Mickelson and Henrik Stenson after their epic battle. (Image: Getty)
Phil Mickelson took to social media to congratulate Xander Schauffele on his thrilling Open Championship victory.
On Sunday, Schauffele carded a flawless six-under 65 in the final round at Royal Troon en route to securing his second major of the year – narrowly edging out Justin Rose and Billy Horschel for the Claret Jug. He joins Jack Nicklaus as the only two players to win multiple major championships by shooting final rounds of 65 or lower.
Shortly after Schauffele was crowned Champion Golfer of The Year, Mickelson took to social media with a classy message for his fellow American. He wrote on X: “What an incredible performance by @XSchauffele A final round 65 with -4 on the difficult back 9 to win The Open and become CGOTY is simply amazing. Congratulations, what a year, keep it up in Paris too!”
Rose, who finished the week tied for second with Horschel, additionally applauded Schauffele for his strong showing. “Congrats Xander…. A two time major champ and deservedly so,” he wrote.
“I felt I stood tall and gave it a good go today and all week long. I walked off the 18th hole after each round feeling I got something out of the day. Thanks for the support out there. Means a lot! ! The dream of the jug is still alive!”
Schauffele, with the Claret Jug in tow, expressed his gratitude towards Mickelson for influencing his Open Championship victory. Chatting to the press, the 30-year-old said he geared up by watching highlights from Mickelson’s legendary 2016 clash with Henrik Stenson.
Elated, Schauffele shared: “I feel very honoured. Hearing your name called with ‘Open champion’ afterwards is something I’ve dreamt of for a very long time,” revealing how he prepared himself. “I watched the highlights of Phil [Mickelson] and Henrik [Stenson] in 2016 to motivate myself. I guess that paid off pretty nicely!”
Further attributing his Sunday triumph to a newly found tranquility in the final stretch, he continued, “There’s calmness and super stressful moments when you’re trying to win a major championship,”.
He acknowledged past pressures by admitting, “I felt them in the past – the ones I didn’t win – and I let them get to me. Today, I felt like I did a pretty good job of weathering the storm when I needed to.”
Commenting on the challenge, “It was hard. It was very difficult. I think winning the first one helped me a lot today on the back nine. I had some feeling of calmness come through. It was very helpful on what has been one of the hardest back nines I’ve ever played in a tournament.”
Reflecting on his major-winning year, “I mean, it’s a dream come true to win two majors in one year. It took me forever just to win one, and to have two now is something else.”
