Xander Schauffele won the PGA Championship and the British Open, giving the Americans a clean sweep of the 2024 majors.
The 2024 major championship season has come to an end, with Xander Schauffele lifting the claret jug at Royal Troon, his second win of the summer in one of golf’s four majors.
Here, we look back at the victories of the world number two and fellow Americans Scottie Scheffler and Bryson DeChambeau.
Scheffler wins green jacket again
As always, expectations are high when the world's top players drive through Magnolia Lane at the Masters for the first major of the year, but we haven't seen a more popular player since the great Tiger Woods was at the top of his game. World No. 1 Scheffler has finished first, second in his last three starts on the PGA Tour and already wore a green jacket two years ago, and it's easy to see why most observers are bullish on him.
He went from being one shot behind on the first day to being tied for the lead on the second day and one shot ahead through 54 holes, but it didn’t go his way on Sunday. When his Ryder Cup teammate Max Homa birdied the eighth hole, the lead was four-way, with Ludwig Oberg and Collin Morikawa also both at six under. But Scheffler kept going, making three consecutive birdies in the three holes of the eighth. Meanwhile, Morikawa and Oberg had double bogeys on the ninth and 10th holes, respectively. Homa soon followed with a birdie on the par-3 12th hole. Although Oberg birdied the 13th and 14th holes to try to get back in the lead, Scheffler kept fighting and shot 68 to win by four shots at 11 under.
“It's been a long week, a hard week,” Scheffler said. “The golf course was very challenging and to be able to sit here with this jacket on again and bring it home is very special. I'm going to go home and enjoy my win tonight.”
While Scheffler dominated the headlines, it was also a successful week for Oberg, who finished second in his major debut and continued his amazing run of form. Tommy Fleetwood tied for third, his best finish at the Masters, while Woods made more history, making his 24th consecutive cut at Augusta National.
Schauffele wins first major title in record-breaking fashion at Valhalla
While Scheffler was undoubtedly the best player in the world heading into the PGA Championship, if there was a next Player of the Year award, it would probably go to Schauffele. He has two second-place finishes and six top-10s in 12 starts in 2024 to move to No. 3 in the Official World Golf Ranking, while he also has 12 top-10s and two runner-up finishes in majors. In 2023, he tied the record for the lowest score in a major with a 62 at the U.S. Open, and he shot another 62 on the first day at Valhalla, becoming the first player to do so twice. Over the next 54 holes, his three-shot lead eroded, and he entered the final day tied for the lead, still standing on the 18th tee when compatriot DeChambeau shot a 64 to set his club goal at 20 under. After finding an awkward tee shot position, it looked like we were headed for overtime, but then he hit a great second shot, and then a beautiful pitch, and Schauffele holed it from six feet for the final birdie and 65, the lowest par in major championship history.
“I was actually a little emotional after the putt went in,” he said. “I haven’t won in a while, and I’ve been saying all week that I just need to stay in my fairway. Man, it was hard to stay in my fairway today, but I was just trying to stay focused all day on what I wanted to do and play every hole well. I had a little weird break coming into the house, but it’s all good now.”
Shane Lowry joined Xander Schauffele in the history books with a 62 on day three, helping him join Viktor Hovland, Thomas Detry, Justin Rose, Billy Horschel and Robert MacIntyre in the top 10.
DeChambeau’s runner-up finish means he has finished in the top 10 in seven of the eight majors held through 2024, and his time is coming.
DeChambeau wins second U.S. Open in dramatic fashion
DeChambeau has long been one of golf's most enigmatic figures, someone who seemed born for the big stage but who finished in the top 10 just four times in his first 28 majors between 2015 and 2023. One of those, of course, was winning the U.S. Open in 2020, a feat he repeated four years later with the momentum of the 2024 major. The local favorite went into the final day at Pinehurst with a three-shot lead but found himself two shots behind as Rory McIlroy made three birdies in four holes after the turn, but the Northern Irishman surrendered them, missing short putts on the 16th and 18th for a 69. That meant DeChambeau needed to make par on the final hole, and despite a shaky tee shot that landed in a bunker with his second shot, he pulled off a stunning up-and-down 71, six under, one shot more than McIlroy.
“I couldn’t believe the ups and downs on that last shot, that was probably the best shot of my life,” DeChambeau said. “It’s amazing to win this prestigious championship — it’s going to be the highlight of my life.”
Matthieu Pavon of France finished alone in fifth place, his best result at a major, and local players took seven of the top 11 spots in North Carolina.
Schauffele gets double win at Troon Stadium
Winning majors is hard, and winning multiple majors in the same season tends to be an accomplishment for a select few in golf. At the season's final major, the British Open, the last player to win two titles in the same year was Brooks Koepka in 2018, and the last to complete a PGA and British Open double in a calendar year was McIlroy four years ago. But Schauffele is no stranger to winning streaks, having won the Travelers Championship, JP McManus Pro-Am and Genesis Scottish Open in three consecutive weeks in the summer of 2022, and he has four top-20 finishes heading into Troon after his PGA win.
An opening 69 was followed by consecutive rounds of 72-69 in very difficult conditions, ensuring he was just one stroke behind the leader heading into the final day. At the turn, nothing was decided, but Schauffele found another rhythm, hitting his second shot to three feet on the 11th, leaving himself at 16 feet on the 13th, and taking the lead thanks to Thriston Lawrence’s bogey on the 12th. On the 14th, he hit a brilliant tee shot to 12 feet, followed by another deft up-and-down shot on the 16th, giving Schauffele a three-stroke lead, and after a 65, he won by two strokes at nine under.
“It was an amazing feeling to be standing in 18th place, seeing the yellow leader board and seeing the fans standing up and ovating,” he said. “It was truly one of the coolest feelings of my life. I walked off with a chill but had to refocus quickly because the race wasn’t over. It’s an amazing feeling to be standing here with the claret jug. At the end of the day, it’s just a result and I really believe that.”
It was an exciting week for the DP World Tour, with Billy Horschel and Justin Rose tied for second, one shot ahead of Lawrence and two ahead of Lowry. Qualifier Dan Brown had one of the season's legends in his first major, leading after the first round and finishing in the top ten.
