Xander Schauffele reaches career-high ranking as World No. 2
Xander Schauffele, 30, the 2020 Tokyo Olympics gold medalist and 2024 PGA Championship winner, secured his second major title of the year with a stellar final round 65 at The Open Championship at Royal Troon in Scotland. Schauffele carded rounds of 69-72-69-65, finishing at 9-under 275 for a two-stroke victory.
Entering the final round tied for 2nd, just one shot behind 54-hole leader Billy Horschel, Schauffele delivered a bogey-free 6 under par final round to wrest the title from a host of challengers, including eventual runners-up Horschel and Englishman Justin Rose, both of whom birdied the 72nd hole.
American players to win The Open and PGA Championship in the same season
Walter Hagen, 1924
Tiger Woods, 2000
Tiger Woods, 2006
Xander Schauffele, 2024— Justin Ray (@JustinRayGolf) July 21, 2024
With this win, Schauffele becomes one of the few golfers in history to win both The Open and the PGA Championship in the same calendar year.
Schauffele’s triumph has intensified the Player of the Year Award debate. World No.1 Scottie Scheffler, who won the Masters earlier this year and boasts five other victories on tour, is a strong contender. However, Schauffele’s achievement of winning two majors in a single season positions him as a formidable rival for the prestigious award.
A special performance from Xander Schauffele as he becomes the 2024 Champion Golfer of the Year.@nttdata | #ShotView | #NTTDATAWall pic.twitter.com/dZ3topJcjH
— The Open (@TheOpen) July 24, 2024
Sharma maintains his 100% result
Shubhankar Sharma continues to be the lone Indian to represent India in men’s major championships
Shubhankar Sharma from Chandigarh, who celebrated his 28th birthday on Championship Sunday, finished strongly over the weekend with 67-72 after making the cut on the line at 6 over. He thus ended at a very creditable tied-19th place finish in severe playing conditions which saw many more fancied champions get blown away. It was his fourth appearance in the prestigious tournament and he maintains a 100% cut made record.
To ensure his participation in The Open next year, Sharma needs to perform well in the remaining events on the European Tour to secure a strong finish in the rankings. However, his consistency bodes well for his form going into the Olympic Games.
Sharma is currently the only Indian playing in majors since Anirban Lahiri moved to LIV Golf. For the other three majors – The Masters, PGA Championship & US Open, Sharma must finish inside the top-10 on the European Tour rankings to earn a PGA TOUR exemption and perform well to qualify for the rest of the majors.
LIV Golfers – Jon Rahm tops the list
Jon Rahm registered his first top-10 finish in a major in 2024
The Open Championship featured 18 LIV Golfers, with 11 making the weekend cut. Jon Rahm, Legion XIII team captain and former World No.1, carded rounds of 73-70-72-68 to finish tied-7th at 1-under 283, emerging as the top LIV Golfer in the field.
Since joining LIV Golf, Rahm has struggled to secure significant finishes in the majors. He even withdrew from the U.S. Open due to a toe infection. Earlier this season, the two-time major champion finished T-45 at the Masters and missed the cut at the PGA Championship.
Meanwhile, Cameron Smith, the 2022 Open Championship winner, carded rounds of 80-74 (+11) to miss the cut by six-strokes.
Other LIV Golfers and their finishes –
John Catlin – T-16 (+2), Dean Burmester – T-19 (+3), Laurie Canter – T-25 (+5), Dustin Johnson – T-31 (+6), Brooks Koepka – T-43 (+8), Adrian Meronk – T-50 (+9), Joaquin Niemann – T-58 (+10), Abraham Ancer – T-58 (+10), Phil Mickelson – T-60 (+11), and Andy Ogletree – 79 (+19)
Missed Cuts
Bryson DeChambeau, Tyrrell Hatton, Henrik Stenson, Louis Oosthuizen, Sam Horsfield, Cameron Smith, David Puig
Big names who missed the cut
It would be remiss not to consider Rory McIlroy a prime contender at any major championships. Despite not having won a major since 2014, McIlroy has consistently been in contention, securing multiple runner-up finishes. This major was no exception, with McIlroy widely regarded as a favourite to win, particularly after his recent runner-up finish at the US Open Championship at Pinehurst.
But McIlroy found himself in all kinds of trouble at Royal Troon, carding rounds of 78-75 (+11) to miss the cut by five-strokes.
Other notables who missed the cut –
Tiger Woods, Wyndham Clark (2023 U.S. Open winner), Viktor Hovland, Ludvig Aberg, Bryson DeChambeau, Cameron Smith, and Henrik Stenson.
Photo – THE OPEN