Xander Schauffele Earns A New Narrative By Conquering His Major Demons With Masterful PGA Championship

Four days ago, Xander Schchauffele was just an incredibly talented player who consistently battled his way into contention in the biggest golf tournaments in the world, but would fade when it mattered most. He was the guy who could win an Olympic gold medal, but never hoist a major championship trophy. He was a player known more for his many close calls and not his seven PGA Tour wins. Schauffele is always there but never shows up when it matters most.

That Xander Schauffele, and the many demons he's accrued over the years creating that version, no longer exist.

Schauffele is now a major champion after putting together a magical four-day run to win the 2024 PGA Championship. 

His major championship record-setting 21-under par score, which was bookended with rounds of 62 Thursday and 65 Sunday, speaks for itself. Schauffele holding off Bryson DeChambeau and Viktor Hovland playing the roles of chasers during the final round is nothing to scoff at either. 

Xander Schauffele finallly earned his first major championship victory. (Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images)

To truly put into perspective how impressive Schauffele's performance was Sunday, we have to look back a full seven days, before Schauffele even arrived at Valhalla Golf Club.

Exactly a week before hoisting the Wanamaker Trophy, Schauffele stood on the first tee at Quail Hollow Golf Club with a one-shot lead over Rory McIlroy ahead of the final round of the Wells Fargo Championship, a signature event on the PGA Tour.

Things went well for Schauffele for seven holes on that Sunday when he made eagle to grab a two-shot lead with 11 holes to play. While not a major championship, it served as an opportunity for Schauffele to throw off at least one of the few monkeys on his back.

Schauffele then blinked, and eight holes later McIlroy held a six-shot lead before ultimately winning the tournament by five strokes. 

Another opportunity squandered, and another note for the large crowd of Schauffele doubters to look back on when Schauffele found himself in a similar spot later down the line.

It turns out that Schauffele had to wait just seven days for another opportunity to change his narrative as he began Sunday's final round tied atop the leaderboard alongside Colin Morikawa.

Xander Schauffele changed the narrative around him with his 2024 PGA Championship victory. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

While Schauffele had to execute his plan and hit proper golf shots to get the job done, it's the mental and human side of his PGA Championship victory that deserves praise.

Not only did he enter the week battered and bruised by the beating McIlroy handed out to him the previous Sunday, but also as a player who had 12 Top 10 finishes in 27 major championship appearances. 

The overwhelming majority of the golf world was expecting him to pull a typical Schauffele and not show any sort of killer instinct when he needed it most, but he finally showed that he does have the ability to flip the switch and get the job done in a major championship.

Schauffele wasn't just great Sunday, either, he was damn near flawless.

The 30-year-old got off to an ideal start with a birdie on the opening hole before making the turn at 4-under on the day. Still, with nine holes left to play, there was ample time for him to make the mistake most were expecting, and it actually came on the Par 5 10th hole.

Schauffele found a fairway bunker off the tee before making a mess of things around the green and walking away with a bogey six on the easiest hole on the golf course.

This felt like the moment. The moment Schauffele would curl up, take his foot off the gas, and just add another Top 5 finish to his resume. 

A new version of Schauffele showed up, however, as he answered the bogey with back-to-back birdies on the 11th and 12th holes. With Schauffele not letting the disappointing bogey affect the rest of his round, and the simple fact that Hovland and DeChambeau were running out of holes, the feeling that he could finally clear the major championship hurdle settled in.

"I've made a stupid bogey before and I've hit a really good shot after that. Today I finally made those putts," Schauffele explained during his post-round news conference. "I finally had enough pace or it lipped in or whatever you want to call it, it was my moment, and I was able to capitalize on some good iron shots coming in. In those moments, you can kind of feel it, and in the past when I didn't do it, it just wasn't there, and today I could feel that it was there."

DeChambeau did everything in his power by getting into the clubhouse at 20-under par, forcing Schauffele to make birdie on the 72nd hole to avoid a playoff, which is exactly what he did with a great second shot up near the green before holing a 6-footer to prove to the world that he does have what it takes to win a major championship.

"I really did not want to go into a playoff with Bryson. Going up 18 with his length, it's not something that I was going to have a whole lot of fun with," Schauffele said following his victory. "I was able to capture that moment there, getting up-and-down on 17 was really big, and then that chip there on 18 was big for me, as well. I just kept telling myself I need to earn this, earn this and be in the moment, and I was able to do that."

Every major champion has earned the title. Schauffele saying he wanted to go out and earn his, however, has a different feeling to it given the nightmare he was part of the previous Sunday against McIlroy and erasing the narrative he may never get the job done in a big one en route to a record-setting major championship victory.