Xander Schauffele came out on top at the 152nd British Open, winning by two strokes to claim his second major victory of the season.
Schauffele was one of six players tied for second at Royal Troon entering the final round, one shot behind Billy Horschel, but he took control with two straight birdies starting on the sixth hole and four more in a six-hole stretch after the turn.
The defending champion finished with a stunning bogey-free 65 at nine under, two shots ahead of playing partner Justin Rose, who birdied two of his final three holes during his final-round 67, and overnight leader Billy Horschel.
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Watch Xander Schauffele make all six birdies in the final round of the Royal Troon Open to claim his second major title
South African Sriston Lawrence led by one stroke with seven to go but fell three shots back to fourth after Schauffele birdied the back nine, while Russell Henley passed Sean Lowry for fifth and world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler tied for seventh.
Xander Schauffele's victory made him the first player since Rory McIlroy to win the PGA Championship and British Open in the same year, and the latest success moved him above the Northern Irishman, who failed to qualify, to second in the world rankings.
Xander Schauffele wins Claret Jug after Sunday's stellar performance
Horschel birdied the first hole to extend his overnight lead, but Rose closed the gap with a birdie on the next hole. However, the American bogeyed the third hole and was trapped in a three-way tie for first place when partner Lawrence rolled into the hole from 12 feet.
All three players took advantage of the par-5 fourth hole to get to five under, with Lowry grabbing four birdies in five holes and Scheffler winning consecutively starting from the sixth hole, bringing the two to just one stroke apart on the leaderboard.
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Watch Sean Lowry make four birdies on the front nine at Royal Troon Golf Club and move within three strokes of the British Open lead
Schauffele capped a string of pars with a six-foot birdie on the sixth hole and added another birdie from a similar distance on the next hole to tie the four at one point, but Horschel — who played two groups — birdied the sixth hole from 15 feet to regain the lead.
Rose birdied the iconic postage stamp hole, where Horschel failed to get up from a bunker for par, and Lawrence followed up his 10-foot birdie on the seventh with another birdie on the ninth to finish the front nine in 32 and take the lead at the first turn.
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Justin Rose tied for the lead with a spectacular birdie on Royal Troon's famous 'Postage Stamp' eighth hole
Horschel’s hopes were dashed when he bogeyed the back nine and fell three shots behind, while Schauffele cut his lead by hitting his approach to three feet from the pin on the next hole after missing a birdie chance on the 10th.
The 30-year-old holed out from 15 feet on the par-4 13th to give him a one-shot lead, while Lawrence’s approach on the 12th went off target and resulted in bogey, and Schauffele added another on the par-3 14th to move two shots ahead of his pursuers.
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Sriston Lawrence scores impressive birdie on Royal Troon's ninth hole to take the lead in the Open Championship
Schauffele two-putted on the 15th and then hit a great chip shot over a bunker to set up a close birdie on the following par-5, where his partner Rose capped off a string of pars with a 50-foot two-putt to also take a shot and tie for second with Lawrence.
An easy par on the 17th kept Schauffele at three shots ahead heading into the par-4 final hole, where a par would have been enough to crown him the champion golfer of the year and become the first player since Brooks Koepka in 2018 to win both men’s majors in one year.
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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 to end his final round with a 67 that moved him to 7 under and extended his wait for a British Open title, while Horschel birdied his final three holes to tie for second.
Lawrence shot par on his final six holes to finish the week at six under, ahead of Russell Henley, with Shane Lowry finishing sixth with a three-under 68 and Scheffler tied for seventh with former world No. 1 Jon Rahm and South Korea's Sungjae Im.
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Scottie Scheffler once again struggled with his putting in the final round of the Open Championship, three-putting on the ninth green and ending his hopes of winning the Claret Jug.
Britain's Dan Brown led after the first round and tied for second on the final day, with Matt Jordan and Adam Scott in 10th place, thus qualifying to return to the Royal Portrush Open next year.
What's next?
The PGA Tour heads to Minnesota for the 3M Open at TPC Twin Cities, with Sky Sports Golf broadcasting live from 6pm on Thursday. The next regular DP World Tour event is the D+D Czech Masters from August 15-18. Watch the PGA Tour, Majors, and more top sports with NOW.
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