One week after disappointing in the final round and giving away a tournament victory, Xander Schauffele powered past a stacked leaderboard to win the 2024 PGA Championship in wire-to-wire fashion, breaking through to claim the first major championship of his career. The 30-year-old American tied a major record with a 9-under 62 to open play and never relented, leading after 18, 36, 54 and ultimately 72 holes by going a record-setting 21 under at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville.
Schauffele's 21 under was the lowest score to par in major championship history, while his 263 total score was the lowest 72-hole scoring total in such an event.
With his wire-to-wire victory, Schauffele becomes the 11th player to accomplish such a feat in PGA Championship history joining the likes of Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus and Brooks Koepka who was last to do so in 2019.
Schauffele, the reigning Olympic gold medalist, has come excruciatingly close at majors throughout his career with six top-five and 12 total top-10 finishes across 27 prior starts. He has frequently been known to pull ahead early but struggle closing at the sport's biggest events; that was a concern again Saturday as his leading margin shrunk with some of the best golfers in the world gaining significant ground during Moving Day.
Ultimately, Schauffele proved his naysayers wrong in convincing fashion Sunday. While 54-hole co-leader Collin Morikawa was unable to find a low number on the day until the last hole, Schauffele carded four birdies to go out in 31 and three more to come in at 34.
After taking a step back with a bogey on the 10th, Schauffele posted consecutive birdies on the 11th and 12th to regain the lead with a birdie on the 72nd hole of the tournament ultimately separating him from Bryson DeChambeau to give Schauffele the championship.
"I was actually kind of emotional after the putt lipped in," Schauffele said. "It's been a while since I've won, and I really just kept saying it all week, I just need to stay in my lane. Man, was it hard to stay in my lane today. I tried all day to just keep focus on what I'm trying to do and keep every hole ahead of me. Had some weird kind of breaks coming into the [club]house, but it's all good now."
Schauffele's greatest challenger Sunday was indeed DeChambeau, who posted a round-of-the-day 64 with four birdies on the back nine, including a brilliant putt on the closing 18th hole. The duo were tied at 20 under as Schauffele completed his final two holes with his own birdie on the 18th clinching the Wanamaker Trophy and $3.3 million winner's share of the PGA Championship's $18.5 million purse.
They say consistency precedes greatness, and there may be no better single phrase to describe Schauffele. After sleeping on the lead for three consecutive nights -- and enduring the criticism of having not won in nearly two full years -- Schauffele kept his head down and stayed straight in Louisville.
Having long been dubbed by his peers as being "the guy," Schauffele finally showed why Sunday.
Taking punches from DeChambeau and Viktor Hovland for most of the day, Schauffele biggest wake-up call came on the par-5 10th when he inexplicably dropped a shot on one of the property's easiest holes. It was the first time he had company atop the leaderboard Sunday (after Morikawa dropped off), and it set up one of the most memorable and clutch finishes in recent major championship history.
"I've had that feeling in the past where I've [failed to close], and I wasn't able to convert the putt. And finally, I got a couple putts to lip in, hit some decent putts with better pace, the ones that were a little more straight uphill," he said.
Schauffele's birdie on the last is what historians will remember, but the moments leading up to it were just as crucial. Receiving not one but two straight bad breaks off the tee across his final two holes, Schauffele showed a depth of toughness he had not displayed previously.
He did well to save par on the 71st hole, creating the opportunity to win in regulation, yet it proved to be no easy task. Hitting his tee shot along the left side of the fairway on the par-5 finisher, Schauffele's ball settled in the first cut and left him with an awkward stance with his feet in the stand.
Bad bounces like that have affected him previously, but this weekend was clearly different. Instead of curling up, protecting himself and bracing for a punch, Schauffele countered. He laced a long iron up near the green, pitched his third just inside 7 feet ... and the rest is history.
"I stayed very patient," Schauffele said. "I was looking up at the [leader]board. There's been times where I tried to look away from it until the back nine, but today, I was looking at it. I just wanted to be aware of everything. I wanted to know exactly where I stood. I wanted to know -- address my feelings when they were happening ... and I just kept fighting."
This is what won Schauffele the Wanamaker Trophy. He already flashed all the tangibles. He's a statistical darling. He's sneaky-long off the tee. He is perhaps the most well-rounded player in the professional sport. Still, something was clearly amiss.
Schauffele found the missing link: toughness. That "you're going to have to pull this trophy out of my dying grasp" mindset. And now, Schauffele finds himself in a club where he rightfully belongs -- among fellow major champions.
[source: cbssports.com]
For the fourth time in the event's history, Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky will host the 2024 PGA Championship. Play gets underway on Thursday, May 16, and the 2024 PGA Championship field is headlined by Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, and Brooks Koepka. Scheffler is the 3-1 betting favorite in the latest 2024 PGA Championship odds, followed by McIlroy (6-1), Koepka (10-1), Xander Schauffele (12-1), Ludvig Aberg (12-1), and Jon Rahm (14-1). Fifteen-time major champion Tiger Woods is a 125-1 longshot. The field will be competing for a total 2024 PGA Championship purse of $17.5 million, with the winner taking home $3.15 million.
Koepka enters as the defending tournament champion after edging out Scheffler and Viktor Hovland by two strokes in 2023. Should you back Koepka again this week, or would it make more sense to target a longshot like Hideki Matsuyama (35-1) or Tony Finau (35-1) with your PGA one and done picks? Before locking in your 2024 PGA Championship one and done picks, you need to see what SportsLine DFS pro and PGA expert Mike McClure has to say.
The One and Done format is growing in popularity. It has several noticeable similarities to NFL Survivor pools, with the main difference being entries are not eliminated with a bad week. Players pick one golfer per week and earn points based on their selected golfer's prize money for that tournament. Golfers can only be used once per season, and the point format makes nailing majors, signature events, and big money tournaments critical.
McClure is a DFS legend with over $2 million in career winnings, and he's been red-hot on his PGA picks dating back to the PGA Tour restart in June of 2020. McClure uses his proprietary simulation model to analyze the field and crush his golf picks.
McClure has been on fire with his One and Done picks in 2024. At The American Express he backed Justin Thomas, who finished in third place and took home $635,600. At the Genesis Invitational, McClure tabbed Patrick Cantlay, who finished in fourth place at the signature event, as his top OAD pick. At the Cognizant Classic, McClure's top one and done pick, Min Woo Lee, finished in a tie for second place. Finally, at the Arnold Palmer Invitation, another signature event, McClure recommended using Scottie Scheffler and Will Zalatoris. The Result: Scheffler won the event by five strokes, and Zalatoris finished in fourth place.
His hot steak continued at the Players Championship, where McClure again recommended using Scheffler (if was still available) and Xander Schauffele. Both players were in contention until the end, with Scheffler coming out with the win and Schauffele finishing in second place! Then, at the Valspar Championship, McClure recommended using Cameron Young, who finished in second place, in OAD pools.
More recently, at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson, McClure recommended using 50-1 longshot Alex Noren in One and Done pools. Noren would go on to be in contention until the end, before finishing in third place, two strokes off the lead.
Now, McClure has dialed in on the PGA Championship golf tournament and just locked in his one and done picks and PGA predictions. They are a must-see for any player looking for an edge in their One and Done pool. You can only see McClure's PGA Championship 2024 one and done picks at SportsLine.
Top 2024 PGA Championship One and Done picks
One of McClure's top One and Done picks this week for the PGA Championship is Collin Morikawa. The two-time major champion has had a strong season in 2024, with 23rd-place or better finishes in seven of his 11 starts. Morikawa's best performances have come against top flight fields, as he has finished 19th or better in all but one of the PGA Tour's signature events, and he finished third at the Masters.
Morikawa won the 2020 PGA Championship at TPC Harding Park to notch his first career major championship, The 27-year-old enters the PGA Championship 2024 ranked 29th in strokes gained off-the-tee (0.369), 38th in strokes gained tee-to-green (0.558), and 43rd in strokes gained around the green (0.229). McClure is expecting Morikawa to be in contention until the end at the 2024 PGA Championship. You can see who else to back at SportsLine.
[cbssports.com]
Ben Kohles was trying his best to see the silver lining, but he still couldn’t hide the pain.
“Of course it stings, right?” Kohles said. “You feel like you had it right there and let it slip away.”
Kohles had just birdied back-to-back holes Sunday at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson when he stepped on the tee box at TPC Craig Ranch’s par-5 18th hole with a one-shot lead over Taylor Pendrith. Two shots later, Kohles found himself with a tricky lie in the rough, between two bunkers and short of the green.
Kohles caught his first chip heavy, and his ball didn’t come close to reaching the green, instead burying in a worse lie just outside the closest bunker to the hole.
“It was sitting up a little bit, but honestly hadn’t seen any rough like that all week,” Kohles said. “Yeah, just didn’t hit a great shot. Just needed a little bit more umph on it. I kind of maybe de-celled a little bit. … Honestly, after that first chip, I was in a pretty screwed spot.”
From there, Kohles failed to get up and down, missing a 5-footer for par that would’ve forced a playoff with Pendrith, who birdied the hole. Kohles’ closing bogey was the only score worse than par on No. 18 all round (66 players).
“[The par putt] lacked probably a little bit of speed, and I probably needed to start it right center instead of playing it straight,” Kohles said. “… I feel like I hit a good putt, so I’m not going to hold my head on that and just take all the positives and see what we can do next week.”
Source: [nbcsports.com]
It pays to play well on the PGA Tour. Just ask this week’s winners, Shane Lowry and Rory McIlroy.
The Ryder Cup teammates won the 2024 Zurich Classic of New Orleans at TPC Louisiana in Avondale on Sunday after a one-hole playoff against Chad Ramey and Martin Trainer. The win is the 25th of McIlroy’s career and third of Lowry’s on the PGA Tour.
McIlroy and Lowry will each bank $1,286,050, while Ramey and Trainer will earn $525,100 as a consolation prize. Ryan Brehm and Mark Hubbard finished a shot back in third and will take home $343,763 a piece.
With $8.9 million up for grabs, check out how much money each PGA Tour player earned this week at the 2024 Zurich Classic of New Orleans.
See the full payout list with the link below!
[golfweek.com]
