The Open: Victorious Schauffele eyes career grand slam

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Xander Schauffele set his sights on a career grand slam after a brilliant final round saw him claim victory at The Open on Sunday.

Schauffele managed a six-under 65 through his fourth round at Royal Troon, with a run of four birdies in six holes down the back nine seeing him pull clear.

He finished two strokes ahead of Justin Rose and Billy Horschel, with Thriston Lawrence, Russell Henley and Shane Lowry rounding out the top of the leaderboard.

Having also triumphed at the PGA Championship at Valhalla earlier this year, Schauffele has become the first player since Brooks Koepka in 2018 (U.S. Open and PGA) to win two majors in the same year.

Rory McIlroy was the last player to win those same two tournaments in one year, achieving the feat back in 2014.

Only five players have ever previously won all four majors in their careers – Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Tiger Woods.

Schauffele is looking to follow in their footsteps in the coming years, telling reporters: "If you look hard enough, you can always find it.

"It's something, when you feel like you need an extra kick in the butt, there's several easy ways to motivate yourself.

"There's still a lot of things that I'd like to do in my career, and this is a very big leap towards that. The fire is still burning, maybe brighter than ever."

Looking at the Claret Jug in his post-tournament press conference, the world number three added: "It's an honour. I've always dreamed of doing it.

"That walk up 18 truly is the coolest with the yellow leaderboards and the fans and the standing ovation. It really is one of the coolest feelings I've ever had in my life."