Schauffele wins thriller at Valhalla for first major at PGA Championship

May 19, 2024 | 4:22 PM

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Xander Schauffele cashed in at just the right time Sunday by making a six-foot birdie putt on the final hole to win the PGA Championship for his first major with the lowest score in major championship history.

The Olympic gold medallist got something even more valuable in silver — that enormous Wanamaker Trophy after a wild week at Valhalla.

Schauffele closed with a 6-under 65 to beat Bryson DeChambeau, entertaining to the very end with a 10-foot birdie of his own on the par-5 18th for a 64.

Schauffele became the first player since Phil Mickelson in 2005 at Baltusrol to win the PGA Championship with a birdie on the final hole to win by one. And this took all he had. His drive on the par-5 18th rolled close enough to the bunker that he had to stand in the sand. He hit it beautifully down the left side, some 35 yards short, and pitched to six feet.

DeChambeau was on the range, staying loose for a potential playoff, watching Schauffele from a large video board. He walked all the way back to the 18th to join in with so many other players wanting to congratulate the 30-year-old Californian.

Schauffele, who began this championship with a 62 to tie the major championship record, finished at 21-under 263 with that winning birdie. That beats by one shot the major record previously shared by Brooks Koepka in the 2018 PGA Championship at Bellerive and Henrik Stenson in the 2016 British Open at Royal Troon.

Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont., was the top Canadian, finishing tied for 26th at 9 under. Adam Svensson of Surrey, B.C., finished tied for 43rd at 6 under, and Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B.C., finished tied for 60th at 4 under.

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Doug Ferguson, The Associated Press