In a battle between finest mates, it was Xander Schauffele who reigned victorious over a fading Patrick Cantlay on the 2022 Travelers Championship. Notching his second triumph of the yr and sixth of his profession, this entry into the winner’s circle marks the primary occasion of a “normal” win in almost 5 years for Schauffele.
First profitable on the PGA Tour on the 2017 Greenbrier Classic, Schauffele has since gone on so as to add three restricted subject victories, a team-event title with Cantlay, and naturally an Olympic gold medal coming final summer season. However, none of those occasions have featured a minimize or a subject of roughly 150 different opponents.
Shouldering the moniker of being unable to shut the deal, Schauffele did simply that this week in Cromwell, Connecticut, as he efficiently transformed a 54-hole lead for the primary time in his profession. Simply terrific from the beginning, the 28-year-old’s steadiness was lastly rewarded within the type of his first particular person PGA Tour title for the reason that 2019 Tournament of Champions.
Kicking off his Travelers Championship with back-to-back bogey-free rounds of 7-under 63, Schauffele opened up a five-stroke margin heading into the weekend. Tying Scottie Scheffler’s Masters efficiency for the biggest 36-hole lead of 2022, Schauffele’s ship started to tackle some water through the third spherical.
With Cantlay closing the hole to 1 after Saturday’s motion, it was believable to imagine that it could be the 2021 PGA Tour Player of the Year who would thrive amid the strain of the ultimate spherical.
Yet with him falling to 4 over by his first 12 holes, it was Schauffele who continued to claim his stage headedness. While there have been sketchy moments all through the spherical — and even falling out of the lead late within the spherical — it was Schauffele’s steadiness which shined by.
Unfortunately for Schauffele, steadiness isn’t typically rewarded by way of trophies on the PGA Tour. We hear gamers talk about spiking a number of instances a yr in hopes of it being sufficient to notch a victory or two. Sunday was a kind of uncommon events the place Schauffele’s immobile hand outweighed the fixed motion and jitteriness of his nearest competitor, Sahith Theegala.
Schauffele’s profession will be the good encapsulation of this. He has all the time been labeled because the bridesmaid, by no means the bride, but on this very week, his steadiness was sufficient to permit him to stroll to down the aisle and add win No. 6 to his PGA Tour résumé. Grade: A+
Here are the grades for the remainder of the leaderboard on the 2022 Travelers Championship
T2. Sahith Theegala (-17): He jumped into the solo lead after a birdie on the par-4 seventeenth regardless of, showing matted for many of the closing spherical. Missing a number of convertible birdie alternatives and dropping golf equipment, Theegala has sneakily entered the PGA Tour Rookie of the Year dialog. With all the eye on Davis Riley and Cameron Young, Theegala has now significantly contended for a victory on three separate events. If not for a poor choice on the 72nd gap, it’s probably he’s a PGA Tour winner. Ultimately resulting in a double bogey, he’ll attempt to put this heartache apart, as a powerful end to his rookie marketing campaign might catapult him into the Tour Championship which holds main implications.
“I did everything I thought I had to do and it just happened to be everything bad culminated on one hole,” mentioned Theegala. “I did so much good. I didn’t really even have to scramble much today. I don’t think there’s anything I’m going to be doing differently. Just going to keep sticking to my process and loving every moment of it and, yeah, just keep it going from there.” Grade: A
4. Michael Thorbjornsen (-15): We almost had the golf story of the decade on our fingers because the beginner propelled himself to only one off the lead after making birdie on the par-3 eleventh. Playing a five-hole stretch in 5 below, Thorbjornsen finally backed up a contact with a few bogeys coming dwelling, however he gave all golf followers somebody to collectively root for. In complete, it was an unbelievable efficiency and is barely the start of seeing his title on the primary web page of PGA Tour leaderboards.
“Yeah, I definitely would say so. It gives me some confidence,” mentioned Thorbjornsen. “I think the thing is that I played well, I felt like I played well, but I didn’t feel like I played like incredible out there. Definitely left a couple shots out there, had some miscues, mental errors throughout the week. But it feels good.” Grade: A+++
T13. Webb Simpson (-10): After coping with neck and shoulder accidents through the winter, Simpson is lastly falling again into kind. This marks his first top-15 end for the reason that RSM Classic in November, and it couldn’t have come at a greater time. Narrowly inside the highest 125 of the FedEx Cup Standings to start the week, Simpson’s efficiency in Connecticut has the potential to propel him to a quick end in his season. Grade: B+
T13. Patrick Cantlay (-10): Mr. Consistency was something however that on Sunday, as Cantlay struggled early and infrequently within the closing spherical. Carding 5 bogeys, three birdies and a par on his outward 9, the reigning PGA Tour Player of the Year was unable to gather himself on the flip as he noticed his deficit to Schauffele develop to 4. Adding one inexplicable mistake after one other, Cantlay’s final-round rating finally added as much as a 6-over 76. Still and not using a solo victory in 2022, Cantlay’s season has been affected by close to misses, with this Travelers Championship including to that complete. He is anticipated to play within the Scottish Open the week earlier than the Open Championship, the place his finest end got here in his debut in 2018. Grade: B
T19. Rory McIlroy (-9): Beginning the week with an 8-under 62, McIlroy was in full command of his recreation and victory No. 22 felt imminent. Reaching 13 below after a birdie on the par-3 eleventh on Friday, the Northern Irishman started to wilt, carding a quadruple and double bogey coming dwelling in his second spherical. He would proceed this downward spiral over the weekend, however after 4 straight weeks of competitors, fatigue setting in felt inevitable. The subsequent time we’ll see McIlroy will likely be on the J.P. McManus Pro-Am the week earlier than the one hundred and fiftieth Open Championship at St. Andrews. Grade: C+
