Schauffele wins PGA Championship for long-awaited first major
American Xander Schauffele won the PGA Championship by one shot over LIV Golf's Bryson DeChambeau at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky, on Sunday, claiming his long-awaited first major title.
Schauffele, playing his 28th major, finished with a six-under-par 65 at Valhalla, putting him at 21 under for the week. The victory also propelled Schauffele to a career-high second in the world rankings.
Schauffele's tee shot at the 18th landed on the edge of a fairway bunker, forcing him to take a compromised stance inside the hazard for his second shot, which he left just in front of the green.
A stone-cold Schauffele then demonstrated steel nerves as he chipped to six feet from where he slammed the door by draining the biggest birdie of his career for the lowest-ever winning score to par in a major championship.
"I really didn't want to go into a playoff against Bryson," Olympic champion Schauffele said. "I'm assuming we probably would have played 18. It would have been a lot of work. I just told myself, this is my opportunity, and just capture it."
DeChambeau shot a bogey-free seven-under-par 64 to finish two strokes ahead of Viktor Hovland (66), whose valiant attempt to become the first Norwegian to win a major fell short at the final hole.
DeChambeau and Hovland were playing in the third-to-last pairing and made pressure-packed 10-foot birdie putts on the final hole. DeChambeau drained his, but Hovland's effort curled away, resulting in bogey and third place.
That left the outcome in the hands of Schauffele, who was playing the par-four 17th and did well to save par after his tee shot hit a fairway bunker before sealing the deal at the 18th while DeChambeau watched on a nearby screen.
DeChambeau handled the defeat with class, as the 2020 U.S. Open champion, who had been warming up in preparation for a three-hole aggregate score playoff, took the time to find and congratulate Schauffele.
"It's cool to see him - not only he's just a great human being, but an unbelievable golfer, and it shows this week. Super happy for him," said DeChambeau.
"On my side of the coin, disappointing, but, whatever. I played well. Didn't strike it my best all week. Felt like I had my 'B' game pretty much."
A day that started with seven players within four strokes of overnight co-leaders Schauffele and Collin Morikawa (71), turned into a thrilling three-horse race down the back nine.
Schauffele had a two-shot lead at the turn, but it vanished when he walked off the 10th green, where his par putt lipped out shortly after Hovland, who was playing two groups ahead, birdied the par-four 12th.
Hovland then poured a 15-foot putt into the centre of the cup at the par-four 13th, his third birdie in a four-hole stretch, to take the lead away from Schauffele.
Despite his bogey, a determined Schauffele refused to back down from the challenge and demonstrated his resolve, hitting birdies at the 11th and 12th holes to regain the outright lead before going on to close the deal.
DeChambeau might not have been in contention if not for a lucky break at the par-four 16th, where his tee shot was headed for a steep bank of thick rough before bouncing off a tree and into the fairway.
DeChambeau took full advantage, hitting a brilliant approach shot from 219 yards out that settled three feet from the cup, from which he made birdie to get within one.
"Thank you to the tree," a laughing DeChambeau said. "You got to have breaks like that happen. I fully took advantage of that second shot, put it in there close, hit a great shot."
Scottie Scheffler, who was arrested outside Valhalla before Friday's second round after an altercation with police, started eight shots behind the leaders and finished with a six-under-par 65, his lowest round of the week.
Scheffler's response a day after his par-or-better streak ended at 42 rounds was impressive, but it proved to be too little, too late in his quest for a fifth win in six starts.
"I'm trying to figure out how quickly I can get home from here and, yeah, that's pretty much it," said Scheffler. "I think I'm just fairly tired and ready to get home."
Defending champion Brooks Koepka, who started the day 11 shots behind the co-leaders, made five birdies in his first 12 holes en route to a five-under-par 66.
"Not very good," LIV Golf's Koepka said when asked to assess a week where he was looking to become the PGA Championship's first repeat winner since he retained the title in 2019. "I think it's pretty obvious, isn't it."
Jordan Spieth, who began the day seven shots behind the lead and had a slim chance of completing the career Grand Slam of golf's four majors, closed with a 73.
Northern Irishman Rory McIlroy, who has been stuck at four majors since his 2014 PGA Championship victory at Valhalla, started the day seven shots back of the co-leaders and finished tied for 12th after a four-under-par 67.
SportsLigue