Neither a mad scientist nor the monkey on his own back could stop Xander Schauffele from taking the hardest step in golf on Saturday night. After all those near misses, he is finally a great champion.
He had finished in the top ten no less than twelve times in one of the big four of his sport, so how fitting that he won the 106th American PGA Championship by the skin of his nose in the home of the Kentucky Derby.
And what a race it was, for which we have to thank the crazy maverick Bryson DeChambeau, who tore Valhalla to pieces with irons produced by his 3D printer. At 20 under par he had equaled the lowest score ever in major history, but that was a status he held for barely half an hour as Schauffele came calling. With a six-foot birdie putt on the last, he won by one stroke.
Exactly a week had passed since he coughed up a good lead against Rory McIlroy on the final day at Quail Hollow, which came with all the reminders that he hadn’t won on the PGA Tour in almost two years. Look at them seven days later: McIlroy came in through the back door for twelfth place, Schauffele found himself in the circle of champions.
With both fists clenched and tears in his eyes, he stopped the whiny conversations about the best players who would never claim a big pot. Given the all-around strength of his game, the 30-year-old would also be a solid candidate to push on and get more – he doesn’t look like a one-hit wonder.
Xander Schauffele won the PGA Championship after Bryson DeChambeau
Schauffele holed a 6-foot putt on the 18th green to secure victory at the PGA Championship
Bryson DeChambeau birdied the 18th hole to take a share of the lead at 20 under par
Schauffele hugged Austin Kaiser, his caddie and former teammate at San Diego State
But he had to push himself to the limit in his last 65. It was only one bogey on the 10th, but the challenge was the quality of the chasers. We have to mention Viktor Hovland first, because a few weeks ago he wasn’t sure if he would be in, that’s how bad his play was, but he was hastily reunited with Joe Mayo, the coach he fired late last year, and his resurgence here has been remarkable.
A three-putt on the last ended his chances with a 66, so 19 under par, and he finished three behind Schauffele and one ahead of Belgians Thomas Detry and Collin Morikawa, who started in the last pairing and retired with a 71. Justin Rose and Shane Lowry were tied at 14 under after an excellent week, while Scottie Scheffler was one step lower next to Bob MacIntyre. In Scheffler’s context, it says it all that he can visit a prison cell and still finish in eighth place.
The astonishing number of players with double figures under par – a record 25 – speaks to the easy conditions, but also to the heat of the competition, as it is clear that anyone can be tested.
Near the end, DeChambeau nearly forced a playoff, but needing a birdie on the last, Schauffele was up and down from 36 yards, sealing the victory with a six-footer before hitting the rim and fell. In technical terms, that final drama was indicative of his day, as his driving, which had been so brilliant all week, was loose and with so much at stake, and he hit only six of fourteen fairways. In other words, he had to grind and scramble and did so exceptionally well, both for par and better, including the up-and-down birdie from the dense greenside rough on the drivable par-four fourth hole.
As always, the drama really started in the last nine. By then it was a three-horse race and one led almost exclusively by Schauffele, as was the entire tournament. Apart from his starting position at 15 under next to Morikawa, and a brief moment when Sahith Theegala birdied the opening hole, he was ahead all the way to the 10th hole, although never by more than two.
Completing the turn at 31 and 19 under par, Schauffele stepped onto that tee, one ahead of Hovland and two ahead of DeChambeau. That’s when he finally hit a bump, with the source of his difficulties stemming from an attempt to reach the par five in two from the fairway bunker. His club? A three-wood – it was golf, but not as most of us know it.
Unfortunately, that was a setback that led to a rough greenside, an overhit throw and an under-hit chip and ultimately a bogey six.
The blow quickly grew: Hovland, two groups ahead, had already birdied 12 and then dropped a 15-foot bomb on 13 to move level with Schauffele at 19 under for the first time all day. The Norwegian had a hot putter in his hand – would Schauffele have the courage for a fight?
His response was championship behavior as he carded back-to-back birdies to get back into the lead, but then DeChambeau’s challenge accelerated. Golf’s most idiosyncratic thinker would reach 19 under and just one behind Schauffele, after some crazy luck on 16.
His carabiner off the tee had clattered into the trees but bounced back to the fairway, which preceded the 30-year-old launching an eight-iron a monstrous distance of 219 yards to three feet. Birdie rallied, he was in the same boat as Hovland and needed at least one more birdie.
Playing the par-five 18th, DeChambeau trickled in a 10-footer to do just that and burst into a flurry of air shots after his 64. A moment later, Hovland, from the same distance, three-putted and deserved better than an initial bogey. and a 66.
On to Schauffele, who was on top again and had found a terrible spot in a fairway bunker with his drive on 17. He was now playing his own demons and after fueling his recovery on the right side of the green, he chipped to three feet to save par. The equation from there was simple and also complicated: one birdie the last and he was champion.
He went the hard way, with a drive that came a foot short of the fairway bunker. This left the ball above his feet, which were planted in the trap, and his approach came just short of the green, 36 yards from the flag. The field left a six-foot putt for all the marbles – he nailed it.