Xander Schauffele seals Open win as USA sweep
all four majors for first time in 42 years
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Craig Stadler, Tom Watson, Tom Watson, Raymond
Floyd. Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele,
Bryson DeChambeau, Xander Schauffele. Not since
1982 had American golfers completed a clean
sweep of the four majors until Schauffele
emulated Watson by prevailing at Royal Troon.

Luke Donald, Europe's captain, must be delighted
this is not a Ryder Cup year. Not that the
bigger picture is particularly appealing for
Donald; the stars and stripes sit adjacent to
the names of nine of the past 12
major champions.

At the start of this year, ­Schauffele was
regarded as a nearly man. He was arguably the
finest golfer of his generation never to taste
success in one of the sport's big four events.
In the blink of an eye, he has become a multiple
major winner; glory at ­Valhalla in the US PGA
Championship in May surely assisted Schauffele
on the Ayrshire coast. As others wilted, he
knitted together a 65 to win by two, at nine
under par, from Billy Horschel and a resurgent
Justin Rose.

Schauffele is so calm and methodical in the way
he goes about his business that the brutality
attached to this Open exam was never likely to
faze him. He is golf's silent assassin. The
152nd Open should be remembered as one that
threatened to deliver a far more spectacular
storyline than ultimately arrived.

There is always a key stretch. For Schauffele,
this arrived between the 11th and 16th on day
four. He played that in four under, allowing
daylight to appear between him and the field.
This, it should be remembered, is the toughest
set of holes at Royal Troon. The prospect of a
first Open playoff since 2015 had threatened
until Schauffele decided the tournament was his
for the taking. His back nine took just 31
strokes.

Rose encountered mixed emotions as he walked
from the 18th green. As a qualifier, it was a
shock to many that the Englishman was even in
contention. Yet the 43-year-old retains lofty
standards. He will privately know he will not
have many more opportunities to add to his solo
major win to date. As Schauffele heated up on
the inward half, Rose's putter turned stone
cold. Horschel holed out from distance at the
last to match Rose's seven under aggregate.

For a spell on Sunday afternoon, Thriston
Lawrence had commentators and spectators alike
scrambling towards Wikipedia. The 27‑year‑old
missed the cut in his only other
Open appearance. When making a birdie at the
9th, Lawrence was two clear of Schauffele and
one ahead of Rose. It was not so much that the
South African took a dose of the ­jitters
thereafter - he dropped only a single shot to
finish fourth - but that ­Schauffele pressed his
­accelerator. Russell Henley earned fifth at
five under after a 69.

Shane Lowry will rue a horrible stretch from the
8th tee on Saturday, which so influenced the 77
that basically cost him the Open. He returned to
the links to post a 68, which afforded him sixth
place at four under par. This was, however, one
that got away for the 2019 champion.

"It's very disappointing, there's no two ways
about it," Lowry said. "I had a great chance of
winning this Open and it's going to hurt for a
few days."

There was no fairytale victory for Dan Brown.
The Yorkshireman, who arrived in Troon just
inside the world's top 300, finally hit the
buffers as he slid from minus three to even par
inside six holes. It is to Brown's great credit
that he avoided a tailspin from there, a 74
sufficient for a share of 10th. He will take
huge heart from his Open display. He has also
earned a return, at Royal Portrush next July.

Scottie Scheffler was firmly in the mix when
reaching four under thanks to a birdie at the
8th. What followed was totally out of keeping
with the world No 1's 2024 up to that point.
­Scheffler missed from 30 inches while en route
to a double bogey at the 9th. He handed another
two shots to the course at the 18th, by which
point his race was run anyway. His one under
tied seventh with Im Sungjae and Jon Rahm.

Justin Thomas's Sunday challenge lasted a single
shot. He cracked his opening drive right and on
to Troon beach. With a triple-bogey seven, he
was out of the tournament. This was a strange
major for Thomas, who followed a first-round 68
with a 78 and third-round 67 with a 77. His
plus‑six total was matched by Dustin Johnson.

Brooks Koepka completed a grim year at major
venues - he ­finished no better than 26th - at
eight over. ­Koepka's lust for this domain is
such that he must be pondering the ­competitive
impact of his switch to LIV Golf.

At eight over, Nairn's Calum Scott collected top
amateur honours and the silver medal that comes
with it. The youngster has a year left at Texas
Tech, the college that recently played a part in
Ludvig Åberg's stunning rise. Scott plans to
complete his studies, despite the professional
temptation that will arrive as a result of his
­showing here.

"It's one of the highest honours you can win as
an amateur," Scott said. "First of all, you have
to make the cut to win this award and to be
above 11 other amateurs, I'm very proud of
myself for that. To compete in a tournament like
the Open, it's just amazing."

Big things seem to lie ahead for Scott. While
Schauffele is right in the midst of them.



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