Xander wins his second major at The Open, proving that he’s the golf player of the year

You could say that 2024 has been Xander Schauffele’s year. Just two months after winning his first major, the PGA Championship in May, he’s done it again at Royal Troon. With methodological calmness, he climbed up the leaderboard on the final day of The Open Championship, where he surpassed Justin Rose and Billy Horschel by two, with a final score of 9-under par.

Thriston Lawrence finished one behind Rose and Horschel, with Russell Henley at 5-under. At 4-under came a very disappointed Shane Lowry, the Irish player who stumbled out of the lead on a brutal Saturday, blowing his chances at a second Open trophy. Tied for seventh with a final of score of 1-under were a trio of remarkable golfers: Im Sung-jae, two-time major winner (and now LIV player) Jon Rahm and this year’s Masters champion, Scottie Scheffler. It was a tight field for Schauffele to get through on Sunday, but once he got to the back nine, he left the pack behind with four impressive birdies on some of the most treacherous holes.

Achieving his second major isn’t the only impressive bit, he’s done it in the same year as his first. It was as if he decided to eschew what could have been to what is achievable right now. He became the man of the moment, and certainly the champion of the year.

“It’s a dream come true to win two majors in one year,” Schauffele said, according to the Associated Press. “It took me forever just to win one, and to have two now is something else.”

Xander Schauffele is playing his best golf when it matters most

In his measured and precise way, while the lead exchanged hands throughout the tournament—including Lowry’s heartbreaking unraveling—Schauffele zeroed in on his game during that pivotal back nine. And what had been a seven-man leaderboard fight soon became a definitive lead for the California native, while of the contenders dropped out of Schauffele’s radius.

“So he’s got a lot of weapons out there,” said Rose. “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.”

But if you’ve been watching him all year, you know that he’s been playing some of his best golf, finishing in seventh at the U.S. Open, runner up at the Wells Fargo in May and The Players in March, eighth in The Masters, in addition to six top-10’s since the beginning of the year. To clinch two majors while finishing T10 in the other two is a pretty phenomenal season.

The Olympics begin next week and Schauffele is the reigning Gold Medalist from the 2020 Tokyo Games (played in 2021). His win at Royal Troon puts him in an excellent position to defend his medal.

Olympic golf begins August 1. Watch out for Schauffele, but even more, look for his dad in the stands because he’s quite a character!