Xander Schauffele wins PGA Championship, claims first main title

Xander Schauffele had an enormous monkey to get off his again at Valhalla this week.

The World No. 3 had been taking part in among the finest golf on the planet by anybody not named Scottie Scheffler, however had no wins to indicate for it. Simply final Sunday, Schauffele moved to two-for-eight in his profession in changing 54-hole leads on the PGA Tour, as Rory McIlroy zoomed by him to win the Wells Fargo Championship. Schauffele hadn’t gained since July 2022.

This week at Valhalla, he flipped the script. Schauffele led after every of the primary three rounds, having set the early tempo in Derby Metropolis with a main championship record-tying 62 on Thursday.

Then on Sunday, the day that had plagued him so typically on the largest levels, Schaffele got here out of the gates sturdy and stored up the tempo. He completed with a six-under 65 to set a brand new main championship document of 21 beneath and win the PGA Championship by a shot over Bryson DeChambeau.

DeChambeau made a dramatic 11-foot birdie putt on the 72nd gap to publish 20 beneath, forcing Schauffele to make an identical birdie to keep away from a playoff. Regardless of leaving his tee shot in an ungainly place on the lip of a fairway bunker on the par-5 finisher, Schauffele roped an iron simply brief and left of the inexperienced. From there, he pitched to 6 ft and made the putt. When the ball rattled in, Schauffele threw his palms within the air in a uncommon present of emotion.

“I used to be truly type of emotional after the putt lipped in,” Schauffele stated afterward. “It’s been some time since I’ve gained, and I actually simply— I stored saying all of it week, I simply want to remain in my lane.

“Man, was it onerous to remain in my lane immediately, however I attempted all day to only preserve deal with what I’m making an attempt to do and preserve each gap forward of me.”

He then turned to embrace Austin Kaiser, his longtime caddie and former faculty teammate at San Diego State.

It’s the primary profession main victory for Schauffele, who had 11 earlier top-10 finishes in golf’s 4 greatest occasions, together with runner-ups on the 2018 Open Championship and 2019 Masters, the previous coming after he held a share of the 54-hole lead, as he did this week in Kentucky.

Schauffele’s co-lead with Collin Morikawa Sunday didn’t final lengthy as Schauffele opened by simply barely flying the bunker in need of the primary inexperienced after which drilling a 27-footer to take the outright lead.

He added three extra birdies on the entrance 9 earlier than a bogey on the par-5 tenth, one in all Valhalla’s best holes, dropped him again right into a tie, this time with Viktor Hovland.

Hovland, who revealed he thought-about skipping the PGA Championship this week after a poor begin to the 2024 season, discovered his recreation at Valhalla and made six birdies in 9 holes between Nos. 5 and 13 to tug out forward of Schauffele at 19 beneath. Taking part in in the identical group, DeChambeau practically matched him shot for shot and was only a shot behind, tied with Schauffele.

Schauffele rebounded by stuffing his subsequent two approaches on the par-3 eleventh and par-4 twelfth inside 10 ft and changing each birdie putts to get to twenty beneath with six holes to play.

DeChambeau, the 2020 U.S. Open winner, completed off his final-round 64 by throwing a dart of a second shot at 16 inside 4 ft; benefiting from a lucky bounce from the left timber on his tee shot on 17; after which birdieing 18, the best gap at Valhalla this week, from the left fairway bunker.

Hovland had an opportunity to match DeChambeau at 20 beneath on 18, however missed from 10 ft after which missed his par effort to complete at 18 beneath in solo third. He was the runner-up final yr at Oak Hill.

After getting up and down from the fitting aspect of the seventeenth inexperienced to remain tied with DeChambeau, Schauffele navigated an ungainly lie on the lip of the identical fairway bunker that DeChambeau had performed from to get his second shot by the inexperienced. From brief left, Schauffele hit a bump and run that checked and stopped six ft under the outlet, from the place he was capable of get the putt to curve in from the left aspect of the cup.

“I believe I’d in all probability be a bit bit much less of a affected person particular person if that putt didn’t lip in, however I actually didn’t need to go right into a playoff in opposition to Bryson,” Schauffele joked.

The 2024 PGA Championship was outlined by low scoring all week because it grew to become the primary main ever to have two gamers end at 20 beneath or higher. Not solely did Schauffele’s 21 beneath develop into a brand new document in relation to par, however his 263 whole additionally set a brand new main mixture document.

Jack Hirsh

Golf.com Editor

Jack Hirsh is an assistant editor at GOLF. A Pennsylvania native, Jack is a 2020 graduate of Penn State College, incomes levels in broadcast journalism and political science. He was captain of his highschool golf workforce and not too long ago returned to this system to function head coach. Jack additionally nonetheless *tries* to stay aggressive in native amateurs. Earlier than becoming a member of GOLF, Jack spent two years working at a TV station in Bend, Oregon, primarily as a Multimedia Journalist/reporter, but additionally producing, anchoring and even presenting the climate. He could be reached at jack.hirsh@golf.com.