"The best golfer who has yet to win a major" is the mantra that followed Xander Schauffele around on the PGA Tour for nearly a decade after his pro debut in 2015. However, after capturing the Clarett Jug on Sunday afternoon, the question has shifted from a matter of if to how many for one of golf's brightest stars. Finally getting the monkey off his back at the PGA Championship in May, Schauffele joins Tiger Woods and Walter Hagen as the only players to capture both the PGA Championship and The Open Championship in the same season. His finishes at the other two majors? Eighth at the Masters and T7 at The US Open, putting him firmly in a position to edge out Scottie Scheffler for Player of The Year honors. Following an eventful week on the grounds of Royal Troon Golf Club, here are my five parting thoughts.
Wet, Windy Weekend at Royal Troon Proves to Be Too Tough for Some of the Game's Brightest Stars
Challenging conditions plagued some of the world's brightest stars. Winds howled at well over 30 miles per hour on Thursday and Friday afternoon, changing direction from hole to hole and even tee to green. As a result, just one month after their epic duel at the U.S. Open, both Rory Mcilroy and Bryson DeChambeau failed to make the weekend. The former made just three birdies across 36 holes and struggled mightily with his irons. Meanwhile, the latter shot a 42 on his opening nine while playing his first six holes at five over par. As a result, 10 of the top 20 players in the Official World Golf Ranking missed the cut. This includes pre-tournament favorites Ludvig Aberg, Tommy Fleetwood, Viktor Hovland, and Tony Finau.
Justin Rose Makes a Run
On the outside, looking at heading into the year's final major, Rose was not in the top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking at the cutoff point. He also did not finish among the top 30 in either the 2023 FedEx Cup standings or the DP World Tour standings, which would have given him an automatic invitation into the field. Forced to qualify for the event, the South African native arrived at Burnham & Berrow and secured a place in the tournament. Playing brilliant golf all weekend long, the 2013 U.S. Open winner battled through the tough side of the draw to head into Sunday just one shot off the lead. Ultimately, he ran out of birdies while finishing seven under par, two strokes behind Schauffele.
Another Lost Season for Tiger Woods
As he walked up to the 18th green on Friday afternoon, the famous yellow scoreboard at The Open read that Woods was 14 over par. A telling tale of how the 48-year-old's season has gone, he managed just five starts while failing to make the cut at three of four majors. Determined to play on the PGA Tour for the foreseeable future, the California native believes that he can show up four times a year against the most challenging fields in golf on some of the toughest courses in the world and compete. Whether he can summon the magic for one more weekend remains to be seen, but for now, Woods is set to compete at the Hero World Challenge and alongside his son Charlie at the PNC Championship in December.
A New Member of the Two-Time Major Club
Now one of the most popular groups in golf, the two-time major club welcomed its newest member in Schauffele. It now includes Scottie Scheffler (Masters 2x), Jon Rahm (Masters, US Open), Bryson DeChambeau (US Open 2x), Collin Morikawa (PGA, Open), Justin Thomas (PGA 2x), and Dustin Johnson (Masters, US Open). Looking at this list of names, the question is, who will stake their claim to the most majors when their career is all said and done? I think right now, my money would still be on Scheffler. Fresh off one of the most dominant PGA Tour seasons in modern golf history, the world's number one racked up six wins, including The Players Championship, The Masters, and four other signature events.
Schauffele Shines on Sunday
Schauffele is one of the best golfers of this generation, and that is common knowledge around the game of golf. However, the San Diego State University product's career has been defined by near misses in majors and failure to step up and capitalize on the moment. Nonetheless, in just two months, the 30-year-old went from the guy with no majors to joining an impressive two-win club. Furthermore, he silenced the doubters who questioned his ability to win without the soft conditions at Valhalla Golf Club in May. With most of the field falling victim to the wet, windy weekend at Royal Troon, Schauffele fired a bogey-free 65 on Sunday afternoon to run away with the Clarett Jug.
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