PGA Championship recap: Xander Schauffele wins with dramatic final hole birdie

Xander Schauffele celebrates after a birdie on the sixth hole during the final round of the PGA Championship. Photo / AP

Xander Schauffele held off Bryson DeChambeau and the prospect of a playoff to claim his first major win at the PGA Championship at Valhalla.

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Collin Morikawa went to sleep with a share of the lead at the PGA Championship. He’s well-aware that by the time he reaches the first tee box for the final round, he might not have it anymore.

A low-scoring Saturday left a major-record 15 players at double-digits under par. They were bunched within five shots of the lead held by Morikawa and Xander Schauffele heading into Sunday’s finale at Valhalla Golf Club, which has mostly been soft, calm and defenseless all week.

“I’ve been in tournaments where you’ve lost the lead by the time you tee off,” said Morikawa, in search of his third major. “It could be like that tomorrow, who knows?”

Among those with a chance to catch up to Morikawa and Schauffele before they hit their first shots are Sahith Theegala. He shot 63 to finish at 14 under, one shot out of the lead.

Also, Shane Lowry. The Irishman missed a birdie putt by a sliver on the 18th hole that would have given him a major-championship record of 61. Lowry is at 13 under.

“I had a weird feeling through seven holes that I was going to shoot 61 today,” said Justin Rose, who played with Lowry on Saturday, made five birdies over his first seven holes, but “only” shot 64.

He is three shots out of the lead.

Some other angles to watch on the final day at the PGA:

X FACTOR

Last week, Schauffele had a one-shot lead over Rory McIlroy heading into the final round of the Wells Fargo and ended up losing by five. He says to win his first major, and win his first tournament since the 2022 Scottish Open, he needs to “stay in my lane,” and not worry about other scores or other players.

Along those lines, he is trying to treat Sunday like a Sunday at any other tournament, not like a day where he is trying to finally break through.

“At the end of the day, wherever the cards fall, they fall,” said Schauffele, who won a gold medal at the Olympics three years ago. “Yeah, it would mean a lot, obviously.”

MAD SCIENTIST

Bryson DeChambeau says he’s feeling as good or better about his game as he did in 2020. That was the year he overpowered Winged Foot to win his first major — the U.S. Open.

After making eagle on the par-5 18th, he’ll head into Sunday only two shots off the lead at Valhalla.

DeChambeau said part of his renaissance comes because he’s excited about new clubs he’s helped craft using the 3D printing process.

“It’s a slow but study grind to improving my equipment each and every week,” he said.

COMEBACK KID

Justin Thomas came from seven shots back to win the PGA Championship two years ago in 2022.

By those standards, Sunday’s comeback looks doable.

Thomas chipped in from 30 yards away in the rough on the par-3 14th to highlight a 67 that sent him home five shots out of the lead.

Thomas grew up in Louisville and knows no win at Valhalla would be more popular.

“I saw my freshman year English teacher today. I saw a teammate of mine, a guy that I drove to school with every day in high school,” he said. “There’s just a lot of people I’m seeing that I didn’t necessarily (think I’d see), but it’s also where I grew up, so I guess it’s a part of it.”