Weekly PGA Recap: X-ceptional Stuff

This article is part of our Weekly PGA Recap series.

The title of "Champion Golfer of the Year" is bestowed upon and specific to the winner of the Open Championship. But it sounds like it could be a more far-reaching moniker, one that could encompass, well, an entire year.

Which brings us to Xander Schauffele.

Schauffele ran away to win the 152nd Open Championship at tenacious Royal Troon on Sunday for his second career major title and, notably, his second major title this year.

He shot a scintillating 4-under 31 on one of the hardest back nines in all of golf for a 6-under 65 and came from behind to defeat the gallant tandem of Justin Rose and Billy Horschel by two strokes. "Best round I've played," Schauffele said, succinctly. For the week, Schauffele shot 9-under. 

After so often coming close through 26 career majors, the world's No. 2-ranked golfer has now picked off two of the past three, having previously captured the PGA Championship in May.

Schauffele has thus rung up a series of notable accomplishments:

• First to win two majors in a year since Brooks Koepka in 2018. Others to do it recently were Rory McIlroy (2014) and Jordan Spieth (2015).
• First to win the PGA Championship and Open Championship in the same year since McIlroy (2014).
• Joined Tiger Woods (2000, 2005) and Spieth (2015) as the only golfers since 1980 to win two majors in a year while finishing top-8 in all of them.
• Had the biggest hand in the first American sweep of the majors since 1982. U.S. golfers have now won seven in a row dating to Jon Rahm's 2023 Masters triumph.

In most years, the winner of two majors would be considered the best golfer of the year -- the Champion Golfer of the Year, if you will. But Scottie Scheffler will have a rather large say in who will win the PGA Tour's Player of the Year. First of all, it's not over, with two regular-season tournaments and then the three-event playoffs ahead. While Scheffler has only one major, he also has won THE PLAYERS and four Signature Events. Schauffele has won only two majors.

The Scheffler-Schauffele debate -- or is it the Schauffele-Scheffler debate? -- has strong points to be made on both sides.

Even before this week, Schauffele was clearly the second-best golfer in the world behind Scheffler. In 17 tournaments beforehand, he had 16 top-25s, 11 top-10s, six top-5s, two runners-up and the one win.

Let's also mention here that, while this shouldn't affect the Player of the Year, Schauffele is about to defend his Olympic title in two weeks in Paris. Scheffler will also be a part of the U.S. contingent. Two majors and Olympic gold? That sounds pretty sweet.

The natural question that comes up after every major: When will the winner win his next? There was no reason to suggest that Schauffele would win a second so soon. After all, winning any major is hard, no matter how good you are. Phil Mickelson needed seven more majors to win his second after he finally broke through at the 2004 Masters.

Clearly, the 30-year-old Schauffele is not done winning majors. He's had multiple top-5s in both the Masters and U.S. Open, the majors he hasn't won. He was T8 and T7 in them this year, respectively.

"It was hard. It was very difficult," Schauffele said. "I think winning the first one helped me a lot today on the back nine. I had some feeling of calmness come through. It was very helpful on what has been one of the hardest back nines I've ever played in a tournament.

"I mean, it's a dream come true to win two majors in one year. It took me forever just to win one, and to have two now is something else."

MONDAY BACKSPIN

Justin Rose
The Englishman wanted this one so badly, it was quite evident. He's now played in 21 Opens and this was his second runner-up (2018). At 44, Rose showed he is not quite done yet. He might not be able to be as consistent as he used to be – who can? – but this result was a huge boost for extending his career. He'll play in all the 2025 majors thanks to a top-4 finish. He's up to No. 34 in the world.

Billy Horschel
This was probably Horschel's best shot at a major title. It wasn't that long ago that his career appeared to be irrevocably backsliding. After all, he was in this Open Championship only because he won the DP World Tour's flagship BMW PGA Championship – three years ago. Horschel won the 2022 Memorial, then shot an 84 in the opening round as the defending champion. It was bad. He didn't qualify for the 2024 Masters after playing 20 majors in a row. But then he swallowed his pride, went to an opposite-field event the week after Augusta and won in the Dominican Republic. Since then? T8 at the PGA Championship, T41 at the U.S. Open and now shared runner-up at the British. Not many guys in their late 30s can turn it around.  But Horschel is back to No. 33 in the world and he will return to the Masters and all the other majors next year. 

Thriston Lawrence
The little-known South African had the solo lead on the back nine on Sunday till Schauffele surged. Yes, it was a surprise, but Lawrence has some game. He won on the DP World tour last year and has three runners-up this year. He was ranked in the top-100 entering the week and is now XXth. With 325 FedEx Cup points, Lawrence was eligible for special temporary membership on the PGA Tour. He took it, and thus will play this week at the 3M Open. Lastly, if we take a bit of a victory lap, Lawrence was one of our deep long shots in the DraftKings preview article. He was priced at $5700. If you had him, it had to be sweet.

Russell Henley
Henley finished fifth – just outside the top-4 needed to get into all the majors next year. But he'll have no trouble regardless. He's now up to a career-best No. 12 in the world, and he's done it at age 35. He is coming off a tie for seventh at the U.S. Open after a top-25 at the PGA and a made cut at the Masters. Really, is there any reason Henley should not be on the U.S. Presidents Cup team this fall? 

Shane Lowry
For a good part of the week, it looked like Lowry's tournament, heading toward a second Claret Jug. But a disastrous back-nine on Saturday led to a 77. He rebounded nicely on Sunday, but he was too far back. Next year, Lowry will return to the scene of his greatest triumph (no, not as defending champion of the Zurich Classic) – Royal Portrush, where he won the 2019 Open.

Scottie Scheffler
Scheffler did not have his A game and, oftentimes during the week, even his B game. But he still finished tied for seventh. And that was with a closing double.

Jon Rahm
Finally, Rahm showed up in a 2024 major. He didn't contend in tying for seventh. But after a T45 at the Masters, an MC at the PGA and pre-tournament injury WD at the U.S. Open, he can at least take some solace and somewhat silence the critics who say that playing LIV Golf doesn't prepare you for the biggest tournaments in the toughest fields.
  
Sungjae Im
Im's season had been a mixed bag: Lots of great results but not in the majors, where he had missed the first three cuts. He also missed two of four last year. But after barely making the cut on Friday, he was great on the weekend and tied for seventh. Recent form would suggest Im would continue to play well in the closing weeks of the 2024 season.

Adam Scott
In his 93rd straight major, the 44-year-old Scott tied for 10th -- his first top-10 in a major in five years. That gets him a return invite to the Open next year. Like another 40-something in Rose, Scott can't do it as consistently as he used to. But he can still do it. Scott made the cut in three majors this year – the 15th straight year he's made the cut in at least three. A remarkable stretch of excellence.

Matthew Jordan
The darling of last year's Open who finished top-10 at his home course at Royal Liverpool to get an automatic invite this year has done it again. Jordan finished top-10 to book his ticket to Royal Portrush next year. The Englishman entered the week ranked 198th in the world and should surpass his career best of 168th. 

Daniel Brown
Brown will be remembered for leading the Open for a bit -- and for smoking heaters and posing for selfies mid-round. And those stories will surely be recounted next year, as the 261st-ranked Englishman tied for 10th to earn an invite to Royal Portrush.

Padraig Harrington
The 52-year-old Champions Tour star, playing in his 27th Open, tied for 22nd. It was a great week for the old guys.

Jordan Spieth
Spieth tied for 25th. That's just his fourth top-25 all year and first since April. Beginning with his Open win in 2017, he's finished at least top-25 every year. For all the poor play back in the States the past few years, Spieth still delivers across the pond. -- the DP World Tour would welcome him!

Justin Thomas
Thomas opened with a 68, then went 78-67-77. It added up to a whiplash-like T31. He's never been great at the Open and, technically, he still hasn't been. But two great rounds are more than he usually has. It wasn't a great year in the majors outside of a T8 at the PGA. Thomas is now ranked 29th in the world.

Dustin Johnson
Johnson made the cut, which was no given the way he's played the past couple of years. He was even in the top-10 on the leaderboard for a bit. But a 4-over Sunday relegated him into a tie for 31st. His athletic ability is so off-the-charts great that he can't help but play well on occasion. But as much as anyone who's gone to LIV, it seems the breakaway tour has zapped Johnson of his competitive fire.

Brooks Koepka
A lost season in the majors for the five-time major winner. Koepka did not have a top-25 in the four tournaments (two T26s) and tied for 43rd at Troon. He has had one top-25 in the six majors since he won the 2023 PGA Championship.

Calum Scott
The low amateur with a tie for 43rd will now return to Texas Tech for his senior season. So that means that Scott, from Scotland, could be a pro by this time next year. The college guys keep coming. 

Brian Harman
The defending champion made the cut, which many top golfers didn't come close to doing. Harman tied for 60th.

Phil Mickelson
Just making the cut is an accomplishment for the 54-year-old Mickelson. He had missed the past two major cuts and hadn't reached the weekend at the Open since 2018. He clearly has a connection so Troon, so may very well have been an outlier. Mickelson was of course runner-up at Troon in 2016 and was also third there way back in 2004.

MISSED CUTS

The list is extensive: McIlroy, Bryson DeChambeau, Ludvig Aberg, Viktor Hovland, Tommy Fleetwood, Tyrrell Hatton, Tony Finau, Tom Kim, Cameron Smith, Wyndham Clark, Sahith Theegala, Keegan Bradley, Will Zalatoris, Akshay Bhatia, Louis Oosthuizen and 2016 Troon champion Henrik Stenson. Really, there's not much to be gleaned from this to try to gauge the future. The weather conditions were terrible and this golf course is nothing like any that most of these guys will play the rest of the season. Don't weigh this week too heavily, or heavily at all.

Tiger Woods
Woods missed the cut  for the third straight major. Colin Montgomerie made some noise earlier in the week when he inferred that Woods should retire. That might be a bit extreme. But if Woods continues to play just four tournaments a year, he'll have next to no chance to make any cut outside of the Masters. At Augusta, where course knowledge is so important, he could probably continue to make cuts – without contending. Woods says his leg and everything else are getting better. If so, he should play more, because that's the only way he can make cuts. Otherwise, this is just a sad drip-drip-drip three or four times a year.

Barracuda Championship

Nick Dunlap was in the first three majors and all but one of the Signature Events. But he wasn't in the Open Championship and it was looking as if he wouldn't be in the upcoming playoffs, either. But Dunlap did the smart thing and dipped down into the Barracuda Championship opposite the Open -- and he won it. Despite winning the Amex at the beginning of the year as a 20-year-old University of Alabama amateur and then getting in all those big events, Dunlap sat 95th in the FedExCup Standings. The top 70 get into the playoffs. With the win, he zoomed up to 63rd, so he's not quite secure just yet. Vince Whaley was runner-up.