five golfers who’ve won multiple majors in a season over the last 25 years: Tiger Woods, Padraig Harrington, Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth and Brooks Koepka.
After Sunday, you can add Xander Schauffele’s name to that list.
Schauffele, who entered Sunday at Royal Troon one shot off the lead, fired a final-round 65 to win the 152nd Open Championship by two strokes over Justin Rose and Billy Horschel. The win is his second major title after his breakthrough PGA Championship win at Valhalla just two months ago.
“It really is a dream come true to be holding [the Claret Jug],” Schauffele said. “It definitely hasn’t sunk in yet.”
The leaderboard was jam-packed as players arrived at Troon on Sunday morning. Horschel held the lead at four under while a host of contenders lurked within four shots of his lead. For much of the front nine during the final round, it looked as though any one of them could emerge victorious.
Jon Rahm made an early charge and climbed to the first page of the leaderboard, while players like Rose, Russell Henley and Scottie Scheffler all made moves of their own. Thirston Lawrence tried to recreate Todd Hamilton’s Troon magic as a Cinderella winner, and Horschel kept himself in the fight as well.
In the end, though, Schauffele was undeniable.
Going out in two-under 34, Schauffele put his game into another gear and left the field in his wake on the back nine. He began his charge with a birdie on the 11th — playing as the second-hardest hole of the day — and then added back-to-back circles on Nos. 13 and 14 to take the solo lead. On the par-5 16th, he added another after nearly holing out his third shot into the lone back-nine par-5. On a day when the scoring average on the back nine was two over, he played the inward nine in four under. All the while, he made no missteps, keeping his card spotless with zero bogeys on the day.
“I felt pretty calm on that back nine for some odd reason,” Schauffele said. “I think winning that PGA helped me. It was a lot of fun.”
After tapping in for par on the 18th, Schauffele waved to the crowd, raised his putter in the air and hugged his caddie on the edge of the green. Shortly afterward, Lawrence’s birdie bid on the 17th slide past the hole, cementing Schauffele’s Open Championship victory.
Schauffele’s six-under 65 was the lowest score of the final round by two shots, and he was one of just two players without a bogey on the card on Sunday.
With the win, Schauffle becomes the first player to win multiple majors in a season since Koepka in 2018. His win also cements a clean sweep for the Americans in the 2024 major season, the first time such a feat has occurred since 1982 when Raymond Floyd, Craig Stadler and Tom Watson (twice) won all four competing under the U.S. flag.
Next up, Schauffele will head to Paris as he looks to win the gold medal for the second Olympics in a row. But first, a bit of celebration is in order.
“I can’t wait to sit back and have a moment with this Claret Jug,” he said.
