AMERICA’S XANDER SCHAUFFELE won his second Major of the golf season as he finished two shots clear of the field to win The Open Championship at Royal Troon. Schauffele shot a final round of 65 to win on nine-under par, two clear of Justin Rose and Billy Horschel, while South Africa’s Thriston Lawrence — who held the lead after 11 holes of the final round — finished a shot further back in fourth following a 68. Shane Lowry finished in sixth place on four-under after a closing 68.
Lowry, who held the outright lead after 36 holes, made four birdies in five holes on the front nine to briefly move to within just one shot of the lead, but ultimately finished five behind Schauffele. Schauffele, who registered a major record of 21-under par to win the US PGA at Valhalla in May, is the first player to win two majors in a year since Brooks Koepka in 2018. The world number three is also the seventh American winner in the last eight Opens at Royal Troon – Sweden’s Henrik Stenson having denied Phil Mickelson in a thrilling duel in 2016 – and will head to Paris to defend his Olympic title in brilliant form.
Schauffele, who has now finished no worse than 18th in his last 10 starts, was eighth in the Masters and seventh in the US Open either side of his US PGA triumph, where he birdied the 72nd hole to edge out Bryson DeChambeau by a shot. Rose was bidding to become the first qualifier to lift the Claret Jug since Paul Lawrie in 1999, while the 4,053-day gap since his 2013 US O.