Schauffele Surges To 2nd Major Championship

The Sunday Swing
July 21st, 2024 

Welcome back to another edition of the Sunday Swing presented by 2nd Swing Golf. This week, fans and players had their sights set on Scotland for the 152nd playing of The Open Championship from Royal Troon.

The Open - Tournament History 

The British Open Championship, also known as The Open or the Open Championship, is one of the oldest and most prestigious golf tournaments in the world. It was first played in 1860 at the Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland, where it became the first major championship in golf. The initial competition was held over three rounds of the 12-hole course, with a field of just eight professionals. Willie Park Sr. emerged as the victor, winning the Challenge Belt and a prize of £25. In 1872, it was agreed that the winner of the tournament would receive the Claret Jug, which has since become one of the most iconic trophies in the world. 

The championship has a rich history, having been played at various esteemed golf courses throughout the United Kingdom. This is just one of the things that gives The Open so much of its history- the iconic venues that host the event. Courses like St Andrews, Royal Birkdale, Royal Portrush, and this year, Royal Troon are all a part of an elite rotation of the best links golf courses on the planet that host golf’s oldest major every year. 

The Open was initially dominated by Scottish and English golfers, but as the sport's popularity grew, players from all over the world began to compete, and do to this day. Over the years, The Open has been synonymous with all of the game's greatest players. Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Tom Watson, Arnold Palmer, Lee Trevino, Seve Ballesteros, Tiger Woods, and Phil Mickelson are all golfing legends that have won at least one Open Championship. The last time The Open was held at Royal Troon was in 2016 when it turned into a shootout between Henrik Stenson and Mickelson. Stenson ended up winning at 20-under with Mickelson finishing runner-up at 17-under. There was then an 11-shot gap between 2nd and 3rd with JB Holmes at 6-under par. In recent years, we’ve seen some first time major champions breakthrough, including four of the past five. 

2024 - Xander Schauffele (-9)
2023 - Brian Harman (-13)
2022 - Cameron Smith (-20)
2021 - Collin Morikawa (-15)
2019 - Shane Lowry (-15) 

The Big Swing 

This week, the Big Swing belongs to Xander Schauffele, who claimed his second major championship just this season. Dating back to 2017, Schauffele has been a staple on leaderboards at golf's major championships. With 11 top-10s in that span, including 6 top-5s, Schauffele was arguably the best player in the world who had yet to win a major title before the year began. That conversation changed at Valhalla this year when he broke through for his first major at the PGA Championship. He followed that up with another top-10 at the US Open and was poised to contend for another title this week.

In true links golf fashion, the weather was the story all week. High winds and off and on rain had the players struggling to score. There was a noticeable advantage given to the late/early tee time rotation, with the fiercest of weather hitting the opposite wave. Among those players was Rory McIlroy, who on Thursday shot one of the highest rounds in a major in his career after a 78 on Thursday. Tiger Woods also struggled, shooting 79-77 to miss the cut. 

Schauffele opened with rounds of 69 and 72, and found himself six shots behind leader Shane Lowry. who had posted 7-under through the first two days. The Irishman remained in control of the tournament until the back nine on Saturday. A five-over-par 40 brought him several spots back down the leaderboard. 

Meanwhile, Schauffele played another solid round, carding 69 on Saturday to move within two of Billy Horschel, who had grabbed the 54-hole lead with a 69 of his own. Meanwhile, Englishman Justin Rose was in contention after earning a spot through local qualifying for the first time in his storied career. He was just two shots back through 54 holes.

For the first time all week, the players got relatively decent weather for the majority of the day on Sunday, providing the opportunity for someone to go low. On the front nine, Thriston Lawrence made his move. He entered the day two shots back, but quickly gained a solo lead by making birdies at Nos. 3, 4, 7, and 9 to shoot a four-under-par 32. 

With nine holes to play, the leaderboard remained congested. Behind Lawrence, a number of big names were well within striking distance including Schauffele, Rose, Horschel, Lowry, and Scottie Scheffler. 

As Lawrence struggled to maintain his momentum on the back nine, Schauffele was building some of his own. After a two-under 34 on the front, Schauffele made an improbable birdie at the difficult par-4 11th thanks to an exceptional approach shot from 171 yards with wind into his face. It was the only birdie on the hole for the entire round. 

Two more birdies at Nos. 13 and 14 gave Schauffele the lead. He tacked on another at the par-5 16th and he suddenly held a three-shot cushion on the 18th tee. He made par on the 18th to shoot a four-under-par 31 on the back for a final-round 65, the lowest round of the tournament and best of the day by two. Rose and Horschel shared runner-up honors two shots back.

For Schauffele, it’s been a breakthrough season after several years of close calls at major championships. Now he’s a two-time major champion and comfortably holds the No. 2 spot in the world rankings, with the gap between he and Scheffler getting tighter.

Winner’s Bag - Xander Schauffele 

Xander Schauffele has quickly become a household name in the golf world. The 30-year-old American now has 12 professional wins, 2 major championships, and an Olympic gold medal. He has been a model of consistency all season, boasting the longest active made-cut streak on the PGA Tour at over 50 weeks, and has already posted 11 other top-10 finishes this year including a win at the PGA Championship. One of the keys to all of these successes is the setup in his bag. Schauffele is a Callaway staffer, and off the tee, he plays the Paradym Ai Smoke Triple Diamond (10.5 degrees). He carries just one fairway wood which is also a Paradym Ai Smoke Triple Diamond (16.5 degrees). One switch he made this week was inserting a Mizuno MP-20 HMB 3-iron in place of his Apex UW in order to achieve a more penetrating ball flight in the Scotland wind. The rest of his iron set consists of Callaway Apex TCB ‘24’s (4-10). Around the greens Schauffele has an all new Callaway Opus gap wedge (52 degrees), and a Titleist Vokey Design SM10 sand wedge (57 degrees). On the greens, Xander still rolls the Odyssey Toulon Design Las Vegas Prototype 7CH. 

Key Stats

Strokes Gained: Off the Tee- 15th

Strokes Gained: Approach- 2nd

Strokes Gained: Around the Green- 15th

Strokes Gained: Putting- 20th 

Strokes Gained: Total- 1st