Schauffele wins first major at PGA Championship in a thriller at Valhalla

By DOUG FERGUSON
AP Golf Writer

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Xander Schauffele cashed in at just the right time Sunday by making a 6-foot birdie putt on the final hole to win the PGA Championship for his first major with the lowest score in major championship history.

The Olympic gold medalist got something even more valuable in silver — that enormous Wanamaker Trophy after a wild week at Valhalla.

Schauffele closed with a 6-under 65 to beat Bryson DeChambeau, entertaining to the very end with a 10-foot birdie of his own on the par-5 18th for a 64.

Schauffele became the first player since Phil Mickelson in 2005 at Baltusrol to win the PGA Championship with a birdie on the last hole to win by one. And this took all he had. His drive on the par-5 18th rolled close enough to the bunker that he had to stand in the sand. He hit it beautifully down the left side, some 35 yards short, and pitched to 6 feet.

DeChambeau was on the range, staying loose for a potential playoff, watching Schauffele from a large video board. He walked all the way back to the 18th to join in with so many other players wanting to congratulate the 30-year-old Californian.

Schauffele, who began this championship with a 62 to tie the major championship record, finished at 21-under 263 with that winning birdie. That beats by one shot the major record previously shared by Brooks Koepka in the 2018 PGA Championship at Bellerive and Henrik Stenson in the 2016 British Open at Royal Troon.

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