Xander Schauffele wins first Major title at US PGA Championship

Xander Schauffele birdied the last to claim his first Major title in record-breaking style at the US PGA Championship.

The American had set the pace from the get-go at Valhalla Golf Club, carding a record-equalling 62 in a Major for the second time in 11 months but his three-shot lead was eaten into over the course of the next 54 holes.

He entered the final day in a share of the lead and that was the position in which he still found himself stood on the 18th tee after countryman Bryson DeChambeau carded a 64 to set the clubhouse target at 20 under.

After finding an awkward spot off the tee, it looked like we might be heading to a play-off but an excellent second was followed by a smart pitch and Schauffele holed from six feet for a closing birdie, a 65 and the lowest score to par in Major history.

Norway's Viktor Hovland had been part of an enthralling three-way battle throughout the final day but a closing bogey saw him finish at 18 under after a 66, three shots clear of Belgian Thomas Detry and American 2020 champion Collin Morikawa.

Schauffele already had an Olympic gold medal, a World Golf Championships title and a Rolex Series win to go with another five PGA TOUR victories but he had not tasted victory since the 2022 Genesis Scottish Open.

He had 12 top tens with two runner-up finishes in Majors coming into this week and had moved up to third in the Official World Golf Ranking with two second-places and six other top tens from 12 starts in 2024.

He was on course for a wire-to-wire win last week at the Wells Fargo Championship before he was overhauled by Rory McIlroy but just seven days later he was able to close out and claim the biggest win of his career.

"I was actually kind of emotional after the putt lipped in," he said. "It's been a while since I've won and I kept saying it all week, I just need to stay in my lane.

"Man, was it hard to stay in my lane today but I tried all day to just keep focus on what I'm trying to do and keep every hole ahead of me. Had some weird kind of breaks coming into the house but it's all good now.

"My mum is back at home in San Diego and my dad is currently in Hawaii and I was able to call him. I had to hang up pretty quickly because he started to make me cry. He was sitting on the phone bawling.

"It means so much to have my wife, my brother here. I've got close friends as well that came down from New York. They make me feel very special and I'm just happy to win this one for my team."

Schauffele got off to an excellent start with a 27-footer on the first and led by two as he pitched his second to five feet on the short fourth.

DeChambeau hit beautiful approaches to inside six feet on the second and fifth and when he holed a lengthy putt from off the green at the sixth, he was just one back.

But playing partner Hovland was not in the mood to be left behind and he holed an 18-footer on the fifth, put an approach to four feet on the next and holed from 20 feet on the seventh to get up and down from the sand and join DeChambeau at 16 under.

Schauffele got up and down from the same bunker for a birdie but DeChambeau and Hovland both took advantage of the par-five tenth before the leader re-established his cushion thanks to some fine iron play at the ninth.

An approach to eight feet on the 12th had Hovland back within one and Schauffele made an almighty mess of the tenth, finding sand off the tee and hitting a poor chip around the green en route to a bogey that had him in a share.

Hovland holed from 15 feet on the 13th to take the lead and DeChambeau kept in touch with a birdie of his own from around half that distance.

The pressure was now on Schauffele and the 30-year-old responded brilliantly, putting his tee-shot on the par-three 11th to eight feet and an approach to similar range at the next to get his nose back in front.

DeChambeau made the most of a fortunate bounce out of the trees off the 16th tee to put his second to three feet and his birdie from 11 feet on the last brought a huge celebration and set up the tense finale.

Morikawa started the day in a share of the lead but made one birdie and one bogey in a 71 to slip back, while Detry was bogey-free with five birdies in a 66.

Major Champions Shane Lowry and Justin Rose finished at 14 under, a shot clear of Ryder Cup team-mate Robert MacIntyre, World Number One Scottie Scheffler and two more home favourites in Billy Horschel and Justin Thomas.