Schauffele Got the Job Done on Sunday; Looking Ahead, What Does the Next Month of Golf Have in Store?
There was no shortage of storylines during last weekend’s PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Ky. World number one Scottie Scheffler was arrested Friday morning, yet still managed to shoot 5-under par on the day and finished tied for eighth overall. Valhalla proved to be an easier course when compared to the scores typically seen in a major tournament, especially after Shane Lowry and eventual winner Xander Schauffele both carded 62s on Saturday and Thursday respectively, tying the lowest score ever in a major. Runner-up Bryson DeChambeau nailed a clutch birdie putt to get to 20-under par and in position for a 3-hole playoff, putting all the pressure on Schauffele to birdie the final hole.
It’s safe to say that the PGA lived up to the hype that most majors do. Emerging victorious, Schauffele is now a member of one of golf’s most coveted groups after winning his first major title. Over his 8-year career on the PGA Tour, he’s been known as the “best golfer to not have won a major” after placing top-five in Majors six times, including two runner-up finishes in the 2018 Open Championship and the 2019 Masters. Now, Schauffele can safely leave Louisville with that monkey off his back.
Schauffele’s clutch play over the weekend sets up for an interesting rest of the season. While Scheffler has been on top of the golf world for the past two months after having won four tournaments throughout March and April – including a four-shot Masters win – his streak came to an end after a two-over round of 73 on Saturday put him out of contention. Whether Friday’s arrest or absence of caddie Ted Scott on Saturday was the reason for Scheffler’s poor round, the world’s best golfer will have plenty of opportunities to make up for it.
The Charles Schwab Challenge next weekend features a field with many of last weekend’s contenders, namely Collin Morikawa, who was in the final pairing on Sunday, in addition to Europeans Justin Rose and Robert MacIntyre, both of whom finished in the top 10 last weekend. Colonial Country Club – which recently underwent a $20 million renovation ahead of this year’s tournament – will see scores significantly lower than the PGA. Emilian Grillo, last year’s winner, finished at eight-under par, and Sam Burns, the 2022 champion, managed a final-round 65 to get him to nine-under par.
Scheffler has been in contention at the Charles Schwab for the last two years. In 2022, Burns beat Scheffler in a one-hole playoff. The following year, Grillo battled Adam Schenk in a two-hole playoff, but a birdie on the second playoff hole was good enough for the win and Scheffler finished tied for third. Scheffler, who lives next door in Dallas, will benefit from Colonial’s relatively flat terrain and will be able to utilize his ability to find the green to give himself chances for birdies. Scheffler will be amongst the favorites, and without the LIV Golf players – like DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka – in the field, look for him to be atop the leaderboard throughout the weekend.
Following the Charles Schwab Challenge are the Canadian Open and The Memorial Tournament, but the season’s next major is already less than a month away. The U.S. Open at Pinehurst number two begins on June 13th, and last hosted the tournament back in 2014 when Martin Kaymer won by eight strokes. Pinehurst number two has proven to be on the most difficult courses on Tour, given the fact that the second-best score behind Kaymer was a mere one-under par.
There isn’t any limit as to who could contend for this year’s U.S. Open, but there isn’t any reason to doubt that Schauffele can go back-to-back. Schauffele’s best tournament throughout his career has been the U.S. Open, as he’s never finished outside of the top 14 in his seven tournament appearances. Defending champion Wyndham Clark will look to post a strong performance after missing the cut at both the Masters and the PGA. Many of the top LIV players are in the field as well, and given DeChambeau’s performance in the PGA and Koepka’s victory in LIV’s recent Singapore tournament there’s a chance they’ll contend for the title.
Now that Schauffele has a major win under his belt, Tony Finau will replace him as one of the winningest golfers without a major trophy. While Finau has yet to win an event so far this year, he was in contention at the PGA until the weekend and his play indicated that he’s playing good golf at the moment. Finau is a golfer who doesn’t always put up the biggest individual rounds, and Pinehurst favors golfers who slowly build up good overall scores. If Finau’s strong level of play continues over the next month, he has a good chance at contending for the U.S. Open.
