The final day of the men’s major season has come and gone, with Xander Schauffele lifting the Claret Jug, but where was the Open Championship won and lost?
Anything could have happened on this major Sunday, with the windy conditions battering the players on the Ayrshire coast.
At the halfway stage of the final round, any one of ten players could have laid claim to the crown, but in the end, one man prevailed thanks to an incredible back nine performance.
American Xander Schauffele, who won the PGA Championship earlier this year, started the day in that group at 3-under, one shot behind overnight leader Billy Horschel.
At the end of the front nine, Schauffele was 5-under, but it was from there that he would put his foot down and leave the rest of the contenders behind.
‘Railway’ – one of the hardest holes at Royal Troon, was dispatched with aplomb. A fantastic approach from 170 yards left him with just a three foot putt.
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From there, he would go on to birdie 13, 14 and 16 to extend his lead to three, and that was always going to be too much for the chasing pack…
The toughest back nine in Open history? Not for Xander…
Thanks to its length, bunkering and the prevailing wind, the back nine at Royal Troon had the opportunity to be the toughest back nine in the history of the Open Championship.
At the start of the week, we put a piece out asking the question as to whether it would be the toughest closing nine in the tournament’s long and storied history…
RELATED: Is this the toughest back nine in Open history?
There was a change in the wind direction for the opening two days of the competition, which saw players battling their way into the winds on the front nine. This made the first half of the Old Course play tougher than the back nine.
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Saturday saw the wind change back to its normal, prevailing direction. That brought about much higher scoring, almost pushing to an average of 2-over-par per player on the back nine.
The final day would see a slightly different wind, but the course played just as tough for most, apart from one particular individual.
| Front Nine (36) | To Par | Back Nine (35) | To Par | |
| Thursday – Round 1 | 37.936 | +1.936 | 36.5 | +1.5 |
| Friday – Round 2 | 37.915 | +1.915 | 36.442 | +1.442 |
| Saturday – Round 3 | 35.55 | -0.45 | 36.888 | +1.888 |
| Sunday – Round 4 | 36.312 | +0.312 | 36.825 | +1.825 |
Over the course of the weekend, 160 scores were posted on the back nine. There were more scores in the 40s than there were under par.
The best of the lot came on Sunday evening, as Xander Schauffele fired in an incredible 31, picking up almost six shots on the rest of the field.
| 10th | 11th | 12th | 13th | 14th | 15th | 16th | 17th | 18th | Back | |
| Scoring Average | 4.53 | 4.46 | 4.33 | 4.20 | 3.05 | 4.22 | 4.79 | 3.16 | 4.10 | 36.825 |
| Schauffele on Sunday | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 31 |
The back nine was, without doubt, where the Open Championship was won by Xander Schauffele. Of those in the last five groups, only Billy Horschel, Russell Henley and Justin Rose also shot under par, but none of them could keep up with the now two-time major champion.
“It was very difficult. I think winning the first one helped me a lot today on the back nine. I had some feeling of calmness come through. It was very helpful on what has been one of the hardest back nines I’ve ever played in a tournament,” Schauffele said after his victory.
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What did you make of the back nine on Sunday? Was that where the Open Championship was won and lost? Let us know with a post on X, formerly Twitter!
