PGA Championship: Xander Schauffele drains dramatic birdie on 18 to win first career major
Xander Schauffele is one of only two living men to own an Olympic gold medal in golf. But until Sunday, Schauffele hadn’t been able to claim any of golf’s biggest prizes. He has now. Schauffele used a final-round 65 to outlast Bryson DeChambeau and Viktor Hovland at the PGA Championship at Valhalla. Schauffele led or co-led every round in a chaotic, controversial major, and at last has a major to call his own.
Both DeChambeau and Hovland walked to the par-5 18th one back of Schauffele. Neither found the fairway on their drives — DeChambeau in a fairway bunker, Hovland in the left rough. Both had putts for birdie — DeChambeau from 11 feet, Hovland from 10. DeChambeau rolled his in … with a teardrop finish; Hovland missed.
BRYSON. CLUTCH.
He ties the lead with a birdie on 18. pic.twitter.com/r1dR4lXHlc
— Golf on CBS ⛳ (@GolfonCBS) May 19, 2024
That meant the 30-year-old Schauffele, two holes behind them, needed a birdie of his own to claim that elusive major. He scrambled for par at 17, then walked to 18 needing a birdie to avoid a playoff. Like DeChambeau, he missed the fairway, then faced an awkward stance in a sand trap on his second. He managed to rip his approach to the front of the green, pitch up to six feet, setting himself up for a birdie and the victory.
With DeChambeau watching on from the driving range, Schauffele faced the most important putt of his career … and curled it in for the victory.
The putt that made Xander Schauffele a PGA Champion! #PGAChamp pic.twitter.com/SjBehodFWu
— PGA Championship (@PGAChampionship) May 19, 2024
At 21-under, it’s the lowest score to par in major championship history.
