Xander Schauffele of the United States emerged victories against some of the game’s top players at the 2024 PGA Championship at Valhalla. The 30-year-old had a brilliant final round to finish one stroke ahead of his compatriot Bryson DeChambeau.
This was a tense affair with the tournament going to the wire. Schauffele birdied the 18th to finish the final round with a 65, one stroke ahead of DeChambeau. That meant Schauffele edged the tournament with a 21 under par finish. It was the first major of his career.
Schauffele will earn $3.3 million after holding off the competition and his total earning in 2024 are over 10 million so far. The California native has firmly established himself as one of golf’s elite players.
The world of golf has been divided since the LIV professional tour was established, with the heavy funding for the new tour coming from Saudi Arabia. Schauffele has been one of the players that has remainded loyal to the PGA tour, while others, including Bryson DeChambeau have made the shift over to LIV. Schauffele’s win ensures that a LIV star does not have a major win.
Stefan Schauffele, the father of Xander, insisted that his son would reject any lucrative offer from LIV under the current format.
“What we told LIV in Saudi Arabia, with Xander beside me, was that if there is no path back to the PGA Tour and if there is no chance at World Ranking points we do not have anything to talk about. Even if you throw hundreds of millions of dollars at him. That word still stands,” said Stefan Schauffele.
Xander Schauffele’s victory is a major boost from the PGA as they work to be the premier golf tour in the coming years.
