Xander Schauffele has answered questions about his ability to close out tournaments in emphatic fashion with a wire-to-wire victory at the PGA Championship in Kentucky. Schauffele carded a final round of 65 at Valhalla to hold off the challenges of fellow American Bryson DeChambeau and Norway’s Viktor Hovland to secure his maiden major title. The Tokyo Olympics champion held his nerve to birdie the 72nd hole for a winning total of 21 under par, the lowest score in relation to par in major championship history, eclipsing Australian Jason Day’s 2015 PGA Championship-winning score at Whistling Straits.
In victory, Schauffele pockets $3,330,000 (AU$4.97m). Xander Schauffele celebrates on the 18th green after making a birdie to win the 2024 PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club on May 19, 2024 in Louisville.
(Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) Schauffele held a three-shot lead after also equalling the lowest single-round score for a second time with a stunning opening 62, but came into the final round tied with two-time major winner Collin Morikawa. A birdie on the first helped Schauffele reclaim the outright lead and further gains on the fourth, seventh and ninth took him into the back nine two ahead. A clumsy bogey on the par-5 10th and Hovland’s birdie on the 12th meant the pair were suddenly tied and Hovland moved in front for the first time with a birdie on the 13th.
Schauffele responded superbly to pick up shots on the 11th and 12th to reclaim the lead before DeCha.
