Xander Schauffele: From California state golf champion to 2-time major winner

Schauffele, who won the 2011 CIF State golf title, captured the British Open on Sunday

Xander Schauffele, the 2024 PGA Championship winner, during press conference at the Open Championship golf tournament at Royal Troon. Photo by Jack Gruber-USA TODAY Sports / Jack Gruber-USA TODAY Sports

Thirteen years after cementing his status as the best high school golfer in California, Xander Schauffele is now one of the best golfers in the world. 

Schauffele won the 152nd British Open Championship on Sunday, his second major championship victory this year. Schauffele shot 65 in the final round, finishing 9-under. He came from one shot back to start the final round to win by two strokes at Royal Troon in Scotland. 

Schauffele, who won the 2011 CIF California golf state championship as a senior at San Diego’s Scripps Ranch High School, captured his first major title in May at the PGA Championship. He will now head to Paris to defend his Olympic gold medal. 

Born and raised in San Diego, Schauffele is one of several former California high school golfers currently among the world’s best. Bryson DeChambeau, who won the 2024 U.S. Open last month, was a star golfer at Clovis East High School in the CIF Central Section. Patrick Cantlay, who is No. 8 in the World Golf Ranking, won the 2010 CIF golf state title as a senior at Servite High School.

Schauffele beat Beau Hossler in 2014 to win the California State Amateur Championship, then turned pro a year later. The Open Championship is his 12th victory as a professional.

The conditions at Royal Troon were brutal, with rain and high winds for most of the championship. For a kid from sunny Southern California, it was an impressive display of golf.

"I'm from San Diego so I don't know how you guys manage this course and make it look as good as it does," said the 30-year-old Schauffele during the trophy presentation. "This really is a dream come true."

"I told my caddie Austin [Kaiser] that I was pretty calm coming down the stretch, and he said he was about to puke on the 18th tee."

Schauffele pocketed an Open record $3.1 million for the victory, bringing his total earnings this season to nearly $16 million.

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