SCHAUFFELE SHOWS HE'S THE MAN FOR MAJOR MOMENTS

All of it seems so silly now, that talk of Xander Schauffele being unable to close the door on a major championship.

- by Jim McCabe

When he was mentioned to be the best player without a major - a dubious judgement that haunted Colin Montgomerie for years, then Lee Westwood - it seemed greatly premature (he was only 30, for goodness's sake).

"It's just noise," said Schauffele back in the summer of 2024. "I thought I was (the best player without a major) so having people say that didn't make me think that. I just felt like I had done enough work and that I was good enough to do it."

But what the San Diego native did at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Ky., and Royal Troon in Scotland, becoming the first player in history to close with 65 twice to win major championships in the same year . . . well, Schauffele brought all the negative talk to a crashing halt.

He shot 21-under 263 to beat Bryson DeChambeau by a stroke in the PGA Championship, then brought it home in 9-under 275 to hold off Justin Rose and Billy Horschel by two strokes in the Open Championship.

In swift and sudden fashion, Schauffele went from being a guy who had never won a major to being one of only 46 players who have captured at least two in their career.

“It was hard, it was very difficult,” said Schauffele of his finish at Royal Troon. “I think winning the first one helped me a lot today on the back nine. I had some feeling of calmness come through. It’s a dream come true to win two majors in one year. It took me forever just to win one and to have two now is something else.”