Xander Schauffele, Scottie Scheffler lead major season superlatives

TROON, Scotland -- Another major championship season has come and gone, and this one will be remembered as one that was dominated by American golfers, especially Xander Schauffele.

After waiting seven years to win his first major championship, Schauffele won two -- the PGA Championship and The Open -- in the span of two months. He captured the Claret Jug with a 2-stroke win over Justin Rose and Billy Horschel at Royal Troon Golf Club on Sunday.

Schauffele said he dreamed about winning The Open since he was a teenager in San Diego.

"I sat down with my dad when I was maybe 15 and 16, and we started to really hash out some goals and dreams of what I'd like to do," Schauffele said. "I was on the couch with my dad a lot watching other guys win majors and win big tournaments.

"My dad and I, we've definitely talked about this. We've watched that walk up 18 pretty much every year until I've played in The Open. It's definitely something that we've both dreamt of."

It's the seventh consecutive major won by an American golfer, the longest such streak since they captured 13 straight from 1974 to 1977.

Here's a look back at the best and worst from the majors this season:

Best performer: Schauffele

World No. 1 golfer Scottie Scheffer has won six times this season, but Schauffele dominated the majors, becoming the first golfer since Brooks Koepka in 2018 to capture more than one major in the same season.

At the PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky, Schauffele closed with a 6-under 65 to defeat Bryson DeChambeau by 1 stroke. Then Schauffele carded the same score in the final round of The Open at Royal Troon Golf Club on Sunday to become the Champion Golfer of the Year.

Schauffele is the first golfer in the Masters era (since 1934) to have multiple final rounds of 65 or better in the majors in the same year.

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Scottie Scheffler taps in par putt for 2nd career Masters title

Scottie Scheffler shoots a final-round 68 and finishes at 11 under par to win his second career Masters.

The only other golfer who had multiple final rounds of 65s or better while winning majors was Jack Nicklaus, who did it at the 1967 U.S. Open and 1986 Masters.

Schauffele's 72-hole total of 21-under 263 at the PGA Championship set a scoring record for the majors, beating the previous best of 20 under by Koepka in the 2018 PGA Championship and Henrik Stenson in the 2016 Open Championship.

Best finish: U.S. Open

It was a thrilling 18-hole duel between DeChambeau and Rory McIlroy, the face of the PGA Tour, at Pinehurst No. 2 in North Carolina, one of the most iconic American golf courses.

McIlroy started the final round three strokes behind DeChambeau, but took a two-shot lead with five holes to play after carding four birdies in a five-hole stretch around the turn. After both golfers made bogeys on the par-3 15th -- McIlroy cooked his tee shot over the green; DeChambeau missed a 4-footer for par -- the real drama came over the final three holes.

Playing in the pairing ahead of DeChambeau, McIlroy missed a par putt of 2 feet, 6 inches on the 16th, dropping him into a tie with DeChambeau. After making a nice up-and-down save for par from a greenside bunker on the par-3 17th, McIlroy missed another short putt on the 18th -- this one from 3 feet, 9 inches.

Needing to make par on the final hole, DeChambeau pulled his tee shot behind a wiregrass bush to the left. He blasted out into a fairway bunker, setting up the most memorable shot and up-and-down of his career. He made par to finish 6 under 274, one better than McIlroy.

It was DeChambeau's second U.S. Open title -- he also won at Winged Foot Golf Club in New York in 2020. He became the second player from LIV Golf to win a major, joining Koepka, who won his third PGA Championship title last year.

Best shot: DeChambeau's bunker shot on No. 18 at the U.S. Open

DeChambeau called his 55-yard bunker shot from the 18th fairway on the final hole of the U.S. Open "probably the best shot of his life."

It will be remembered as one of the most iconic shots in the tournament's history.

Before DeChambeau pulled back his 55-degree wedge, his caddie, Greg Bodine, told him: "Bryson, just get it up-and-down. That's all you've got to do. You've done this plenty of times before. I've seen some crazy shots from you from 50 yards out of a bunker."

THE BUNKER SHOT OF HIS CAREER!@b_dechambeau has this putt left to win the U.S. Open! pic.twitter.com/Vleb6k6PvO

— U.S. Open (@usopengolf) June 16, 2024

DeChambeau did it again, hitting his shot to 3 feet, 11 inches. He made the putt to win his second major.

"From a technicality standpoint, you can't miss it a millimeter behind the ball or a millimeter too close to the ball,'' DeChambeau explained. "From 60 yards with an open face, it's an explosion shot, and if you catch it just a little thin, I'm hitting it into that clubhouse. There is no room for error. Very, very little room for error.

"For it to even go that far out of a bunker takes a pretty darned good amount of strength. If I chunked it, too, it's short, hits the front edge and comes right back down. Now I'm trying to get up-and-down just to get into a playoff."

Best second nine: Scheffler at the Masters

Having already won two tournaments in March and tying for second at the Texas Children's Houston Open, after he missed a 5-foot birdie putt that would have forced a playoff, golf fans couldn't have known that Scheffler was only getting started.

The world No. 1 golfer grabbed a 1-shot lead heading into the final round of the 88th Masters at Augusta National Golf Club and seemed well on his way to winning a second green jacket in three years.

But a couple of mistakes on the front -- yes, he is human -- led to bogeys on Nos. 4 and 7, leaving him in a four-way tie for first. But Scheffler quickly answered with three consecutive birdies around the turn. He made a 10-footer on the par-5 eighth, nearly holed out for eagle on the par-4 ninth and then sank a 9-footer on the par-4 10th to seize control again.