Craig Stadler, Tom Watson, Tom Watson, Raymond Floyd. Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele, Bryson DeChambeau, Xander Schauffele. American golfers hadn’t completed a clean sweep of the four majors since 1982 until Schauffele followed Watson’s lead by winning at Royal Troon.
Luke Donald, the captain of Europe, must be glad this isn’t a Ryder Cup year. Not that the bigger picture is particularly appealing to Donald; the stars and stripes are next to the names of nine of the last 12 major champions.
At the start of the year, Schauffele was seen as a near-man. He was probably the best golfer of his generation never to succeed in any of the sport’s four major events. In the blink of an eye, he has become a multiple major winner; glory at Valhalla in the US PGA Championship last May undoubtedly helped Schauffele on the Ayrshire coast. While others were fading, he shot a 65 to win by two, nine under par from Billy Horschel and a resurgent Justin Rose.
Schauffele is so calm and methodical in the way he goes about his business that the brutality associated with this Open exam would probably never bother him. Schauffele is the silent killer of golf. The 152nd Open should be remembered as one that threatened to deliver a much more spectacular story than it ultimately came to be.
There is always a major stretch. For Schauffele, it came between the 11th and 16th on day four. He played it in four under, putting daylight between him and the field. This, it should be remembered, is the toughest set of holes at Royal Troon. The prospect of a first Open playoff since 2015 loomed until Schauffele decided the tournament was his. His back nine cost him just 31 strokes.
Rose had mixed feelings as he walked off the 18th green. As a qualifier, it came as a shock to many that the Englishman was even in contention. Still, the 43-year-old maintains high standards. Rose secretly knows he won’t get many more chances to add to his solo major win to date. As Schauffele warmed up on the inside half, Rose’s putter went ice cold. Horschel holed from distance on the final hole to equal Rose’s seven-under aggregate.
On Sunday afternoon, Thriston Lawrence sent commentators and spectators scrambling to Wikipedia. The 27-year-old missed the cut in his only other Open appearance. When Lawrence birdied the ninth, he was two strokes ahead of Schauffele and one stroke ahead of Rose. It wasn’t so much that the South African got nervous after that – he lost just one stroke to finish fourth – but that Schauffele stepped on the gas pedal. Russell Henley took fifth place at five under par after a 69.
Shane Lowry will rue a horrendous stretch off the eighth tee on Saturday that so affected his 77 that he effectively lost the Open. Lowry returned to the links to shoot a 68 that left him in sixth place at four under par. It was one, however, that eluded the 2019 champion. “It’s very disappointing, there’s no arguing with that,” Lowry said. “I had a great chance to win this Open and that’s going to hurt for a couple of days.”
There was no fairytale victory for Dan Brown. The Yorkshireman, who arrived at Troon just inside the world’s top 300, finally hit the buffers when he slipped from minus three to even par within six holes. It is to Brown’s great credit that he avoided a downward spiral, a 74 being enough for a shared 10th place. Brown will take great heart from his Open performance. He has also earned a return, at Royal Portrush next July.
Scottie Scheffler was firmly in the mix when he reached four under with a birdie at the eighth. What followed was completely out of character for the 2024 world number one. Scheffler missed from 30 inches on his way to a double bogey at the ninth. He gave up two more shots on the course at the 18th, by which point his race was already over. Scheffler’s one under tied him for seventh with Im Sungjae and Jon Rahm.
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Justin Thomas’ Sunday Challenge lasted just one stroke. Thomas hit his opening drive to the right and into Troon Beach. A triple-bogey seven put him out of the tournament. This was a strange major for Thomas, who followed a first-round 68 with a 78 and a third-round 67 with a 77. His plus-six total was matched by Dustin Johnson. Brooks Koepka capped a dismal year at the big venues — he finished no better than 26th — with eight over. Such is Koepka’s appetite for this domain that he’s having to consider the competitive impact of his move to LIV Golf.
With eight to spare, Nairn’s Calum Scott collected top amateur honours and the silver medal that goes with it. The youngster has another year of eligibility remaining at Texas Tech, the college that recently played a role in the stunning rise of Ludvig Åberg. Scott intends to complete his studies, despite the professional temptation that will arise as a result of his performance here.
“It’s one of the highest awards you can win as an amateur,” Scott said. “First of all, you have to make the cut to win this award and be above 11 other amateurs, which I’m very proud of. To be able to compete in a tournament like the Open is just amazing.”
There are big things coming for Scott. Schauffele is right in the middle of it.