Schauffele Wins Open Championship

TROON, Scotland -- Another major championship season has come and gone, and this one will be remembered as one that was dominated by American golfers, especially Xander Schauffele.

After waiting seven years to win his first major championship, Schauffele won two -- the PGA Championship and The Open -- in the span of two months. He captured the Claret Jug with a 2-stroke win over Justin Rose and Billy Horschel at Royal Troon Golf Club on Sunday.

Schauffele said he dreamed about winning The Open since he was a teenager in San Diego.

"I sat down with my dad when I was maybe 15 and 16, and we started to really hash out some goals and dreams of what I'd like to do," Schauffele said. "I was on the couch with my dad a lot watching other guys win majors and win big tournaments.

"My dad and I, we've definitely talked about this. We've watched that walk up 18 pretty much every year until I've played in The Open. It's definitely something that we've both dreamt of."

It's the seventh consecutive major won by an American golfer, the longest such streak since they captured 13 straight from 1974 to 1977.

Best performer: Schauffele

World No. 1 golfer Scottie Scheffer has won six times this season, but Schauffele dominated the majors, becoming the first golfer since Brooks Koepka in 2018 to capture more than one major in the same season.

At the PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky, Schauffele closed with a 6-under 65 to defeat Bryson DeChambeau by 1 stroke. Then Schauffele carded the same score in the final round of The Open at Royal Troon Golf Club on Sunday to become the Champion Golfer of the Year.

Schauffele is the first golfer in the Masters era (since 1934) to have multiple final rounds of 65 or better in the majors in the same year.

He will head to next month's Olympics tournament outside Paris to defend his gold medal.

"He's obviously now learning that the winning is easy," Rose said of Schauffele. "He has a lot of horsepower, do you know what I mean? In the sense of he's good with a wedge, he's great with a putter, he hits the ball a long way, obviously his iron play is strong. So he's got a lot of weapons out there.

"I think probably one of his most unappreciated ones is his mentality. He's such a calm guy out there. I don't know what he's feeling, but he certainly makes it look very easy. He plays with a freedom, which kind of tells you as a competitor that he's probably not feeling a ton of the bad stuff. He's got a lot of runway ahead and a lot of exciting stuff ahead, I'm sure."

Even after waiting so long to win a major, Schauffele admits he can't help but think about the career Grand Slam after moving a step closer. He only needs to win the Masters and U.S. Open now to do it.

"I mean, before I had any majors, it's something I've always wanted," Schauffele said. "I'm one step closer and still have a long way to go. But if you don't see yourself doing it, you're never going to do it."

Several other golfers, including Scheffler, the No. 1-ranked player in the world, faltered down the stretch. Scheffler was looking for his seventh victory and second major championship title this season. He moved into the mix with back-to-back birdies on Nos. 7 and 8.

Scheffler's chances of winning a Claret Jug ended on the par-4 ninth, though. His approach shot was 15 yards short of the green. He putted to 6½ feet and somehow three-putted from there, missing from 2 feet, 8 inches on the second attempt. Scheffler carded a double-bogey 6, dropping him to 2 under, four shots behind the leaders as he made the turn.

Scheffler also had a double bogey on the 18th. He posted a 1-over 72 and tied for seventh at 1-under 283.

Spain's Jon Rahm made one of the biggest moves after starting the day six shots behind Horschel. The two-time major champion made four birdies in his first seven holes to get to 2 under.

On the par-4 11th hole, Rahm pushed his tee shot toward the railway on the right. He hit a provisional tee shot but ended up finding his ball in a gorse bush. After a one-stroke penalty for an unplayable lie, Rahm made a bogey 5, dropping him to 1 under. He posted a 3-under 68 and finished at 1-under 283.

England's Daniel Brown, who grew up on a pig and cow farm and nearly gave up golf four years ago, carded four bogeys in his first six holes to fall back to even, five strokes behind the early leaders.

It was the end of one of the more remarkable stories in recent Open history. Brown made the field by draining a 20-foot putt in final qualifying. After missing the cut in six of his previous eight starts on the DP World Tour, he started the day only one shot behind Horschel. Brown was attempting to become only the fourth golfer since 1900 to win a major championship in his debut.

Brown was 3-over 74 in the final 18 holes, finishing at even-par 284, which tied him for 10th. Poor front nine, that's basically it," Brown said. "I struggled on the front nine, really. I don't think I scored as well as the guys around me on the front nine. The right-to-left wind, I couldn't really get to grips with that, but then felt a lot more comfortable when the wind was off the left on the back nine. A little bit to work on with a strong right-to-left breeze."

Two-time major champion Justin Thomas, who started the final round four strokes behind Horschel, took himself out of the hunt when he hit a wild tee shot and had to re-tee on the opening hole, resulting in a triple-bogey 7. Thomas tied for 31st at 6 over after posting a 6-over 77 in the final round.

Scotland's Calum Scott, an All-Big 12 selection last season at Texas Tech, won the Silver Medal as the low amateur. He carded a 5-over 76 on Sunday to finish at 8-over 292.