Thriston Lawrence produced an impressive final round assault in his quest to end South Africa’s 12-year major drought, but American Xander Schauffele showed his class to claim a two-stroke victory in The Open Championship at Royal Troon in Scotland on Sunday.
Lawrence fired a three-under final round 68 to end fourth on six-under overall, three behind Schauffele on nine-under after a closing 65. England’s Justin Rose and American Billy Horschel were shared second on seven-under. It was the second major win of the year for Schauffele, after he won the PGA Championship in May.
It was a disappointing finish for Lawrence who hardly put a foot wrong in an intense final round as he dropped just one shot the entire day, as Schauffele reeled off some crucial gains when it mattered most on the final nine as the two battled it out for the Claret Jug.
Ernie Els remains the last South African to win a major, with his Open Championship victory at Royal Lytham & St Anne’s in 2012.
Pressure cooker final round
Playing in the final pairing of a major for the first time in his career, Lawrence got his round off to a confidence-boosting start, after chipping out of a treacherous fairway bunker he was able to get it up-and-down for par.
On the third, Lawrence picked up his first shot of the day. There he smashed another driver over a fairway burn, but into the long rough on the left. However, he drew a perfect lie and capitalised with an expertly-struck bump-and-run pitch before nailing the 15-footer for birdie.
Another birdie followed at the long par five fourth after two big hits, he nestled in another well-struck chip before making the six-footer for birdie to join Rose and Horschel in the lead on five-under.
The par five seventh saw Lawrence strike another perfect pitch from 84 yards to setup another birdie look, but he pulled his eight-footer as his playing partner Horschel pulled ahead by one on six-under. At that stage Schauffele and Rose were also alongside Lawrence on six-under.
Lawrence rejoined the lead on seven-under with a birdie on the par four seventh. Another 300-yard plus drive saw Lawrence hit his wedge approach inside 10 feet, as he poured in the downhill putt for his third birdie of the round.
On the infamous ‘postage stamp’ 100-yard par three, Lawrence fired in a wedge left of the pin leaving 12 feet for birdie, but he was unable to convert the putt which had a considerable amount of left-to-right break in it.
Yet another perfect wedge approach on the par four ninth, saw Lawrence fire in his fourth birdie of the nine to go out in four-under and grab the lead on his own on seven-under, one ahead of Rose.
As Schauffele joined the South African on seven-under, the par four 12th presented a number of problems for Lawrence, first his tee shot found a bad lie in the left rough before his pin-high chip shot left a testing 13-footer to avoid his first dropped shot of the day. Lawrence though, was unable to save par to hand the lead to Schauffele on his own. This would prove to be the pivotal moment of the round.
Turning point
Moments later, Schauffele picked up his second birdie in a row at the par three 14th to quickly open up a two-shot cushion.
Lawrence responded with a fine mid-iron to 11 feet at the par three 13th, but left his birdie attempt woefully short as he had to settle for par while Schauffele safely parred the 15th two holes ahead.
The lead moved to three as Schauffele picked up another gain at the par five 16th, which left Lawrence firmly in the chasing seat.
It would turn out to be a gap too big for Lawrence to close, as he would settle for his best finish in a major by some distance.
Having previously won four times on the DP World Tour (DPWT), and three times on the Sunshine Tour including the 2022 SA Open, Lawrence was virtually assured of improving his previous best of 42nd in a major.