PGA Championship Winners and Losers: Xander Schauffele wins, Viktor Hovland re-gains form

Xander Schauffele made a clutch birdie on the 18th hole to beat Bryson DeChambeau by one stroke and win his first major title.

After numerous runner-up finishes, Schauffele finally overcame the odds and won a major.

In doing so, Schauffele held at least a share of the lead after each round of the PGA Championship, hopping from wire to wire.

However, this tournament produced many other winners besides Schauffele. Valhalla Golf For some, the lights shone brightest in his clubs.

However, there were some losers on the day who couldn’t live up to this week’s excitement.

Check out the winners and losers of the final round of the PGA Championship.

winner:

Xander Schauffele

Schauffele had seven birdies and one bogey on Sunday to win his first major.

In his eighth appearance at the PGA Championship, Schauffele finally took home the hardware. His best result in this tournament was in 2020 when Collin Morikawa won at TPC Harding Park.

But this time, Schauffele hung on and made the biggest putt of his career on the 18th.

Viktor Hovland

Viktor Hovland finally got his groove back this week after reuniting with his former coach Joe Mayo at Valhalla Golf Club. On Sunday, the reigning FedEx Cup champion shot a 5-under 66 to finish alone in third place at 18 under.

Sunday’s score marks his third consecutive 66 this week.

It also marked his second straight top-five finish at the PGA Championship. He tied for second place behind Scottie Scheffler and Brooks Koepka in 2023 at Oak Hill.

Reuniting with Mayo proved to be extremely important for the young Norwegian. His confidence grew day by day. And he was able to maintain some of the lead on Sunday with six birdies in nine holes. However, Schauffele did not let his further lead go to waste.

But Hovland made one mistake. He bogeyed the 18th hole and finished three strokes behind Schauffele. But at least Hovland got his mojo back. Whatever Mayo does for Hovland, it will work, and hopefully the duo will be together in many more majors in the future.

Bryson DeChambeau and YouTube Golf

The final winner of Day 4 was Bryson DeChambeau, and how he continues to improve his golf game. He regularly posts videos on his YouTube page, and after Sunday’s performance, his channel will surely grow even more.

DeChambeau came out with passion and made three birdies on his front nine. The longer the round went on, the more he flared up. The birdie on No. 12 saw a great fist pump, but the birdie on No. 18 created a great moment. He pumped his fists in the air and just screamed, repeating Phil Mickelson’s 2021 win at Kiawah Island.

The former U.S. Open champion put ice in his veins and made the birdie putt to put pressure on Schauffele.

But his attitude is different than when he was playing on the PGA Tour. DeChambeau seems happy. He played free all week and even more on Sunday. It seems like he had the best time of his life because he was okay with who he is.

On Sunday, fans went crazy for him. Following DeChambeau and Hovland, everyone cheered for the LIV Golf captain. Crowds of spectators gathered at his every hole, anticipating his every move. He gained many new fans on Sunday and may have contributed to the further growth of YouTube Golf.

loser:

Colin Morikawa

Collin Morikawa entered the final round tied with Schauffele. He had a lot of momentum in the pocket, but couldn’t get any on Sunday. The two-time major champion had a chance to win his second Wanamaker Trophy, but was suffocated again.

Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images

Morikawa had only one bogey and one birdie throughout the day. He didn’t drop many shots, but he also couldn’t pick them up. His putter got cold because it looked old and uncomfortable on the green.

Instead, Morikawa quickly faded into the background midway through the round, and it was the day that Schauffele won the major championship.

He needs to get that momentum back with a major championship.

Brooks Koepka

Brooks Koepka shot a 5-under 66 on Sunday to tie for 26th place. Saturday’s performance took him completely out of contention, with the five-time major champion not playing like himself.

He started the week strong, but by Sunday his energy felt stagnant.

“Not very good. I think that’s obvious,” Koepka said of his week in Valhalla.

Photo by Scott Taetsch/PGA of America (via Getty Images)

He shot in the 60s for three days, but that Saturday round proved detrimental. This means he missed his sixth major, but the U.S. Open is just weeks away.

Valhalla Golf Club

With some of the best names in golf on Valhalla’s leaderboard, the match was close, but it almost felt too easy. He finds it strange to see a score of 21 under at a major tournament.

Why would a major venue have to keep player participation so low? Granted, the rain made the course very soft and out of control for the clubs, but the scores were better than American Express or Travelers. It was more like a championship, not a major.

On Sunday, the top three players shot 65, 64 and 66 on the par-71 layout. These are great scores, but there should be some difficulty at a major championship.

At the golf course, there were rumors that some drink stands were out of beer and were not refilled around 2pm. Due to traffic, logistics and poor scoring, Valhalla is in the loser bracket this week.

It would be shocking to see the club win a major soon.

Savannah Lee Richardson is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through.If you want to know more about golf, please follow us. @_PlayingThrough On all major social platforms. You can also follow her on Twitter @SportsGirls and Instagram @savannah_leigh_sports.