Also known as the British Open, The Open Championship is the world’s oldest golf tournament and one of four major championships on the PGA Tour. It was first held at Prestwick Golf Club in Ayrshire, Scotland, in 1860 and has since been played at other iconic United Kingdom venues, including St. Andrews, Royal St. George’s, and Liverpool Golf Club. Royal Troon, a links course in Scotland, hosted The Open for the 10th time in 2024 and the first time since 2016.
American Xander Schauffele won The Open Championship at Royal Troon, earning his second major title of the season with a strong performance in the fourth round. He earned an Open Championship record $3.1 million for his first-place finish.
Here’s a closer look at Schauffele’s performance as well as some other top finishers by country.
Xander Schauffele (USA)
Schauffele, who won his first career major earlier this season at the PGA Championship, finished nine-under par at the 2024 Open, beating fellow American Billy Horschel and Englishman Justin Rose by two strokes. Schauffele shot a two-under 69 and was tied for fourth place after the first round and remained in contention through the next two rounds with scores of 72 and 69. He shot a low round score of 65 in the final round to win the Claret Jug and his ninth career title on the PGA Tour.
Including Schauffele’s two major championships, American players won all four major titles in 2024, marking the first clean sweep by US-born players since 1982. The victory was extra special for Schauffele, who before winning the PGA Championship had come up just short at several majors, including the 2018 Open, 2019 Masters, and 2021 Masters. He had 12 top-10 finishes in 27 majors before his triumph at the PGA Championship, but he called his final round 65 at The Open one of the best rounds of his life. Schauffele was especially dominant on the back nine, overcoming a two-shot deficit with an impressive 31.
“This final-round 65 ranks at the very top. It’s the best round I’ve played,” Schauffele wrote in a PGA Tour blog after his victory. “There’s calmness and super stressful moments when you’re trying to win a major championship. I felt them in the past, the ones I didn’t win, and I let them get to me. I felt like I did a pretty good job of weathering the storm when I needed to.”
Justin Rose (England)
Rose, who also finished T2 at The Open Championship at Carnoustie in 2018, came up just short in his pursuit of becoming the first Englishman to win the Claret Jug since Nick Faldo in 1992. Rose was tied for second with fellow English player Dan Brown after the second round, but a third-round score of 73 hindered his championship aspirations. He shot four-under 67 in the fourth round to secure a T2 finish with Horschel.
A 44-year-old veteran, Rose has been considered among the best golfers in the world since he was a 17-year-old amateur. He won the 2013 U.S Open, has represented Europe multiple times in the Ryder Cup, and is a former world No. 1. However, he had struggled prior to The Open, recording just one top-25 finish and missing almost as many cuts as he made.
Thriston Lawrence (South Africa)
South Africa’s Thriston Lawrence finished fourth at The Open, carding a six-under 278, highlighted by a third-round score of 65 that had him tied for second after three rounds. Although he is largely unknown to PGA Tour fans, Lawrence entered The Open inside the top-100 world rankings due to his success on the DP World Tour in Europe and Sunshine Tour in Africa. He has eight professional victories, including most recently at the 2023 BMW International Open.
Shane Lowry (Ireland)
The second-round leader at The Open, Shane Lowry finished in sixth place with a four-under 280. His championship hopes were ultimately derailed following a disappointing 77 in the third round, but he responded with a 68 in the fourth round.
While it wasn’t the result for which he had hoped, Lowry can take comfort in the fact he won The Open in 2019, winning by six strokes over Tommy Fleetwood. He was also chosen two weeks later to be the flag bearer for Ireland at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Sung-jae Im (South Korea)
Of all top-10 finishers at The Open, nobody had a worse first round than Sung-jae Im. The South Korean golfer shot a five-over-par 76 in round one and was one-over 72 in the second round, but he responded with scores of 66 and 69 in the third and fourth round. He finished tied for seventh with Jon Rahm (Spain) and Scottie Scheffler (USA) at one-under 283.
Im, who has two career PGA Tour victories, recorded his second-best finish at a major at The Open. He was runner-up at the 2020 Masters Tournament.