Xander Schauffele secured a second major victory of the season after pulling clear of a congested leaderboard to claim an impressive two-shot win at The 152nd Open.
Schauffele went into the final round as one of six players sharing second at Royal Troon, a shot behind Billy Horschel, but took control after following back-to-back birdies from the sixth with four more in a six-hole stretch after the turn.
The reigning PGA champion closed out a stunning bogey-free 65 to finish on nine under, seeing him finish two clear of playing partner Justin Rose – who birdied two of the last three holes of his final-round 67 – and overnight leader Billy Horschel.
South Africa’s Thriston Lawrence was one ahead with seven to play but finished three strokes back in fourth after Schauffele’s back-nine birdie burst, with Russell Henley claiming fifth spot ahead of Shane Lowry as world No 1 Scottie Scheffler ended the week in tied-seventh.
Schauffele’s victory sees him become the first player since Rory McIlroy to win the PGA Championship and The Open in the same year, with the latest success lifting him above the Northern Irishman – who missed the cut – to second in the world rankings.
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Schauffele suggested he was looking forward to continuing the tradition of having a drink from the famous Claret Jug
Schauffele secures Claret Jug after thrilling Sunday
Horschel extended his overnight lead with an opening-hole birdie but saw Rose close the gap with a birdie at the next, with the American bogeying the third to leave himself in a three-way tie at the top when playing partner Lawrence rolled in from 12 feet.
All three players took advantage of the par-five fourth to get to five under, while Lowry made four birdies in a five-hole stretch and Scheffler made back-to-back gains from the sixth to get the pair within one on a bunched leaderboard.
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Watch Shane Lowry’s four birdies on the front nine at Royal Troon as he made the turn in three-under-par as he closed in on the leaders at the Open Championship
Schauffele ended a run of pars by making a six-foot birdie at the sixth and another from a similar distance at the next to briefly make it a four-way tie, only for Horschel – playing two groups – to convert from 15 feet at the sixth to edge back ahead.
Rose birdied the iconic Postage Stamp, where Horschel failed to get up and down from the sand to save par, while Lawrence reached the turn one ahead after following a 10-foot birdie at the seventh by adding another at the ninth to close a front-nine 32.
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Justin Rose took a share of the lead with a brilliant birdie on Royal Troon’s notorious ‘Postage Stamp’ eighth hole
Horschel’s hopes faded when a bogey to start the back nine dropped him three behind, while Schauffele closed on the lead when he responded to a missed birdie chance at the 10th by firing his approach at the next to within three feet of the flag.
The 30-year-old slotted in from 15 feet at the par-four 13th, which moved him one ahead when Lawrence hit a wayward approach into the 12th and made bogey, with Schauffele adding another at the par-three 14th to move two clear of the chasing pack.
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Thriston Lawrence made an impressive birdie on the ninth hole at Royal Troon to take the outright lead in the Open Championship
Schauffele two-putted the 15th and produced a sensational chip over a bunker to set up a close-range birdie at the par-five next, where playing partner Rose ended a run of pars by two-putting from 50 feet to also pick up a shot and join Lawrence in tied-second.
A stress-free par at the 17th maintained Schauffele’s three-shot buffer heading to the par-four last, where a par was enough to be crowned Champion Golfer of the Year and become the first player since Brooks Koepka in 2018 to win two men’s majors in a calendar year.
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Schauffele talks Sky Sports through some of his key shots from his final round at Royal Troon
“I think winning the first one helped me a lot today on the back nine,” Schauffele said. “I had some feeling of calmness come through. It was very helpful on what has been one of the hardest back nines I’ve ever played in a tournament.
“It’s a dream come true to win two majors in one year. It took me forever just to win one and to have two now is something else. It means a lot, it’s something all of us play for. It definitely hasn’t sunk in yet and I can’t wait to sit back and have a moment with this Claret Jug.”
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Justin Rose had a strong final day at Royal Troon but it wasn’t enough to lift the claret jug.
Rose made a 15-foot birdie at the last closed a final-round 67 and moved him to seven under, extending the wait for an English winner at The Open, while Horschel birdied each of his last three holes to also claim a share of second.
Lawrence made pars on each of his last six holes to end the week on six under ahead of Russell Henley, as Shane Lowry claimed sixth after a three-under 68, as Scheffler shared seventh spot with former world No 1 Jon Rahm and Korea’s Sungjae Im.
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Scottie Scheffler’s putting woes returned during the final round of The Open as he three-putted the ninth green as his hopes of winning the Claret Jug faded
England’s Dan Brown, who held the first-round lead and went into the final day tied-second, secured a return to next year’s Open Championship at Royal Portrush for securing a share of tenth spot with Matt Jordan and Adam Scott.
What’s next?
The PGA Tour heads to Minnesota for the 3M Open at TPC Twin Cities, with live coverage on Thursday from 6pm on Sky Sports Golf. The next regular DP World Tour event is the D+D Real Czech Masters from August 15-18. Stream the PGA Tour, majors and more top sport with NOW.
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