“It was very dramatic” – Xander Schauffele on claims of scores at PGA Championship being ‘too low for a major’
Xander Schauffele has responded to the claims surrounding the low winning scores of the 2024 PGA Championship. The American golfer secured his maiden Major victory at last week's PGA Championship. After completing four rounds, he finished with a score of under par 21, winning the Major by one stroke over Bryson DeChambeau.
Schauffele appeared on the Dan Patrick Show, where the host asked for his views on the Major score. According to Schauffele, the Valhalla Golf Course was the perfect venue for a Major.
"It's tough. You pick out an incredible venue like Valhalla; it's got that Championship feel. It's a massive property, and it allows for this. I looked up on 18, and I looked around, and I was like, holy smokes, there's a lot of people here. It was like something that one of the cooler things I've ever seen and then how quiet it got right before I hit my putt was something so crazy as well that I really haven't talked a whole lot with other people outside my own circle."
Adding to his statement, Schauffele also discussed the weather conditions at the venue.
"But when the weather comes through, and it's foggy, it rains, and then you add in the fact that it wasn't very windy. I don't care how much equipment sub-air, people you have trying to get fans on the course. It is what it is. So I think for fans, I hope it was very entertaining and it was very dramatic. That's like the least we can offer from our sport," he added
Last week's Major was highly affected, and delayed on the first day due to fog. However, despite this, the play was successfully concluded on Sunday, May 19, at the Valhalla Golf Course.
The venue also hosted the Major in 2014 when Rory McIlroy emerged victorious, registering a one-stroke victory over Phil Mickelson. However, that year, McIlroy finished the four rounds with a score of under 16.
Xander Schauffele's record-breaking lowest round at PGA Championship 2024
At the 2024 PGA Championship, Xander Schauffele shot a round of 62 in the opening round of the event. His under-par 21 score is the lowest winning score of the PGA Championship since 1958. Previously, Jason Day scored under par 20 in 2015, the lowest at the PGA Championship. In the last four editions, the champions did not come close to touching the double-digit deficit.
In 2023, Brooks Koepka won the Major, but he scored under nine at the end of the game. Justin Thomas won the Major in 2022 by defeating Will Zalatoris in a playoff. At the end of four rounds, he scored under par 5.
Before that, Phil Mickelson finished with a score of under par 6 and emerged victorious by two strokes over Koepka and Louis Oosthuizen.