Xander Schauffele is ready for the British Open. The American golfer infused himself with an extra dose of confidence just before the grand slam tournament on Sunday, winning the Scottish Open Genesis.
During his final round, the 28-year-old athlete was content to play the par of 70, under four birdies and as many bogeys, to preserve the lead and get his hands on the winner’s trophy.
“I feel very relieved,” he told Golf Digest after winning the $1.4 million scholarship. I haven’t golfed very well. I said to myself [avant la journée] that my performance didn’t have to be pretty to win.
“All in all, it was a very stressful day and it’s very rewarding. It was nice to be able to hit some good shots at the end and be able to stabilize the ship.”
Schauffele thus beat his compatriot Kurt Kitayama by a strike. The latter also made a good comeback, he who stalled four birdies and a bogey on the front nine, before succeeding two other birdies on the second half of the course, more precisely at the 11th and 14th flags. He was down -7 at the time, but a bogey in 17th killed his chances.
“It was very exciting,” Kitayama said. In my opinion, being a contender until the end is a good position to be in. It brings a lot of nervousness and excitement, and it’s very pleasant.
For their part, the Canadians still in contention did not have success in their last outing on the course of the Renaissance club.
Nick Taylor gave a card of 72 (+2) and thus tumbled 11 positions. He finished the event with a cumulative 285 (+5), earning him a tie for 55th place. For his part, Corey Conners hit the white object 73 (+3) times during the last day of activities. He thus took 61st place, tied, with a cumulative score of 287 (+7).