PGA Championship: Schauffele, DeChambeau shine whereas Rahm, Koepka battle

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Two of the yr’s 4 majors at the moment are full, and the most recent offered us with an exciting Sunday that resulted in a single participant successful his first main championship whereas a number of others fell simply in need of the feat.

Xander Schauffele was not the one one who may take one thing away from Valhalla this week, although a lot others are leaving the 2024 PGA Championship with a foul style of their mouths.

Listed here are this week’s winners and losers:

Winners

Over 18 holes on Sunday, Schauffele flipped the script that had dogged him all through his profession — that he could not shut when it mattered most.

After going 2-for-8 whereas holding a 54-hole lead in his PGA Tour profession earlier than the ultimate spherical Sunday, Schauffele carded a 6-under 65 to complete with a 72-hole complete of 21 below.

The 30-year-old received his first main championship in his twenty eighth begin and utterly modified the trajectory of his profession from a participant who could not win one of many huge 4 to a serious championship winner who’s taking part in one of the best golf of his life.

He seemed totally different below strain on Sunday, not letting a few unhealthy breaks from the tee have an effect on him on the ultimate two holes — and he made the most important putt of his profession on the 72nd.

“I do not assume I might ever have a look at it as missing,” Schauffele mentioned. “I checked out it as somebody that’s attempting actually exhausting and desires extra expertise. All these shut requires me, even final week, that kind of feeling, it will get to you in some unspecified time in the future. It simply makes this even sweeter. I do know it is a main, however simply successful typically, that is as candy because it will get for me.”

Although shifting to LIV Golf could have barely eliminated him from the limelight, DeChambeau proved for the second straight main that the change hasn’t affected his skill to compete for the game’s high tournaments.

After heading into Sunday at Augusta with a shot at his first inexperienced jacket and ending tied for sixth, DeChambeau almost added to his lone main complete this week at Valhalla with an electrical closing spherical that fell only one stroke in need of a playoff with Schauffele. The 2021 U.S. Open winner has now completed contained in the top-10 at 4 of his final seven main appearances.

There’s one thing about DeChambeau that is change into evident throughout these final two majors. His quirkiness and showmanship have solely elevated since leaving for LIV and the followers appear to gravitate towards it. Greater than most golfers, DeChambeau seems to feed off that power.

On Sunday at Valhalla, two issues have been clear: DeChambeau was the gang favourite, and the best way his sport is shaping up, it feels prefer it’s solely a matter of time earlier than he wins one other main.

It was almost a yr in the past, after carding a 12-over 84 within the opening spherical of the Memorial Match on June 2, that Horschel broke down and admitted his confidence “is the bottom it has been in my whole profession.”

Horschel struggled mightily final season with simply three top-10 finishes in 23 begins. He missed almost as many cuts (10) as he made (13). He completed ninetieth in FedEx Cup factors and fell to 94th within the Official World Golf Rating.

Billy Ho is again now.

On April 21, he received the Corales Puntacana Championship (sure, it was towards a lesser area). He appeared to believe once more at Valhalla, posting a 7-under 64 on Sunday to tie for eighth at 13-under 271.

It was Horschel’s finest end in 12 begins within the PGA Championship and simply his second top-10 end in 41 main begins throughout his profession.

MacIntyre has struggled adjusting to life within the U.S. since shifting to Florida about six months in the past to play recurrently on the PGA Tour. A local of Scotland, MacIntyre has spent a lot of his profession on the DP World Tour. He admitted that lacking residence obtained one of the best of him this season.

He missed 5 cuts and had only one top-10 end in his first 10 begins.

That modified as soon as MacIntyre put the golf equipment down and went residence. After spending three weeks with household and pals in Scotland, he got here again to the U.S. with a recent outlook.

The European Ryder Cup group member tied for eighth at 13 below with 4 straight rounds below par. He did not have his finest stuff Sunday, however he battled for a 1-under 70.

It was his finest end in a serious within the U.S.

“It was an excellent week,” MacIntyre mentioned. “First time I really feel like I’ve actually been in a serious championship going right into a closing spherical. I did not fairly have my finest stuff at this time, however it was stable within the stuff that I have been engaged on, and extra personally and virtually emotionally it actually labored. I stayed affected person, form of obtained my reward, and it is simply so pleasing to see that I can keep within the combat.”

It was fairly per week for Hovland. The 2023 Tour Championship winner admitted he almost pulled out of the event given how poorly he was taking part in. As a substitute, he almost received it.

Hovland completed two strokes behind Schauffele however the consequence far exceeded any expectations he had coming into the week. He not too long ago reunited with swing coach Joe Mayo, who appears to have labored some magic to get the 27-year-old taking part in in addition to he did this week.

Hovland seemed to be able to take over the golf world on the finish of 2023, and as a substitute he hit a wall and commenced looking for different methods to repair his golf swing. Now, a third-place end at a serious he almost did not play might be simply the tip of the iceberg.

A homecoming could have been precisely what Thomas wanted. The 2-time PGA Championship winner arrived at Valhalla with not solely the strain of taking part in at residence, but in addition of attempting to proceed to show his sport round given the struggles of the final yr.

Thomas had been trending in the suitable route, however a T-8 end this week — his finest at a serious since that 2022 PGA Championship win — could be the catalyst for his quest again to the highest of the game. Thomas not solely exhibited shades of his outdated self, however he additionally gave the Louisville crowd a few of its finest moments, most notably, with the unbelievable flop shot birdie chip on the 14th gap Saturday.

“It was an unbelievable week. I am bummed it is over,” Thomas mentioned Sunday. “I had a lot enjoyable. The followers have been unbelievable. I performed some actually, actually, actually good golf. I performed a lot effectively sufficient to win this week, and it simply — yeah, I had a blast.”

Losers

The defending PGA Championship winner was blunt when he was requested to evaluate his efficiency at Valhalla this week.

“Not excellent,” Koepka mentioned. “I believe it is fairly apparent, is not it?”

Koepka wasn’t unhealthy for 3 of the 4 rounds, however a 3-over 74 on Saturday knocked him out of rivalry for a fourth Wanamaker Trophy. He posted a 5-under 66 on Sunday to tie for twenty sixth at 9 below over 72 holes.

It was his third straight disappointing end at a serious — he tied for sixty fourth on the 2023 Open Championship at Royal Liverpool and for forty fifth on the Masters in April.

Nonetheless, Koepka believes he is near placing it along with the U.S. Open a few month away.

“I really feel like I am taking part in good,” Koepka mentioned. “It is simply yesterday was simply form of unlucky timing. However I felt like I am taking part in all proper. I missed a bunch of putts on Friday from inside like 5 ft, after which yesterday’s spherical was unlucky. However aside from that, I believe I am fairly near proper there.”

The defending U.S. Open champion has fewer than 4 weeks to show issues round earlier than he heads to Pinehurst No. 2, the place he’ll try and change into the primary back-to-back champion since Koepka in 2017-18.

Clark had a second straight disappointing end when he missed the reduce on the PGA Championship, posting 4-over 146 within the first two rounds. Final week, he tied for forty seventh on the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hole, one other occasion he received final yr, and completed 7 over, 24 pictures behind Rory McIlroy. He additionally missed the reduce on the Masters.

After successful at Pebble Seashore in early February and ending second to Scottie Scheffler on the Arnold Palmer Invitational and The Gamers in March, Clark has cooled off significantly.

If DeChambeau has been the spotlight of LIV Golf within the majors this yr, then Rahm has been the frustration. The 2-time main winner missed the reduce at this yr’s PGA after ending exterior the top-40 in his Masters’ protection earlier this yr.

It was extra than simply the outcomes: Rahm seemed out of types, out of rhythm and even threw a membership at one level in disgust. It is too early to say whether or not taking part in a LIV restricted schedule versus the traditional PGA Tour routine, which Rahm excelled with lately, is the distinction. Nevertheless, it is protected to say Rahm hasn’t been performing as much as his potential in main championships.

Rahm remains to be among the best gamers on the planet, there isn’t any doubt about that. And he may play extraordinarily effectively at Pinehurst and Royal Troon. For now, nonetheless, he clearly is not taking part in on the degree we have come to count on of him at majors.

“​​There was instances in my profession the place I might say perhaps I wasn’t hitting it my finest however issues simply appeared to go your method and also you carry that confidence on for just a few months and obtained a variety of nice outcomes,” Rahm mentioned earlier than his first spherical at Valhalla. “Then when you’re not taking part in good, when you’re not swinging it good, then at that time you perhaps must assess do I would like to alter something technically, what is going on on? It might be so many various methods to really feel such as you’re in a roadblock that it is exhausting to precisely pinpoint one in all them.”

Homa appeared to be trending in the suitable instructions at majors after struggling mightily in them earlier in his profession. After tying for tenth at The Open final season after which tying for third on the Masters, he tied for thirty fifth at 8-under 276.

Homa posted a 3-under 68 on Thursday however could not do any higher over the ultimate 54 holes.

As all the time, nonetheless, he is nonetheless successful on social media. He poked enjoyable at his buddy, Scottie Scheffler, who rallied to tie for eighth Sunday after spending a part of Friday morning in jail, following his arrest for a visitors incident.

“Irritating week in KY,” Homa wrote on Instagram. “Misplaced to a man who was actually in jail Friday morning. Powerful search for me. The journey continues in Fort Price subsequent week.”

After taking part in within the closing group on the Masters and being unable to maintain with Scheffler, Morikawa was adamant that two holes value him an opportunity at a inexperienced jacket. After as soon as once more discovering himself within the closing group on the PGA Championship and developing brief but once more, Morikawa had a distinct, extra self-aware tackle what went unsuitable.

“The whole lot,” he mentioned after taking pictures even par and never making a single birdie putt till the ultimate gap. “Look, to win a serious championship, you have to have your stable golf sport. Individuals discuss successful with their B-game, C-game, A-game. Felt like although I have been placing the outcomes collectively, it nonetheless looks like I am taking part in with a C- to B-game. I would not say I am faking it. I am grinding and I am placing collectively a rating, and that is what you’ll be able to ask. But when I need to have the ability to shut out the final two, simply obtained to be a bit bit sharper, and it is simply not there.”

Morikawa’s putter had saved him within the event all week lengthy, however on Sunday it deserted him and uncovered some gaps inside his sport that also must be improved if he needs to really contend at a serious once more.

“These first two have been disappointing, however there can nonetheless be a optimistic outlook,” Morikawa mentioned. “I will have to simply determine the right way to be higher.”

Valhalla Golf Membership

There was a variety of discuss information at Valhalla this week and on the heart of all of it was the golf course. Not solely did Valhalla give up two 62s this week — tied for the bottom spherical at a serious ever — however it additionally produced the bottom 72-hole rating at any main ever.

It wasn’t strictly the fault of the course, as heavy rain precipitated the course to play additional mushy, permitting for one of the best gamers on the planet to, as Thomas mentioned, tear it aside. However in some ways, what transpired over 4 rounds of play didn’t precisely encourage confidence that this model of Valhalla may maintain as much as the fashionable sport going ahead.

There is not any doubt that Valhalla failed to really be a serious championship take a look at. Between the situations and the best way the setup typically pressured gamers into the identical locations and the identical pictures, the bunched-up leaderboard masked among the flaws of attempting to make the world’s finest play their finest. Do not get me unsuitable: Schauffele managed this event from begin to end and deserved to win. Valhalla, in the meantime, will probably be fortunate to see one other PGA Championship come their method any time quickly.