PGA Tour star Xander Schauffele was able to secure his first major championship on Sunday after an excellent final round at the PGA Championship. But it was far from a stress-free victory for Schauffele, as he had to overcome some chasing adversaries with some incredible shots down the stretch of the tournament.
Schauffele went into the Par 5 18th hole on Sunday tied with LIV Golf’s Bryson DeChambeau at -20. He was in the final pairing alongside Collin Morikawa, so all that stood between him and his first major championship was a birdie on the final hole.
His first shot on 18 wasn’t his best, hitting it to the fringe of a fairway bunker, which made a very tricky second shot to try and get close to the green in two.
The shot required him to stand in the bunker and hit it from the first cut with a slope that pushed the shot severely to the left. This meant that it took absolute precision to set himself up for his third shot. Schauffele did just that, hitting his second shot just a few yards off the green.
Attack an awkward lie with confidence like 2024 PGA Champion Xander Schauffele with these key tips from Ryan Adams, PGA. 🏆@TMobile | @PGAChampionship pic.twitter.com/0Y66NzUnsR
— PGA of America (@PGA) May 19, 2024
This ultimately set up a chip from Xander onto the green, and later a birdie putt that he would make to secure his victory.
“XANDER! With victory at Valhalla.”
Jim Nantz on the call as Xander Schauffele birdies the 72nd hole of the PGA Championship to claim his first major. pic.twitter.com/4dbNnYJoYq
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) May 19, 2024
Xander’s third and fourth shots on the hole may not have been possible without his excellent recovery shot while standing in the bunker.
If you needed any proof of how difficult Schauffele’s second shot was to pull off, Golf Channel’s Johnson Wagner certainly provided some. After the tournament had concluded, Wagner attempted to replicate Schauffele’s shot from the same position on the 18th hole. And let’s just say that it wasn’t anywhere near as close as Schauffele’s shot was…
Golf Channel’s Johnson Wagner tried his best to replicate Xander Schauffle’s second shot on the 18th hole to help secure the PGA Championship victory.
Let’s just say there is a reason why Xander Schauffele is now a major champion… pic.twitter.com/7kGhP68sB6
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) May 20, 2024
Wagner is a three-time winner on the PGA Tour who played professional golf for over a decade, even reaching the top 100 in the Official World Golf Rankings at one point in his career. So for him to struggle so much with that same shot just goes to show how incredibly difficult it truly was, and how incredibly easy Schauffele made it look.
This also isn’t the first time this tournament that Wagner has had trouble replicating one of Schauffele’s shots. Wagner tried to copy an excellent chip shot of Schauffele’s on Golf Central Friday, which he also was not able to pull off.
About Reice Shipley
Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.