Weekly Recap: Schauffele Shines Again

After years of high finishes, close calls, near misses and self-implosions, this is what everyone had expected from Xander Schauffele.

Schauffele won for the second straight tournament with a one-shot victory over a gallant Kurt Kitayama at the Scottish Open on Sunday at the Renaissance Club. That followed up Schauffele's win at the Travelers Championship two weeks ago, which followed up a three-plus-year stetch without a solo PGA Tour win.

There were so many high finishes, close calls, etc., that Schauffele always managed to stay inside the top 10 in the world rankings -- a remarkable accomplishment for a non-winner, maybe even a non-multiple winner. Schauffele did briefly fall outside the top 10 in the past few months, but now he is back, firmly entrenched at No. 5.

Of course, this turn of events could not have come at a better time for Schauffele, with the Open Championship at St. Andrews beginning on Thursday. Schauffele has long been a stud in majors, and he finished second -- naturally -- to Francesco Molinari at the 2018 Open at Carnoustie.
 
Is there precedence for a golfer winning two a row before a major? Yes, according to noted golf writer Justin Ray.

Ray tweeted that over the past decade, five other golfers have won their two previous starts heading into a major.

Tiger Woods tied for fourth at the 2013 Masters, Rory McIlroy won the 2014 PGA Championship, Jordan Spieth tied for fourth at the 2015 Open Championship -- at St. Andrews, hint, hint! -- Jason Day tied for 10th at the 2016 Masters and Dustin Johnson tied for ninth at the 2016 Open Championship.

So what we can unpack from that? First, these were all elite golfers, which of course makes sense. Schauffele surely qualifies as elite. And second, being super hot is a good indicator of success at the ensuing major.

Schauffele was already on our short list of favorites even before the conclusion of the Scottish Open -- he was No. 6 in RotoWire's Open Championship Value Meter posted Saturday.

With two runners-up, two thirds and two fifths in 21 career majors, Schauffele has done everything but win one.

Funny, but that's what everyone was saying until three weeks ago about Schauffele and winning any tournament.

Winning a major is hard, winning three tournaments in a row is harder, winning three tournaments in a row when the third one is a major is even harder.

But it would not be a shock to see Schauffele holding the Claret Jug on Sunday night after the historic 150th Open Championship.

After all, this is what we had all been expecting.

MONDAY BACKSPIN

Kurt Kitayama
What a great week for the 29-year-old California. Most immediately, he secured one of the three available spots in the Open Championship. It will be his third Open -- he missed the cut in his last two attempts -- and eighth major. More long range, it all but ensures that Kitayama will get to play two playoff events in his rookie season on the PGA Tour. This was his second runner-up this season, also finishing right behind Jon Rahm at the Mexico Open. He's now No. 62 in the world, creeping toward that coveted top-50 position. The native California has played a lot in Europe and is familiar with links golf, so he has to like his chances. But contending at the Open Championship is another story. Making the cut would be a big deal.

Joohyung Kim
The young Korean is really making strides to show he can compete with the world's best. Tying for third in one of the strongest fields of the year certainly is good evidence. Many stud golfers from Asia have tried to move internationally but without much success. At 20 years old, Kim surely seems different. He was just coming off a top-25 at the U.S. Open. He was already into the Open Championship. Kim now moves to No. 39 in the world but perhaps most importantly he might have accrued enough non-member PGA Tour points to secure his card for next season.

Patrick Cantlay
Tying for fourth is a huge development for Cantlay. He has not shown much at links golf before, having never had a top-10 at the Open Championship. A good week at the Scottish Open does necessarily translate to success the next week at St. Andrews, but he has to feel better about his chances now. Remember, Cantlay has been slumping in the majors for a few years -- he didn't record a top-10 in his past 12 starts.

Tommy Fleetwood
This two-week stretch in Scotland is a real chance for Fleetwood to shine. He got off to a good start with a tie for fourth at the Scottish Open. He certainly could be a factor at St. Andrews, especially if it gets windy. Fleetwood is back up to No. 35 in the world.

Brandon Wu
Wu locked up one of the three berths into the Open Championship with his tie for fourth. He'd already shown he can compete on the PGA Tour with a runner-up to Rahm at the Mexico Open. The 25-year-old Stanford product has locked up his card for next season and definitely appears to be developing into a quality golfer for years to come.

Jamie Donaldson
We have not heard much from the 46-year-old Welshman the past few years. He once was ranked in the top-25 but was outside the top-200 before tying for sixth to secure his first major appearance in six years. This will be Donaldson's sixth Open and he's made four cuts, but getting to the weekend is a real long shot. Still, to get into this historic championship has to be reward enough for someone from Wales.

Cameron Tringale
Tringale led for more than half the tournament before fading. But he didn't fade too much, ending up in a tie for sixth. That has to be viewed a great week even though he surely will be disappointed he couldn't hang on for his first PGA Tour win. Tringale surely could make the cut at the Open, and maybe do a little more.

Matt Fitzpatrick
In his first start after winning the U.S. Open, it would've been understandable for Fitzpatrick to sleep-walk his way through the first two days and miss the cut. Instead, he battled all four days and tied for six, cementing him as one of the favorites at St. Andrews.

Cameron Smith
Smith has never showed much at the Open Championship before. But his tie for 10th at the Renaissance Club brightens his prospects for St. Andrews, where short-game challenges await at every turn. That should play into Smith's hands.
 
Dean Burmester
The South African was already exempt into the Open Championship. Entering last week, he had missed five of his past six cuts and sat at No. 92 in the world. A tie for 10th was a great result, not to mention out of nowhere. But it doesn't mean the good fortune will continue at St. Andrews.

Jordan Spieth
Spieth made the turn to the back nine in contention for the title. Three bogeys and a double later, he wound up tied for 10th, five strokes behind Schauffele. The final nine holes aside, we liked what we saw from Spieth and he is on the very short list of top contenders for the Claret Jug, checking in fourth on RotoWire's Open Championship Value Meter.

Max Homa
Homa finished at 1-under, six shots behind Schauffele, after playing the back-nine in 4-over. Still, he tied for 16th, a great showing on links and certainly a confidence boost heading into the Open. Homa notably went out and played another 18 holes at a different links course after his Scottish Open round on Friday. It may have caught up to him on Sunday afternoon, but it also might pay a good dividend this week at St. Andrews.
 
Justin Thomas
Thomas had finished top-10 at the Scottish Open in two of the three previous years, so his missed cut was a bit of a surprise. He's never had a great Open Championship, and this past week really doesn't offer much indication that will change.

Viktor Hovland
Hovland looked terrible, again, with wedge in hand. He missed the cut. It's hard to envision a good week at St. Andrews for someone who has so much trouble around the green and has never had a top-10 in a major.

Scottie Scheffler, Collin Morikawa, Will Zalatoris
All three missed the cut. It's certainly not how you want going into a major, especially on a links golf course, but all three are quite capable of contending this coming week. Last year, Morikawa finished 71st at the Scottish Open, showing little ability at links golf, then won the Open Championship.

Ian Poulter
Poulter sued to get into the Scottish Open -- they had barred LIV golfers. He and two others LIV guys won a stay in a British court, was allowed to play, then shot 8-over Thursday en route to an embarrassing missed cut. He's now outside the top 100 in the world, and it's not only because LIV doesn't get OWGR points. Poulter's game has been fading for some time now.

Barbasol Championship

There was one spot in the Open reserved for the highest finisher in the top five not already exempt. Since no one in the Barbasol was exempt, that meant the winner would be going to St. Andrews. The life-altering moment belongs with journeyman Trey Mullinax, who defeated veteran Kevin Streelman by a stroke with a birdie on the 72nd hole. As big of a perk as getting into the Open Championship is, for a player such as Mullinax, the two-year Tour exemption for winning a tournament is the bigger deal, not to mention the first-place check. It's the first win in 106 career starts for the 30-year-old Mullinax, who had missed 14 of 23 cuts this season and sat 140th in the FedExCup Standings.  And lastly, since this was a co-sanctioned event with the DP World Tour, Mullinax is also exempt there through 2024. Safe to say, this was the biggest alternate-field win ever.