The YouTube video that helped Xander Schauffele win the 2024 Open at Royal Troon

Xander Schauffele won the 2024 Open Championship at Royal Troon

Xander Schauffele won the 2024 Open Championship at Royal Troon to add to his PGA Championship victory in May.

Xander Schauffele won the 2024 Open Championship at Royal Troon, inspired by a YouTube video he watched in the run-up to the tournament.

The 30-year-old American hit an impressive bogey-free final round 65, including a 31 on the back nine, to surpass a packed leaderboard and finish two shots clear on a total of nine-under-par.

It is a second career major title for Schauffele, and his second in three months, as he becomes the first player to win The Open and US PGA Championship in the same year since Rory McIlroy in 2014.

Schauffele’s partner for the final round, Justin Rose, finished tied-second on seven-under alongside overnight leader Billy Horschel.

With a packed field all within a few shots of the lead at the beginning of Sunday’s final round, a lead changing hands throughout the afternoon always looked likely.

Schauffele started the day one shot behind overnight leader Billy Horschel and was two shots off the lead after six holes, but birdied four of the last eight holes while Horschel, Rose, and Thriston Lawrence failed to keep pace with the American down the stretch.

How a YouTube video helped Xander Schauffele win the 2024 Open at Royal Troon

“Hearing your name called with ‘Open Champion’ right after it is something I’ve dreamt of for a very long time,” said Schauffele. “Walking up the 18th, with the big yellow leaderboards, gave me chills.

“It really is one of the coolest feelings I’ve ever had in my life. I got chills walking down and quickly had to zap myself back into focus because the tournament wasn’t over yet.”

Holding the prized Claret Jug, Schauffele said he “can’t wait to drink out of it” and “If I just sat in a room with this trophy I’d just stare at it for hours”.

Schauffele says he’s always dreamed of the career grand slam.

“I’m one step closer to that,” he said, adding that Sunday’s final round was “the best round I have ever played”.

“I think winning the first one helped me a lot today on the back nine. I had some feeling of calmness come through. It was very helpful on what has been one of the hardest back nines I’ve ever played in a tournament.

It’s a dream come true to win two majors in one year. It took me forever just to win one, and to have two now is something else.

Schauffele also revealed that watching a YouTube video of Henrik Stenson and Phil Mickelson’s epic record-breaking duel in the previous Open at Royal Troon helped him secure the win.

“I actually watched the highlights of Phil and Henrik to motivate myself for this week – I guess that paid off.”

Schauffele finished T15 at last week’s Open warmup, the Scottish Open.

“I’ve been in Scotland for two weeks now,” he said. “The fans have been amazing. You guys have made it feel like a second home for me and I can’t wait to come back.”

In contrast to Bryson DeChambeau’s emotional celebrations after winning last month’s US Open at Pinehurst, Schauffele seemed cool, calm, and collected on the course and in the immediate aftermath of his victory.

“I felt pretty calm coming down the stretch and I thought my caddie did too until he told me he was about to puke on the 18^th tee,” he laughed.

Schauffele had 12 top-10 major finishes before the PGA Championship, but now has two of golf’s biggest trophies to his name. He also finished 8th at this year’s Masters and T7 at the US Open.

Schauffele’s new mental approach

Schauffele credits a change in attitude to his upturn in results, saying he can’t remember when he last got angry on the course, having made an active choice not to as it was impacting his game. 

“I think a long time ago I just kept tracking my rounds where I got angry, like truly deep down angry, and my mistakes started compounding. I get angry, but to me it’s all about the next shot. I know it’s cliche and people try to talk about it, but you really can make yourself happy if you try to hit a good shot as your next one versus just snowballing the wrong way.

“Easier said than done, of course, but I’ve never broken a club, but I’ve gotten pretty pissed off on property. You can probably ask Austin. He’s like an elephant. He keeps track of all these things in his mind.

“The same way I don’t get really angry, I also don’t let myself get too over the moon because to me it’s the same thing. If I’m sitting there snapping a club, that would be the same as me running around fist-pumping. It would take too long for me to adjust before my next shot to hit a good one. I’ve kind of embraced this sort of SoCal, laid-back kid, but there’s obviously a fire burning deep within, or you wouldn’t have a couple majors sitting by your side.”

Did the conditions favour Schauffele?

The weather played a big part in the 2024 Open at Royal Troon, with those on the wrong side of the draw facing a course that played many shots tougher than those who benefitted from calmer conditions.

It’s often said that being on the right side of the draw is key to winning The Open and Schauffele was happy to acknowledge his good fortune in that regard

“I only had one hard round this week in the wind and rain and I managed that well,” he said.

I followed Schauffele for the final round of The Open, inside the ropes

TG.com editor Rob Jerram was lucky enough to follow the Schauffele and Rose pairing inside the ropes for Sunday’s final round. Here’s his breakdown:

“You felt the momentum shift with Rose’s bogey at 12 and gradually the hope just faded as Schauffele never looked like slipping. A man who used to close like a revolving door is suddenly slamming shut like a state prison. He looked unflappable. Rose pressed like a man who wanted this more than anything and said afterwards that didn’t allow him to play with the same freedom as Xander. In truth, Xander didn’t allow Rose to press like Xander. He’s now an assassin and this won’t be the end of his Majors. He’s undoubtedly the player of the year. Forget what Scheffler has achieved this season – it’s incredible, but Scottie would swap any and all of those Signature Event wins to be holding the Claret Jug.”

About the author

Rob McGarr – Contributing Editor

Rob has been a writer and editor for over 15 years, covering all manner of subjects for leading magazines and websites.

He has previously been Features Editor of Today’s Golfer magazine and Digital Editor of todays-golfer.com, and held roles at FHM, Men’s Running, Golf World, and MAN Magazine.

You can follow him on YouTube where – depending on what day of the week it is – he’ll either be trying his best to get his handicap down to scratch or shoving his clubs in a cupboard, never to be seen again.

Rob is a member at Royal North Devon, England’s oldest golf course, where he plays off a two-handicap.