Xander Schauffele makes the putt of his life for first Major triumph

LOUISVILLE – Faced with a life-changing, six-foot birdie putt, a nervous Xander Schauffele was determined it was finally the moment to seize his first Major title.

He took his putter at the par-five 18th hole in the final round of the PGA Championship, struck the ball and was not sure what happened next. That is when a roaring Valhalla crowd alerted him that, after heartache and near misses, he was at last a Major winner.

“I knew I had to birdie the last hole. I was trying to squeak a birdie in there somehow. I kept telling myself, ‘I need to earn this, I need to prove this to myself, and this is my time’,” he said.

He fired a six-under 65 to finish on 21-under 263, the lowest to-par score in Major history, and defeat fellow American Bryson DeChambeau by one stroke on May 19.

“Just a whirlwind of emotions,” said Schauffele, who rose to world No. 2 following his breakthrough.

“It feels amazing. Just a wide range of emotions for me. Very satisfying win. This is awesome. It’s super sweet. But when I break it down, I’m really proud of how I handled certain moments on the course different from the past.”

He had 12 top-10 finishes in Majors without a victory until his clutch putt fell into the hole. His triumph also ended a two-year winning drought since the 2022 Scottish Open, a run that included 21 top-10 PGA Tour efforts.

“I just kept telling myself I need to earn this, earn this and be in the moment, and I was able to do that. I believed in what I can do, and this is just fruits of it,” Schauffele said.

The reigning Olympic champion said this will seal a chance to defend his title at the Paris Games and give him extra motivation as well.

“It’s just a cherry on top. It’s totally separate to competing in the Olympics,” he said.

“It definitely helps with the qualifying process. That was my goal, to qualify. I imagine this win probably secures me into qualifying for the Olympics. That’s a whole different ball game, winning that one, but definitely be able to pull some confidence from this thing.”

When the moment of truth came, Schauffele handled the tension with poise and calm.

“I was pretty nervous. I walked up, I saw a little left to right (break). I kept reading it, kept kind of panning. Started to look right to left to me and I thought, ‘Oh, my gosh, this is not what I want for a winning putt’,” he said.

“Fortunately, it was uphill. I ended up playing it straight. It did go left, caught the left side. Just so much relief. I don’t really remember it lipping in. I just heard everyone roaring and I just looked up to the sky in relief. I’ve had that feeling in the past where I’ve done that and I wasn’t able to convert the putt and finally I hit some decent putts with better pace.”

Schauffele said he took inspiration from squandering a late lead and losing to Rory McIlroy at Quail Hollow at a PGA Tour event on May 12. The 30-year-old added: “I kind of used that as fuel, and it calmed me a little bit, knowing I’m coming into a Major in good form.

“All those close calls for me, even last week, that sort of feeling, it gets to you at some point. It just makes this even sweeter. I know it’s a Major but just winning in general, this is as sweet as it gets for me.”

He is happy not to be asked when he will finally win a Major.

“Definitely a chip on the shoulder. It’s a lot easier to answer it with this thing sitting next to me now. It was just fuel to my fire,” he said.

DeChambeau, who had a seven-under 64 that matched the low round of the day, said: “Proud of Xander for finally getting the job done. He’s an amazing golfer and well deserved Major champion now. On my side of the coin, disappointing. I played well. Shot 20-under in a Major championship.

“Proud of myself for the way I handled adversity. Definitely disappointing, but one that gives me a lot of momentum for the rest of the Majors.”

Norway’s Victor Hovland, the 2023 PGA Championship runner-up, was third on 266 after shooting a 66, while world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler fired a 65 to finish on 271 and share eighth with fellow Americans Billy Horschel (64) and Justin Thomas (68). Scheffler had his first over-par round of the year on May 18, a day after being arrested and jailed after a traffic incident at the entrance to Valhalla.

“I’m proud of how I fought. Kind of running on fumes,” he said.

Over at the LPGA Americas Open, world No. 1 Nelly Korda continued her remarkable year, clinching her sixth triumph on the Tour in 2024 with victory at the Liberty National on May 19.

Korda duelled with Australian Hannah Green throughout the final round in Jersey City, but Green made bogey on the final hole. Korda’s one-under round of 71 for a 14-under 274 total was enough for the one-stroke victory. AFP, REUTERS