Xander Schauffele wins the PGA Championship, claiming his first major title

Xander Schauffele had a big monkey off his back at Valhalla this week.

World No. 3 has been playing the best golf in the world by anyone not named Scottie Scheffler, but he hasn't had enough to show for it. Just last Sunday, Schauffele went two-for-eight in his 54-hole career on the PGA Tour, as Rory McIlroy edged him to win the Wells Fargo Championship. Schauffele has not won since July 2022.

This week in Valhalla, investigate the text. Schauffele led after each of the first three rounds, setting the pace for Derby City with a record 62 wins on Thursday.

On Sunday, a day that has often plagued him in the big stages, Schaffele came out of the gates strong and on pace. He finished with a 6-under 65 to set a new major tournament record of 21 under and won the PGA Championship by a shot over Bryson DeChambeau.

DeChambeau made an 11-foot birdie putt on the 72nd hole to post 20 under, forcing Schauffele to make a similar birdie to avoid a playoff. Despite leaving his shot in a poor position on the lip of the fairway bunker on the par-5 finisher, Schauffele nailed the iron just short of the left green. From there, he pitched to six feet and made the putt. As the ball bounced, Schauffele threw his hands in the air in a rare fashion.

“I was actually upset after the putt went in,” Schauffele said afterward. “It's been a while since I've won, and I just really — I've been saying it all week, I just need to stay on track.

“Man, it was hard to stay in my lane today, but I tried all day to focus on what I'm trying to do and put all the pits in front of me.”

He then turned and welcomed Austin Kaiser, his longtime friend and college teammate at San Diego State.

The first major win for Schauffele, who has 11 top-10 finishes in golf's four majors, including runner-up finishes at the 2018 Open Championship and the 2019 Masters, came after holding a 54-hole lead. , as he did this week in Kentucky.

Schauffele's joint lead with Collin Morikawa Sunday didn't last long as Schauffele suddenly opened a bunker left the first green and holed a 27-footer to take the lead.

He added three more birdies on the front nine before a bogey on the 5th 10th, one of Valhalla's easier holes, put him back in a tie, this time with Viktor Hovland.

Hovland, who revealed he considered skipping the PGA Tour this week after a poor start to the 2024 season, found his match at Valhalla and made six birdies in nine holes between Nos. 5 and 13 to move ahead of Schauffele at 1 -19 less. Playing on the same team, DeChambeau almost matched him for a shot and shot from behind, tied with Schauffele.

Schauffele repeated by chipping her next two approaches on the par-3 11th and par-4 12th to within 10 feet and converting both birdie putts to get to 20 under with six holes to play.

DeChambeau, the 2020 US Open winner, finished his final round of 64 by dropping the second shot on 16 to within four feet; benefiting from a lucky bounce in the trees to the left on his 17th shot; then 18 birdies, the easiest hole at Valhalla this week, from the fairway bunker to the left.

Hovland had a chance to match DeChambeau at 20-under at 18, but missed from 10 feet and missed his attempt to finish at 18-under for third place alone. He was the runner-up last year at Oak Hill.

After getting up and down from the right of the 17th green to stay tied with DeChambeau, Schauffele rolled an awkward lie into the lip of the same fairway bunker DeChambeau had played into for his second shot on the green. From the left fairway, Schauffele hit the bump and ran to check and stop six feet below the hole, from where he was able to get the putt to roll from the left side of the cup.

“I think I'm probably a little short on patience if the putt doesn't go in, but I didn't want to go into a playoff against Bryson,” Schauffele joked.

The 2024 PGA Championship was defined by low scoring all week as it became the first major to have two players finish at 20 under or over. Not only was it a new record for the 21-year-old Schauffele, but his total of 263 also set a new major league record.

Jack Hirsh

Golf.com Editor

Jack Hirsh is an assistant editor at GOLF. A native of Pennsylvania, Jack is a 2020 graduate of Penn State University, earning degrees in broadcast journalism and political science. He was the captain of his high school golf team and recently returned to the program to serve as the head coach. Jack is also *still* trying to stay competitive with the local novices. Before joining GOLF, Jack spent two years working at a TV station in Bend, Oregon, primarily as a reporter/multimedia reporter, but also producing, anchoring and presenting even the weather. He can be reached at [email protected].