Xander Schauffele wins Open Championship with stunning Sunday 65

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TROON, Scotland — After a career spent knocking on the door of greatness, Xander Schauffele pushed it open at the PGA Championship in May, and walked brashly through it this week at The Open Championship.

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On Sunday at Royal Troon, Schauffele claimed the Claret Jug and became the 21st player in golf history — and just the fifth in the past 25 years — to win two major championships in a single season.

“It took me forever to win one, to win two is something else,” Schauffele said.

Prior to winning the PGA Championship, Schauffele had 12 top-10 major finishes and six top-5s without a win.

In a week when calamity often overshadowed artistry, the 30-year-old American delivered a links golf master-class final round at Royal Troon, shooting a bogey-free six-under par 65 to reach nine-under for the week and win the Claret Jug by two strokes over Justin Rose and Billy Horschel.

“I just can’t wait to drink out of it,” Schauffele said while holding the trophy.

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“It really is a dream come true to be holding this and it definitely hasn’t sunk in yet,” he said. “I can’t wait to sit back and have a moment with this Claret Jug.”

As Schauffele marched up the 18th fairway with a three-stroke lead, his father Stefan — wearing dark sunglasses and a panama hat — was ushered quickly from the clubhouse to the back of the 18th green so he could witness what he had missed two months earlier at Valhalla in Louisville; his son rolling in a putt to win a major championship.

That day, it was a six-foot birdie putt that just lipped in for the win. On Sunday at Royal Troon, it was a coronation with golf fans watching Schauffele tap-in for par to earn a second page in golf’s history book.

“That walk up 18 truly is the coolest with the yellow leaderboards and the fans and the standing ovation. It really is one of the coolest feelings I’ve ever had in my life. I got chills,” Xander said.

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The timing worked out just as perfectly as the rest of the day for Schauffele, as his entire family was gathered together to greet him. He shared a hug with his mother, his wife, and finally an embrace with his father, as Stefan wiped tears from his eyes.

When asked what would be the first drink poured into the legendary jug, Schauffele said he would pass the question over to the man who has shepherded his golf game and career over the years.

“My dad’s here with me so I’m going to let him do the honour, whatever he wants,” Xander said.

Having recently moved to Hawaii, Stefan wasn’t in Louisville to celebrate his son’s win at Valhalla.

“I sat down with my dad when I was maybe 15 and 16, and we started to really hash out some goals and dreams of what I’d like to do,” he said.

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“My dad and I, we’ve definitely talked about this. We’ve watched that walk up 18 pretty much every year until I’ve played in The Open. It’s definitely something that we’ve both dreamt of.”

Rose (67) and Horschel (68) finished the week tied for second at seven-under, one shot clear of South African Thriston Lawrence (68) who finished in solo fourth place.

The Englishman Rose had to go through open qualifying to earn a spot in the field this week for his 21st Open Championship. Playing in the same group as Schauffele, and after the winner had already tapped in for par, Rose made one final birdie and turned to salute the hearty Scottish crowd.

“Two emotions: Gutted when I walked off the course and it hit me hard because I was so strong out there today,” Rose said after his round. “In terms of how I played and the execution of my emotions today, my mindset, I left it all out there. I’m super proud of how I competed.”

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Russell Henley shot a 69 to finish in fifth place at five-under, while Irishman Shane Lowry rebounded from Saturday’s disastrous finish to shoot 68 and finish in sixth.

“I had a great chance of winning this Open, and it’s going to hurt for a few days,” Lowry said. “But onwards and upwards and onto the Olympics and try to win a medal for Ireland and get on from there.”

World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler finished tied for seventh in a group with Jon Rahm and Sungjae Im at at one-under par. Only nine players finished the week in red figures.

After winning the Wannamaker Trophy in May, Schauffele said he still didn’t feel like he was in Scheffler’s league.

“All of us are climbing this massive mountain, at the top of the mountain is Scottie Scheffler,” Schauffele said at the time. “I won this today, but I’m still not that close to Scottie Scheffler in the big scheme of things.”

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It’s safe to say, at the very least, after Sunday in Troon, Schauffele has a clear view of the mountaintop.

Mackenzie Hughes led all Canadians, shooting a Sunday 68 to finish at two-over and tied for 16th. Corey Conners also shot 68 on Sunday, and finished tied for 25th at five-over.

Over the first two days of the tournament, the story at Royal Troon was the confounding wind; primarily how the world’s best players couldn’t get a handle on a changing breeze that made the famed links golf course a completely different animal from the one they had prepared for.

If players were rattled over the first two days, they were turned upside down on Saturday when the gusts picked up, the skies opened up, and Royal Troon briefly turned into a golf torture test for its 10th time hosting the Open Championship.

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Canadian Conners shot an 80 and fell from seventh place to 62nd place. His pal Hughes dropped from 13th place to 40th.

Scheffler and many other of the leaders described the back-nine on Saturday afternoon as the toughest golf they had ever played. By day’s end the leaderboard had been scrambled and a Sunday sprint to the finish was in store.

At the end of his winner’s press conference, Schauffele looked one more time at the Claret jug in front of him.

“I’m just curious to see what my dad is going to pick as a first drink to drink out of this,” he said.

In the corner of the room, still sporting the hat and sunglasses, Stefan smiled.

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