Prior to the 2024 Major Championship season, Xander Schauffele's record told a tale of incredible consistency, but was ultimately always the proverbial bridesmaid.
Twelve top-10 finishes, including seven top-5s, cast Schauffele as golf's 'nearly-man', with some wondering if he would ever get the job done and finally fulfil his undeniable potential.
That all changed at Valhalla, and while it took longer than he might have hoped for a first Major win, it appears the floodgates have now opened and we could be about to see the emergence of another legend in the sport.
In this article, I dig deep into Xander Schauffele's 2024 Major record and unearth some incredible stats, highlighting the sheer dominance displayed by the newly crowned Champion Golfer of The Year...
Xander Schauffele's 2024 Major Record
The light summary of Xander Schauffele's Major season is pretty impressive in itself, with sixteen rounds of golf played, four top-8 finishes and two coveted Major Championship titles secured.
However, It's only when you dig a little deeper that you uncover the true extent of his achievements. A total of nine rounds where played in 69 shots or better, with his 62 at the PGA Championship breaking the low-scoring record in men's Major Championship history.
When under the most intense pressure, rounds of 65 at the Open and the PGA Championship were enough to get the job done on Sunday, resulting in Xander Schauffele becoming the second man since Jack Nicklaus to shoot multiple rounds of 65 or lower in the final round of Major Championships.
Schauffele's cumulative score to par over the four tournaments was 32-under, thanks to consistent scoring and an impressive 66 birdies. In fact, Xander averaged 4.125 birdies per round and scored more than seven in two separate rounds at the PGA Championship.
But it wasn't just the scoring that helped Schauffele to be successful, as his bogey avoidance was also elite. Four bogey-free rounds (25 percent) will certainly help anyone with ambitions to take home the silverware, while an average of less than two bogeys-per-round further highlights why so many of the world's top players struggled to keep pace with him.
Double-bogeys were also pretty non-existent for the double Major Champion, with just two recorded in sixteen rounds. Interestingly, Xander didn't manage to make a single eagle in the 2024 Major season, but his ability to limit the big numbers and consistently find birdies created the perfect recipe for success.
The PGA Championship was by far his most fruitful week, with 25 birdies made and just three bogeys or worse conceded. That incredible birdie-haul matches the same amount as his Masters and Open Championship totals combined, which probably says as much about Valhalla as it does about Schauffele's performance.
In my opinion, Schauffele's Open Championship performance was his best of the season. When you consider the challenge provided by the elements, alongside the treacherous rough and sand traps at Royal Troon, I believe Xander found another gear as he converted 15 birdies and just 6 bogeys all week.
Only Justin Rose and Romain Langasque bettered Schauffele's blemishes at the Open, and while he could perhaps be forgiven for resting on his laurels, he will surely be keen to round off a monumental season with a successful defence of his Olympic Gold Medal in Paris.
