It was the final round of play at Royal Troon. Xander Schauffele entered the day trailing 54-hole leader Billy Horschel by one stroke. He made easy work of the Scottish seaside links, carding six birdies to register a flawless 6-under 65. By the end of the day, he led the scoreboard by two strokes and clinched his second major win. Little did he know that he was rewriting American golfing history for the first time in 42 years!

Xander Schauffele’s victory at Royal Troon makes him the third American professional to win a major in 2024. His triumph, alongside Scottie Scheffler’s win at the Masters and Bryson DeChambeau’s victory at the U.S. Open, “marks the first time since 1982 that all four majors in a year were won by players from the United States.”

Now, let us put on our time-traveling caps. Forty-two years ago, the 1982 American sweep of the men’s major golf championships included a Masters win by Craig Stadler, a PGA Championship victory by Raymond Floyd, and a U.S. Open-Open Championship double by Tom Watson. Xander Schauffele has truly emulated Tom Watson’s 1982 feat in 2024.

That’s not all. The Royal Troon Golf Club seems to boast an American theme too. Seven of the last eight Open champions at the iconic links course hail from the United States. The first was Arnold Palmer, who clinched the title in 1962. He was followed by Tom Weiskopf in 1973, Tom Watson in 1982, Mark Calcavecchia in 1989, Justin Leonard in 1997, Todd Hamilton in 2004, and now Xander Schauffele in 2024.

Xander Schauffele’s win marks the sixth time Americans have swept all four golf majors in a year. This feat was also achieved in 1973, 1975, 1976, 1977, and 1982. Regardless, the 30-year-old golfer has reclaimed his ranking from Rory McIlroy on the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR).

Victorious Xander Schauffele is back at No. 2 on the world rankings

Schauffele secured victory at Royal Troon with a score of 9-under 275, claiming his ninth win on the men’s circuit while raking in 100 points on the OWGR. Moreover, he earned a winner’s cut of $3.1 million from the total prize pool of $17 million. These points helped him reach No. 2 on the OWGR, surpassing the Northern Irishman Rory McIlroy, who is currently at No. 3 with 422.96481 points. McIlroy, unfortunately, missed the cut at the 2024 Open Championship, causing him to go home early.

Xander Schauffele now has a projected total of 478.70676 points on the standings. However, he still trails the top-ranked golfer by a substantial 323.0096 points (after the Open finish), largely due to Scottie Scheffler’s 14 top-10 finishes from 16 starts this season. Nevertheless, it seems America will head into the upcoming quadrennial games in Paris with a strong lineup. The other nations need to stay on their toes.