Xander Schauffele breaks from the group and wins

The 2024 British Open looked wide open on Sunday morning, with 12 players within four strokes of the lead. But eventually Xander Schauffele broke away from the pack and played a flawless final hole to extinguish the drama and claim his second major of the season. We’ll call them as we see them here. They are:

Xander Schauffele: He never led this tournament until the back nine on Sunday, but as the players around him began to crack, he only got stronger, culminating in a back nine 31. His 65 on Sunday to win the Jug and his second major in 2024 took his career to a new stratosphere.

Shane Lowry: He was 8 under par and alone in the lead before a bumpy Saturday 77. He dropped all the way to even par on Sunday before making four birdies to clinch a top 5. He was the best player in the field for long stretches of the week – he’ll be back.

Royal Throne: It conceded a 20-under-par winning score in 2016, but for this edition the weather turned up to build drama and topple the world’s best players. The wind and rain on Saturday afternoon made for scenes that will remain iconic. Ultimately, it was a strong test and produced a worthy champion. I can’t wait to get back here.

Billy Horschel: Started the day with a one-stroke lead and a pack of experienced chasers on his heels. It might have taken the round of his life to lift the Jug, but he must have been disappointed to make a couple of early bogeys that erased his birdies and stopped any momentum.

Justin Roos: You could argue that no one wanted the Jug anymore, as the former U.S. Open champion had to endure a 36-hole qualifying event to get into the Troon field. He gave himself multiple birdie chances on the back nine on Sunday to put pressure on Schauffele, but… just couldn’t buy a putt.

Justin Thomas: Fans of the two-time major winner must have been suffering from whiplash this week after watching rounds of 68-78-67-77. JT started the final round four strokes behind, but nearly messed up his first tee shot outside Scotland, made a triple bogey and that was that.

Dustin Johnson: We may have last seen DJ in the UK outside of LIV Golf events. Playing in the final year of his 5-year Open exemption from the 2020 Masters win, the 40-year-old entered the day with a shot at a top-10 finish (earning him a return next year) but failed with a back-nine 41 in a round of 75.