Xander Schauffele admitted it was a “dream come true” after successful his second main title in fast succession within the 152nd Open to finish an American clear sweep of the sport’s greatest titles.
Schauffele carded a flawless closing 65 at Royal Troon to complete 9 below par, two pictures away from in a single day chief Billy Horschel and Justin Rose, who had threatened to change into the primary English winner of the Claret Jug since 1992.
South Africa’s Thriston Lawrence, who held the lead after 11 holes of the ultimate spherical, completed a shot additional again in fourth following a 68.
SIT BACK AND REFLECT
“I simply can’t wait to drink out of it,” Schauffele mentioned as he cradled the Claret Jug. “It truly is a dream come true to be holding this.
“It means rather a lot, it’s one thing all of us play for. It undoubtedly hasn’t sunk in but and I can’t wait to take a seat again and have a second with this Claret Jug.”
Schauffele, who registered a serious document of 21 below par to win the US PGA at Valhalla in Might, is the primary participant to win two majors in a 12 months since Brooks Koepka in 2018.
The world quantity three can also be the seventh American winner within the final eight Opens at Royal Troon – Sweden’s Henrik Stenson having denied Phil Mickelson in an exciting duel in 2016 – and can head to Paris to defend his Olympic title in good type.
Schauffele, who has now completed no worse than 18th in his final 10 begins, was eighth within the Masters and seventh within the US Open both aspect of his US PGA triumph, the place he birdied the 72nd gap to edge out Bryson DeChambeau by a shot.
“I assumed it might assist me and it did, I had this sense of calm that I didn’t have enjoying the PGA,” Schauffele added.
“I mentioned to my caddie Austin (Kaiser) I felt calm on the 18th tee and he mentioned he felt like he was about to puke.”
JUSTIN ROSE
Rose was bidding to change into the primary qualifier to elevate the Claret Jug since Paul Lawrie in 1999, whereas the 4,053-day hole since his 2013 US Open victory at Merion would have set a brand new document.
The prospects appeared good when Rose birdied the second and fourth to overtake Horschel and once more when he birdied the eighth, just for a bogey on the twelfth to halt his momentum at simply the unsuitable time.
Taking part in alongside Horschel, Lawrence was reaping the rewards for an aggressive method as birdies on the third, fourth, seventh and ninth gave him the lead earlier than Schauffele, who had coated the entrance 9 in 34, produced a decisive burst.
A shocking method to the eleventh left Schauffele with a tap-in for the one birdie all day on the daunting par 4, one other on the thirteenth took him right into a share of the lead and Lawrence’s bogey on the twelfth handed Schauffele a bonus he would by no means relinquish.
CLOSING OUT
Additional birdies on the 14th and sixteenth gave Schauffele the luxurious of a three-shot lead and he accomplished a nerveless show with pars on the ultimate two holes earlier than Rose birdied the 18th to spherical off an outstanding 67.
Horschel birdied the sixteenth, seventeenth and 18th to hitch Rose in second, with Lawrence one other shot again after saving par on the final regardless of hitting his second shot into the face of a bunker and watching it fly again over his head onto the golf green.
Eire’s Shane Lowry, who held a two-shot lead on the midway stage earlier than struggling to a 77 on Saturday, shot 68 within the last spherical to complete sixth, with Jon Rahm, Sungjae Im and Scottie Scheffler three strokes additional again in seventh.
Masters champion and world primary Scheffler had been inside two of the lead till amazingly four-putting the ninth for a double bogey.
