Xander Schauffele enjoyed another strong showing at The Open Championship, but it was his fellow American Scottie Scheffler who clinched the Claret Jug.
Schauffele finished T7 at Royal Portrush as Scheffler emerged victorious, with the latter claiming a maiden win at The Open.
He finished on 17-under in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, four shots ahead of runner-up Harris English.
Schauffele didn’t think he could catch Scheffler heading into Sunday, and that proved true for him and every other player in contention.
They could only stand and watch as the world number one dominated proceedings, earning himself a fourth major championship win.
Xander Schauffele makes Scottie Scheffler and Tiger Woods claim as The Open concludes
And Schauffele discussed his compatriot following his final round, with the former having fallen short of defending his title from Royal Troon in 2024.
When asked what he thought was going through Scheffler’s head in the closing stages, Schauffele said: “Yeah, I’m sure he’s doing it shot by shot, cruising along here.
“It’s nice to have 17 and 18, you can hit irons off both tees with a four-shot lead. He might hit driver just because he hits it really straight.
“Yeah, he’s incredible. He really is. I don’t think we thought the golfing world would see someone as dominant as Tiger [Woods] come through so soon, and here’s Scottie sort of taking that throne of dominance.
“You can’t even say he’s on a run. He’s just been killing it for over two years now. He’s a tough man to beat, and when you see his name up on the leaderboard, it sucks for us.”
Adding a similar sentiment on Sky Sports Golf, Schauffele said: “People are shy to say it but he’s doing some Tiger-like stuff.
“When you see his name up there you are kind of like, great. There is that sort of sentiment, at least from myself.
“Credit to him and his team. He has been on an incredible… you can’t even call it a run. He has been playing some incredible golf.”
Xander Schauffele says what he needs to ‘address moving forward’ after The Open
While Scheffler is the man of the moment in world golf, Schauffele is undoubtedly trending in the right direction.
He endured a tricky time earlier this season amid a rib injury, but is now beginning to look like his former self.
However, last year’s Open winner has admitted there is room for improvement, having been asked after his final round if his putting struggles were his main issue throughout the week.
He replied: “I kind of did the back and forth. I felt like I started to hit the ball a lot better, and as soon as I started to hit the ball a lot better, I gave myself a lot of chances, and I started putting a lot worse.
“Putted better when I was hitting it worse, and putted worse when I was hitting it better. I got golfed today and this week.
“I tried my very best and need to obviously address sort of… I feel like I just wasn’t hitting my putts hard enough for what fescue and how bumpy the greens are late in the afternoon. So something I need to address moving forward.”
He can be very proud of his efforts, with another top 10 finish now secured after his T8 finish at last week’s Scottish Open, but that falls well short of Scheffler’s current success levels.
Brandel Chamblee thinks Scheffler is ‘in touch’ with Woods, who boasts a stunning 15 major championship wins.
The legendary figure also has 82 PGA Tour wins, with Scheffler now on 17 after his hugely impressive triumph at The Open.
Receive exclusive golf news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
