American Xander Schauffele won the British Open on Sunday to claim the second major championship of his career, just two months after winning his first.
The 30-year-old Californian delivered a faultless final round of 65 at Royal Troon on Scotland’s west coast to emerge from a congested leaderboard and grab the Claret Jug.
Schauffele, winner of the PGA Championship in May, finished on nine-under par, two shots ahead of England’s Justin Rose and Billy Horschel of the USA.
“Oh man,” he said. “Hearing your name called with ‘Open champion’ after it is something I’ve dreamed of for a very long time.”
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Schauffele had started the last 18 tied for second with five other players, a shot behind overnight leader Horschel.
Schauffele put together a tidy front nine under benign conditions on the Ayrshire links, reaching the turn at two-under par for the day after birdies at the sixth and seventh.
He then burst into life at the start of the inward half as his nearest challengers – Rose, world number 62 Horschel and South African Thriston Lawrence– began to falter.
Schauffele hit a sublime approach to the difficult 11th to set up a tap-in birdie before sinking a 16-foot birdie putt on the 13th to get to seven under alongside 27-year-old Lawrence.
Moments later Schauffele was in front on his own after Lawrence dropped his first shot of the day on the 12th.
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