The week after he let slip a notable advantage over Rory McIlroy, Schauffele led from his first-round 62, making him the first male golfer to go wire-to-wire in his debut major glory in nearly a decade. Schauffele gained instant revenge over McIlroy – who finished tied for 12th – by leapfrogging him in the rankings to become World No 2.
The trophy-winning four on the 18th was excruciating. Schauffele’s drive almost landed in the fairway bunker, but with his feet in the sand, he played a valiant second to within 50 yards. From there he pitched to six feet and the stage was set. His putt enacted a horse-shoe – a victory lap, indeed – and so Schauffele raised his arms to the heavens.
Schauffele’s nerve-jangling 65 was fully deserving of this silverware and the achievement of shooting 21-under, the lowest-ever score to par in the history of the men’s majors. “I’ve tried to stay patient, but I’d probably be a little bit less of a patient person if that putt didn’t lip in,” Schauffele said. “I really didn’t want to go into a playoff against Bryson. It would have been a lot of work. I told myself, ‘this is my opportunity – just capture it’.”
Credit to DeChambeau, for he is a golfing rock star. He lit up the proceedings with his 64, not only with his big-hitting and gung-ho approach but with his over-the-top reactions to the good and the bad. His celebrations on the 18th, when his 10-foot birdie dropped on the last tumble for him to share the lead at that time on 20-under, verged on the hilarious.
DeChambeau punched the air so hard he almost toppled over. Two holes before, he had somehow birdied, despite hooking his drive into the trees – it hit a branch and bounced back into the middle of the fairway – and then looking like someone had shot his dog after striking his approach.
DeChambeau was disgusted, but, yes, it landed within seven feet of the hole. He converted and ultimately made Schaufelle pull out every stop. In true DeChambeau-speak afterwards, he uttered an unfathomable comment. “This week I felt like I had my ‘B game’ pretty much,” he said.
