PGA Championship: Xander Schauffele holds his nerve to clinch long-awaited first major

American golfer Xander Schauffele won the 106th PGA Championship on Sunday, holding off compatriot Bryson DeChambeau in a nail-biting finale to clinch a long-awaited first major title.

American golfer Xander Schauffele won the 106th PGA Championship on Sunday, holding off compatriot Bryson DeChambeau in a nail-biting finale to clinch a long-awaited first major title. World No. 3 Schauffele was pushed to the final hole at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky, but the 30-year-old held his nerve to birdie and finish one stroke ahead of LIV Golf’s DeChambeau at 21-under par overall. A final round six-under 65 was just enough to clinch a maiden major title for Schauffele, shredding his unwanted title as one of the most talented golfers to never win one of golf’s four flagship events. The Californian had finished runner-up twice and 12 times inside the top 10 at the majors but broke his duck in style, opening Thursday with a spectacular 62 – the joint-lowest round score in major history – and signing off with a nerveless putt from just over six feet. “I was actually kind of emotional after the putt lipped in,” eight-time PGA Tour winner Schauffele, who claimed a $3.33 million winner’s cut of an $18.5 million prize purse, said as he was presented with the Wanamaker Trophy. “It’s been a while since I’ve won, and I really just kept saying it all week, ‘I just need to stay in my lane.’ Man, was it hard to stay in my lane today, but I tried all day to just keep focus on what I’m trying to do and keep every hole ahead of me.”