Xander Schauffele won his second major of the year on Sunday after a brilliant final round saw him take victory in the Open Championship at Royal Troon.
The 30-year-old World No3 won the PGA Championship earlier this year and made it a clean sweep of American winners in majors in 2024 for the first time since 1982.
Schauffele became the first player since 2015 to win two majors in a calendar year and the first player since Rory McIlroy in 2014 to win both the PGA Championship and the Open in the same 12-month period.
In a final Royal Troon round without a bogey, Schauffele shot 65, six under par, to win by two and lift the famous Claret Jug.
He had a comfortable walk down the 18th fairway, the greatest walk in golf as some suggest, at that point three shots up and heading for a second major – his previous best finish at the Open came in 2018, where he was tied for second at Carnoustie.
Schauffele calm, caddie not so
“I just can’t wait to drink out of it,” Schauffele said. “My dad is here so he [can use the drink]
“This means a lot, it is a dream come true. It hasn’t sunk in. I can’t wait to sit and have a moment with this Claret Jug.
“I had this sense of calm [after winning the PGA], I felt collected. My caddie said he was about to puke on the 18th tee.”
England’s Justin Rose, who went through qualifying to reach the Open Championship, finished two shots back alongside Billy Horschel with Thriston Lawrence a further shot behind. Shane Lowry fell off the pace over the weekend and finished five shots back.
Schauffele became the seventh American winner at Troon in the last eight attempts, dating back to Arnold Palmer in 1962 – Henrik Stenson is the outlier.
For Dan Brown, ranked 272nd in the world and leading after the opening day, it was a week of career resurrection and his top-10 finish will see the Englishman invited back to the major next year, which will be held at Royal Portrush.
Calum Scott won the Silver Medal, finishing as the leading amateur.