Xander Schauffele sighed up to ten times in the mere 120 meters separating the 18th hole green from the scorecard collection tent. He sighed with his caddie, sighed when greeting Collin Morikawa, sighed with his wife, sighed with his father, sighed with his manager, sighed with his physical trainer, sighed with his coach, sighed with a friend of his wife, sighed when he received congratulations from Bryson DeChambeau, sighed while hugging Justin Thomas and sighed, oh did he sigh, when he sat down to sign his scorecard. That 65-stroke scorecard etched into his memory this Sunday at the Valhalla Golf Club, proving that he is, at last, a major winner. A PGA Championship winner. The first of his career after many attempts and twelve top 10 finishes.
Rarely is a major victory so deserved. Schauffele has won from start to finish, capturing the lead on the first day and never letting it go. He has been tied, but never behind. He shot 65 in the final round as the leader and recorded the lowest score in major history. No one has ever won a Masters, a US Open, a British, or a PGA with a total of -21. It had to be Schauffele, the golfer who has half of the four 62-stroke rounds ever recorded in the majors. He is a sterling silver Wanamaker. Xander had to do it BIG.
The PGA Championship has provided a fabulous final round, exciting, full of emotion, with high quality, extraordinary shots, very good putts, magnificent approaches and even incredible moments of luck. The fight quickly came down to Schauffele, DeChambeau and Hovland. The rest fell out of the race. Inconsistency condemned Theegala, a lack of success on the greens ousted Lowry and Morikawa forgot that to win this week it was vital to make birdies, preferably before reaching the 18th hole with everything already decided.
DeChambeau was the great survivor. He pulled off an extraordinary birdie on the 6th, from outside the green, when a bogey was knocking at his door. He managed a very difficult recovery from the rough on the 9th and all the saints appeared to him on the 16th. He missed the tee shot far to the right and the ball bounced off a tree to appear gently on the fairway. Then, of course, he took advantage of that moment of fortune with a spectacular shot to a meter from the flag for birdie. He hit other great shots, like on the 2nd, 5th or 13th. He proved once again that he does not crumble when he is on top. He even finished with a birdie to push Schauffele to the limit if possible. He is left with the dubious honor of being the first golfer in history to finish a major with -20 and not win.
Hovland was another brave competitor. He was slow to start, but when he did, he showed himself to be a warrior with great determination. His first birdie fell on the 5th and, supported by a huge putter, he made his way through the jungle to present his candidacy. He fought until the end, until the last hole. He was like DeChambeau. He needed an approach and putt on the 18th to reach -20. But he didn’t make it. His approach was a bit poor and his birdie putt escaped. Then, his par putt also escaped, but that was more of an anecdote than anything else. One way or another, he finished third alone. The birdie will give him a headache for a few days, although in the end it was not enough to win.
After making everyone wait so long, Schauffele was clear that his first victory in a major was not going to be easy. The suffering has been terrible. He played spectacularly and still had to wait until the last putt, with absolute suspense, a complete lap of honor, to be crowned champion. He hit great shots, made seven birdies and, above all, reacted like a champion after the painful bogey on the 10th, his only mistake of the day, with two sublime shots on the 11th and 12th. From there, he was chaining pars without suffering anything and even leaving a very good birdie option on the 14th.
It seemed that -20 would be enough, but Schauffele already knew it was not going to be easy. DeChambeau pushed him to the limit and forced him to make the birdie on the 18th. And he did. It was not the best tee shot, very much to the left, fleeing terrified from the water, logical on the other hand, but with a strange ending. The ball stayed in the first cut of rough and he had to put his feet in the bunker to hit the second shot. It was sensational and he left himself an approach of about 35 meters. Two shots and he won the PGA Championship. His third shot was a bit short and the rest is history. The birdie putt wanted to escape to the left, but it ended up going in with brutal suspense. As it had to come for Schauffele, suffering and BIG. As it has always been in his career.
Sigh, Xander, sigh. You’ve earned it.
