Art Chansky’s Sports Notebook is presented by The Casual Pint. YOUR place for delicious pub food paired with local beer. Choose among 35 rotating taps and 200+ beers in the cooler.
U.S. golfers have a chance to break a 42-year drought in the majors.
Xander Schauffele’s wire-to-wire win in the PGA was the second of four majors won by American golfers. It keeps alive the Yanks winning the Masters, PGA, U.S. Open and British Open the same year for the first time since 1982.
Forty-two years ago, Craig “the Walrus” Stadler won in Augusta, Tom Watson won his first U.S. Open and his first of two straight Open Championships in Great Britain, and North Carolina native and Tar Heel alumnus Raymond Floyd won the 1982 PGA championship.
That sort of makes sense with the way Americans have struggled in the Ryder Cup over the last 11 matches, losing 8 to Europe. But perhaps with the influence of Tiger Woods over the last 30 years, more of our kids grew up playing golf.
We’re on the way, though, with Scottie Scheffler, a New Jersey native who went to the University of Texas, won his second Green Jacket in three years in April and was three shots behind in the PGA after the mild-mannered man was arrested by Louisville police Friday morning on the way to his early tee-time at Valhalla. It was a misunderstanding, but he blew up to a 73 in the third round.
Schauffele, who grew up in San Diego and played at San Diego State, won a stunning battle with Bryson DeChambeau – another Californian playing at SMU – who birdied his 72nd hole to pull into a 20-under-par tie with Schauffele, the leader by one stroke after three rounds.
Facing the pressure of winning his first major, the 30-year-old Schauffele chipped it to five feet on the par-5 18th green and rimmed in the birdie putt to send the crowd wild and win the Wanamaker Trophy from the PGA of America. He will move up from No. 4 in the World Rankings, where Scheffler is No. 1.
Schauffele opened with a 9-under-par 62 on Thursday, went 68-68 on Friday and Saturday and finished with a 6-under par 65 for a total of 263. The scores were so low they made the golf course seem a little easier for a major.
Look at the final leaderboard, and you will find 10 American golfers in the top 20 finishers and 6 in the top 10. Schauffele and Scheffler are at the top of the FedEx Cup standings and in the U.S. Ryder Cup scoring lead and will try to win back the cup at BethPage in New York next March.
The 2024 U.S. Open is on the fabled Pinehurst No. 2 course for the fourth time, beginning this June 13. The Open championship, and the last major of the year, will be at Royal Troon in Scotland in July. Go Yanks!
Featured image via Associated Press
Art Chansky is a veteran journalist who has written ten books, including best-sellers “Game Changers,” “Blue Bloods,” and “The Dean’s List.” He has contributed to WCHL for decades, having made his first appearance as a student in 1971. His “Sports Notebook” commentary airs daily on the 97.9 The Hill WCHL and his “Art’s Angle” opinion column runs weekly on Chapelboro.Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees, and you can directly support our efforts in local journalism here. Want more of what you see on Chapelboro? Let us bring free local news and community information to you by signing up for our newsletter.
