Golfbet Recap: Xander Schauffele birdies 72nd hole to capture maiden major title at PGA Championship

Over four days spent in horse racing country, Xander Schauffele led the PGA Championship out of the gate, around the quarter pole, into the final furlong, and eventually across the finish line at Valhalla Golf Club to capture his first-ever major championship with a record-breaking winning score of 21-under par. After Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy, Schauffele was the third-highest choice on the pre-tournament odds board at +1400 to win the championship via BetMGM Sportsbook.

Schauffele tied a major championship record with a round of 62 on Thursday, taking First Round Leader honors at +2000. He fired two straight rounds of 68 on Friday and Saturday to get to 15 under heading into the final round and tied for the lead with Collin Morikawa.

Updated odds for Xander Schauffele to win PGA Championship (via BetMGM)

• Pre-tournament: +1400
• After Round 1 (led by 3): +250
• After Round 2 (led by 1): +275
• After Round 3 (co-leader): +260

As the final round got underway, birdies were flying in for the leaders. With the rains that had led up to the championship in the Louisville area, the golf course had been playing soft all week, allowing players to play just about any shot into these greens and get the ball to hold the surface. While Morikawa largely stalled out, Shane Lowry and Bryson DeChambeau both got off to fast starts to challenge Schauffele.

Despite having yet to hit a fairway, Schauffele poured in his second birdie of the day at No. 4 and the lead was now two shots as he moved to 17 under and +110 to win the championship.

Viktor Hovland got into the mix, making three straight birdies at Nos. 5, 6 and 7 to get to 16 under and one back of Schauffele along with his playing partner, DeChambeau. Both DeChambeau and Hovland moved to +350 with Schauffele at +150 to hoist the Wanamaker Trophy.

The drama was building with every shot struck. PGA Championships at Valhalla have a history of producing such riveting finishes. Mark Brooks won in a playoff over Kentucky native, Kenny Perry in 2006. Tiger Woods won in a thrilling playoff over Bob May in 2000 and Rory McIlroy held off Phil Mickelson and Rickie Fowler in the dark in 2014. This year was no different where these big names on the leaderboard were trading punches like Louisville's own Muhammad Ali in his prime.

The heat intensified when Schauffele bogeyed the easiest hole on the golf course, No. 10, while Hovland birdied No. 12 and the two were now tied at 18 under, both players in search of their first major. Both players were also now at +140 to grab that life-changing title. Hovland added his third birdie in four holes at No. 13 to have to solo lead - for a moment. But Schauffele bounced back with a birdie of his own on the 11th and we were tied again at 19 under.

Results from Golfbet Expert Picks

• Will Gray: Collin Morikawa (+2800) T4
• Ben Everill: Rory McIlroy (+750) T12
• Chris Breece: Ludvig Åberg (+1800) MC
• Matt DelVecchio: Ludvig Åberg (+1800) MC
• Rob Bolton: Rory McIlroy (+750) T12
• Mike Glasscott: Rory McIlroy (+750) T12

I asked Senior Manager at Mandalay Bay Race and Sportsbook in Las Vegas, Tristan Davis, who his shop was rooting for. "We are in a good position with Xander. He really has not had much support pre-tournament and throughout the live action," said Davis. "Punters will be cheering for Bryson as he was one of the best-backed players pre-tournament and throughout."

I was rooting for Schauffele, too. I was actually in a good position as well with pre-tournament outright bets on Schauffele, DeChambeau, and Morikawa - but my heart was with Schauffele, hoping to see him finally shed the label of not being able to close the deal.

Thomas Gable, director of Race and Sports at The Borgata in New Jersey said that Schauffele winning would be a good result for his book. "But Lowry has been very popular with in-tournament live betting," said Gable.

After a steely up and down for par on the 17th hole, Schauffele stood on the par-5 18th tee box, needing birdie and a round of 65 to win his first major championship. DeChambeau had gone to the practice tee to prepare for a potential playoff, currently tied with Schauffele at 20 under after a birdie of his own on the 72nd hole.

Schauffele hit an incredible 4-iron second shot from the first cut of rough, with the ball nearly a foot above his feet as he stood in a bunker. He chipped onto the green to 6 feet and rattled home the birdie putt for the win while DeChambeau looked on from the big-screen monitor overlooking the practice area. Fitting indeed with the 18th hole at Valhalla being named "Photo Finish."

After failing to cash in at THE PLAYERS Championship and last week at the Wells Fargo Championship, after holding the 54-hole lead in both events, Schauffele made like a speed horse and set a blistering pace this week at Valhalla. After firing that opening round 62, he never looked back. Not one time all week was he not in the lead except for just a few minutes on Saturday. He closed the deal in grand fashion, shooting a final-round 65.

Schauffele ranked third in this field for the week in Strokes Gained: Off the Tee, second for SG: Approach, 13th in SG: Putting, and was No. 1 in Greens in Regulation. According to Justin Ray, Schauffele tied the mark for the most greens in regulation hit by a PGA Championship winner in the last 30 years with 60 out of 72 holes. The only other player to do so, was Tiger Woods in 2000, also at Valhalla Golf Club.

World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler is scheduled to be back in his home state of Texas next week to play the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, where he will again likely be a heavy favorite. Schauffele will defend his PGA Championship crown next May at, of all places, Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte – where he couldn't close the deal last week but has now shown he can on one of golf's biggest and most pressure-packed stages. Congratulations, Xander.

Results from Rob Bolton Sleeper Picks and Golfbet Insider

• Jason Day to win (+5500) T43
• Viktor Hovland Top 5 finish (+650) 3rd
• Corey Conners Top 10 finish (+600) T26
• Chris Kirk Top 20 finish (+400) MC
• Mark Hubbard Top 40 finish (+250) T26
• Patrick Cantlay Top 20 finish (+160) T53
• Matt Fitzpatrick Top 20 finish (+250) MC
• Sam Burns Top 20 finish (+240) MC
• Tommy Fleetwood Top 20 finish (+150) T26
• Jordan Spieth to Miss the Cut (+180) T43
• Si Woo Kim, Shane Lowry and Sepp Straka all make the cut (+180) MC/T6/MC
• Brooks Koepka and Xander Schauffele both Top 10 (+900) T26/WIN
• Keegan Bradley Top 40 finish (+150) T18
• Corey Conners Top Canadian (+240) T26
• Thomas Detry Top 40 finish (+200) 4th
• Rickie Fowler to Miss the Cut (+125) T63
• Alex Noren Top 20 finish (+320) T12
• Patrick Reed Top 40 finish (+125) T53
• Erik van Rooyen Top South African (+350) T53
• Matt Wallace Top 40 finish (+225) T43
• Hideki Matsuyama Top 20 finish (+200) T35

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