The tournament after a major can sometimes be a letdown week, but Xander Schauffele shot -19 to take home his sixth career win. The rest of the leaderboard did look like a post-U.S. Open hangover, though, with rookie Sahith Theegala and J.T. Poston tied for second at -17 while amateur Michael Thorbjonrsen was fourth with a score of -15.
Theegala melted down with a double bogey on the 18th that cost him his first tour victory. Poston fired a 64 on Sunday, but his 70 on Friday looks like the round that cost him.
Second Win of 2022 for Schauffele
Schauffele was a 20/1 favorite prior to the tournament and went into the final round with a 1-stroke lead and odds of +105. It was the second win of 2022 for Schauffele, who, interestingly enough, won the Zurich Classic of New Orleans in April partnered with Patrick Cantlay – his final round pairing this past Sunday.
Cantlay faded away on Sunday, shooting a 76 to finish in a tie for 13th place. He was 14/1 prior to Thursday’s opening round and +130 on Sunday paired with Schauffele, who picked up a $1.4 million purse and 500 FedEx points for the win.
Big Weekend for the Youngsters
Tour rookie Theegala hopes that his bunker shot on 18th when he had a -1 stroke lead will be a learning experience for the future as he was this close to his maiden PGA tournament victory. That would have been a huge win for Theegala backers, as he was 125/1 on Thursday and still 12/1 entering the final round -3 strokes back.
Thorbjornsen had a solid weekend as well, although he missed out on over half a million in prize money due to his amateur status. He had the best finish on Tour by an amateur since 2016, and the 20-year-old Stanford All-American likely won’t be an amateur too much longer.
Huge Names Not a Factor at TPC River Highlands
Rory McIlroy was the 10/1 favorite coming into the weekend, and he was in the zone with an opening round 62, but wasn’t really in contention the rest of the weekend, although he did finish 19th with a nine under par.
McIlroy has been playing a lot of golf lately, appearing in four straight tournaments partly as a way to show that the PGA Tour is still the place to be in light of all the defections to the LIV. Expect him to take a bit of downtime before gearing up for The Open, which starts July 14th.
Scottie Scheffler was also 10/1 heading into the first round, and the World #1 ended up finishing 13th at -10. It was his fourth straight top 20 finish.
Jordan Spieth was a big disappointment for fans in Cromwell, Connecticut, this past weekend, famously winning the 2017 Travelers Championship with his hole out from the bunker in a sudden-death playoff. Spieth was a bit back there at 25/1 prior to the first round, but he missed the cut with a 75 and a 66.
It’s on to the John Deere Classic, which is anybody’s tournament to win with a chopped-down field.
