Courtesy of San Diego State
SAN DIEGO — Former San Diego State men’s golfer Xander Schauffele captured the 2024 PGA Championship for his first major title Sunday afternoon at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky. Schaueffele, who now has eight career PGA Tour victories along with a gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, shot a 6-under-par 65 in today’s final round on the par-71, 7,609-yard track to complete the wire-to-wire win at -21-under 263, beating Bryson DeChambeau (-20) by a stroke.
The 263 was the lowest 72-hole scoring total in a major championship, while the 21-under-par was the lowest score to par in major championship history. In 28 career majors, Schauffele now has a win, two runner-ups, seven top-5s and 13 top-10s.
Schauffele opened his weekend with a 9-under 62 on Thursday, which tied a low for a major championship. His three-shot lead shrunk to one following a 68 in Friday’s second round and another 68 on Saturday had him tied with Collin Morikawa at -15 going into today’s final round. DeChambeau tied Schauffele at -20 with a birdie on the 72nd hole, but Schauffele matched him, becoming the first player since Phil Mickelson in 2005 at Baltusrol to win the PGA Championship by one shot with a birdie on the last hole.
Schauffele’s drive on the par-5, 570-yard 18th was left of the fairway, just short of a fairway bunker. Facing an awkward stance and both feet in the bunker, Schauffele hit a long iron to around 35 yards short of the green. He chipped his third shot up the hill before sinking a 6-footer for the win. For the round, Schauffele made seven birdies with just one bogey.
Schauffele’s eight PGA Tour victories have come at the 2017 Greenbrier Classic, 2017 Tour Championship, 2018 WGC-HSBC Champions, 2019 Sentry Tournament of Champions, 2022 Zurich Classic of New Orleans, 2022 Travelers Championship, 2022 Scottish Open and the 2024 PGA Championship. Schauffele also won the gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Schauffele entered the PGA Championship ranked second in official golf world rankings (OGWR) and Data Golf Rankings. He’s also second in the FedEx Cup standings.
A two-time PING All-West Region honoree, Schauffele received All-America recognition following a brilliant senior campaign at San Diego State in 2015, garnering third-team accolades from the both the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) and Golfweek.
In his three years on Montezuma Mesa, Schauffele amassed 21 top-10 finishes, 16 top-five performances and two individual titles before graduating with a degree in social science. He also owns the school record with a 71.50 career scoring average in 118 rounds played, as well as the program’s single-season standard of 171 birdies set in 2014-15.
