Xander Schauffele claimed his second major victory of the season after powering through a crowded leaderboard to claim an impressive two-shot victory at the 152nd Open.
Schauffele entered the final round as one of six players sharing second place at Royal Troon, one shot behind Billy Horschel, but took control after following consecutive birdies from the sixth with four more in a six-hole stretch after the turn.
The reigning PGA champion shot a superb bogey-free 65 to finish on nine under par, seeing him finish two ahead of playing partner Justin Rose – who birdied two of the last three holes of his final-round 67 – and overnight leader Billy Horschel.
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Watch Xander Schauffele’s six birdies in the final round of The Open at Royal Troon as he wins a second major title
South African Thriston Lawrence was one shot ahead with seven shots remaining but finished three shots back in fourth after Schauffele birdied the final nine, with Russell Henley taking fifth ahead of Shane Lowry while world number one Scottie Scheffler finished the week tied for seventh.
Schauffele’s victory makes him the first player since Rory McIlroy to win the PGA Championship and The Open in the same year, with the latter success propelling him above the Northern Irishman – who missed the cut – into second place in the world rankings.
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Schauffele suggested he was looking forward to continuing the tradition of drinking from the famous Claret Jug.
Schauffele wins Claret Jug after thrilling Sunday
Horschel extended his overnight lead with a birdie on the first hole but saw Rose close the gap with a birdie on the next hole, the American having bogeyed the third to find himself tied at three for the lead when his playing partner Lawrence putted in from 12 feet.
All three players took advantage of the par-five fourth hole to reach 5 under par, while Lowry made four birdies in five holes and Scheffler made back-to-back gains from the sixth hole to bring the pair within one point of a group leaderboard.
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Watch Shane Lowry’s four birdies on the front nine at Royal Troon as he made the turn at three under par as he closed in on the leaders at The Open Championship
Schauffele ended a string of pars with a six-foot birdie on the sixth hole and another from a similar distance on the next to briefly tie things at four, only for Horschel – playing two groups – to convert from 15 feet on the sixth hole to regain the lead.
Rose birdied the iconic Postage Stamp, where Horschel failed to get up and down from the sand to save par, while Lawrence reached the turn with a lead after following a 10-foot birdie putt at the seventh by adding another at the ninth to close out a 32 on the front nine.
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Justin Rose shared the lead with a superb birdie on Royal Troon’s famous “Postage Stamp” eighth hole
Horschel’s hopes were dashed when a bogey early in the back nine dropped him to three holes, while Schauffele moved closer to the lead when he responded to a missed birdie chance on the 10th hole by hitting his approach to within three feet of the flag.
The 30-year-old chipped in from 15 feet on the par-four 13th hole to take a one-shot lead when Lawrence hit a wayward approach on the 12th hole and made bogey, with Schauffele adding another on the par-three 14th hole to take a two-shot lead over the chasing pack.
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Thriston Lawrence made an impressive birdie on the ninth hole at Royal Troon to take the lead in the Open Championship
Schauffele two-putted the 15th and produced a sensational chip over a bunker to set up a short-range birdie on the next par-five, where his playing partner Rose ended a string of pars by two-putting from 50 feet to also pull within one stroke and join Lawrence in a tie for second.
A stress-free par on the 17th hole allowed Schauffele to maintain a three-shot lead heading into the par-four final hole, where par was enough to be crowned golf’s champion of the year and become the first player since Brooks Koepka in 2018 to win two men’s majors in a calendar year.
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Schauffele talks to Sky Sports about some of his key shots in his final round at Royal Troon
“I think winning the first hole helped me a lot today on the back nine,” Schauffele said. “I felt a certain calmness. That was very helpful on what was one of the toughest back nines I’ve ever played in a tournament.”
“It’s a dream come true to win two majors in one year. It took me forever to win one and to have two now is something else. It means a lot, it’s something we all play for. I haven’t realised yet that I can do it and I can’t wait to sit down and spend some time with that Claret Jug.”
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Justin Rose had a solid final day at Royal Troon but it wasn’t enough to lift the claret jug.
Rose birdied the final hole from 15 feet to cap a final round of 67 and move to seven under par, extending the wait for an English winner at The Open, while Horschel birdied each of his final three holes to also claim a share of second place.
Lawrence made pars on each of his last six holes to finish the week six under par ahead of Russell Henley, while Shane Lowry moved into sixth place after a three-under 68, while Scheffler shared seventh place with former world number one Jon Rahm and Korea’s Sungjae Im.
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Scottie Scheffler’s putting woes returned in the final round of The Open as he three-putted on the ninth green as his hopes of winning the Claret Jug faded
England’s Dan Brown, who led in the first round and went into the final day tied for second, secured his return to next year’s Open Championship at Royal Portrush by securing a shared tenth place with Matt Jordan and Adam Scott.
And after?
The PGA Tour heads to Minnesota for the 3M Open at TPC Twin Cities, with live coverage on Thursday from 6pm on Sky Sports Golf. The next regular DP World Tour event is the D+D Real Czech Masters from 15-18 August. Stream the PGA Tour, Majors and other top sports with NOW.
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