LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Xander Schauffele will be happy to shed one title that has followed him around in recent years: Best golfer not to win a major.
And he did it in record breaking style.
Schauffele, No. 3 in the world, held off a challenge from Bryson DeChambeau and Viktor Hovland Sunday to capture the PGA Championship at Vallhala Golf Club.
Schauffele, 30, needed a birdie on the 18th hole, the easiest on the course, to become a major champion. When the 6-foot putt rolled three-quarters of the way around the cup and dropped for a 65, Schauffele raised both arms and looked toward the sky.
He wasn't just a champion, but an all-time champion.
"I was pretty nervous," Schauffele said. "I walked up, I saw a little left to right. I kept reading it, kept kind of panning. Started to look right to left to me and I thought, 'Oh, my gosh, this is not what I want for a winning putt.'"
"I ended up playing it straight. It did go left, caught the left side. Just so much relief. When it lipped in ... I don't really remember it lipping in, I just heard everyone roaring and I just looked up to the sky in relief."
Shauffele's four-day total of 21-under is the best-ever score at a major championship.
"I was kind of emotional after the putt lipped in," said Schauffele, who went wire-to-wire, leading or tied for the lead after each round.
"It's been awhile since I won and I kept saying all week I just needed to stay in my lane. Man, it was hard to stay in my lane today."
Schauffele, who moved to Jupiter last year, shot a 62-68-68-65 263. The putt came with Bryson DeChambeau watching on a large screen on the range after making his birdie putt on 18, an 11 footer, to catch Schauffele at 19-under. DeChambeau, who plays on the LIV tour, was hoping for a playoff.
DeChambeau, who finished with a bogey-free 64, turned and walked away when the ball dropped.
"I really didn't want to go into a playoff against Bryson," Schauffele said. "It would have been a lot of work. I told myself this is my opportunity, just capture it."
DeChambeau showed plenty of class, making sure he congratulated Schauffele, as the champion was on his way to scoring. They played against each other as juniors and DeChambeau said it was "cool" to see Schauffele win.
"I played well," DeChambeau said. "Didn't strike it my best all week. Proud of myself for the way I handled adversity. Definitely disappointing, but one that gives me a lot of momentum for the rest of the majors. I said today it was closing time, but it will be closing time hopefully, hopefully over the next couple majors."
DeChambeau was seeking his second major, having won the 2020 U.S. Open.
DeChambeau's chances at a playoff appeared real when Schauffele's tee shot in 18 rolled into the short rough just shy of a fairway bunker.
That meant Schauffele had to hit his second shot with both feet in the bunker. He struck it 219 yards to in front of the green, needing to get up and down from 36 feet for the life-changing win.
"Had some weird kind of breaks coming into the house," Schauffele said. "But it's all good now."
The win was Schauffele's eighth on the PGA Tour. He had come close to winning a major before, finishing tied for second at the 2019 Masters and 2018 British Open.
Schauffele briefly relinquished the lead Sunday when Hovland birdied No. 13, his sixth birdie in nine holes, to pass Schauffele at 19-under. Schauffele's bogey on No. 10 allowed Hovland to catch him at the top of the scoreboard before Hovland took the solo lead.
It was just Schauffele's second bogey of the tournament, although he did have a double bogey on No. 15 Saturday.
Schauffele recovered nicely with birdies on the 11th and 12th holes, regaining the lead when he stuck his tee shot to within 8 feet on the par-3 11th and made the putt. His approach shot settled 7 feet from the pin on the par-4 12th.
While DeChambeau did what he had to do on 18 to put pressure on Schauffele, Hovland, who lives in Palm Beach Gardens, was not close with his 10-foot birdie putt. Although a disappointed Hovland missed the short par putt it did not matter. He finished with a 66 and in third place at 18-under.
Like Schauffele, DeChambeau had to get up and down on 18 from the intermediate rough. He was left with an 11 footer for birdie.
With the crowd erupting as the putt creeped closer to the hole and dropping, DeChambeau raised his arms and pumped his fists.
Now, he had to wait out Shauffele to see if he would be back on the course for a three-hole aggregate playoff.
That didn't happen. Instead of the two dueling in a playoff on the the 18th green, we got Schauffele raising the Wanamaker Trophy.
"I looked at it as someone that is trying really hard and needs more experience," Schauffele said about chasing that first major. "All those close calls for me ... that sort of feeling, it gets to you at some point. It just makes this even sweeter."
Tom D'Angelo is a senior sports columnist and golf writer for The Palm Beach Post. He can be reached at tdangelo@pbpost.com.
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