Xander Schauffele won the 2024 Open Championship on Sunday at Royal Troon for his second career major and second in his last three starts. It touched off the first American sweep of the men's major golf championships in 42 years.
Scottie Scheffler (Masters), Bryson DeChambeau (U.S. Open) and Schauffele (PGA Championship, The Open) currently serve as the reigning champions at all four majors. While Americans have found themselves in a similar position a few times over the last 25 years -- including going into this week -- golfers from the United States had not won all four in the same season since 1982.
Americans have now won seven straight majors for the first time in 46 years; they won 15 straight from 1975-78. Nine of the last 10 majors and 23 of the last 31 have been won by Americans.
The 1982 version of the American sweep featured an Open-Open double from Tom Watson -- the first in the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, and the second at the exact site of this week's Open, Royal Troon.
| Year | 1982 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|
Masters | Craig Stadler | Scottie Scheffler |
PGA Championship | Raymond Floyd | Xander Schauffele |
U.S. Open | Tom Watson | Bryson DeChambeau |
Open Championship | Tom Watson | Xander Schauffele |
This used to happen more often than it has of late. In 1973, 1975, 1976 and 1977, Americans won all four majors each year. While your eyes might turn to some of those Tiger Woods multiple-major years -- such as 2000 when he won three of four -- it was actually Vijay Singh of Fiji who took the Masters that year. Woods did hold all four at once, with a bonus reign as winner of The Players Championship, but he famously never won all four in the same year.
It has been an American theme at Royal Troon, too, as Schauffele becomes the seventh player from the United States to win the Open there in the last eight editions dating back to 1962.
| Year | Winner | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 1923 | Arthur Havers | England |
| 1950 | Bobby Locke | South Africa |
| 1962 | Arnold Palmer | USA |
| 1973 | Tom Weiskopf | USA |
| 1982 | Tom Watson | USA |
| 1989 | Mark Calcavecchia | USA |
| 1997 | Justin Leonard | USA |
| 2004 | Todd Hamilton | USA |
| 2016 | Henrik Stenson | Sweden |
| 2024 | Xander Schauffele | USA |
Schauffele now focuses on the 2024 Paris Olympics where he looks to win a second straight gold medal having previously taken the top spot at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics
