Americans are back on track in major championships

Now the Americans are back in power.

They have won the last seven majors, their longest streak since the Americans won 13 consecutive majors from Lee Trevino in the 1974 PGA Championship to Lanny Wadkins in the 1977 PGA Championship at Pebble Beach. Gary Player ended that streak in the 1978 Masters.

That was also an era when Europeans did not have easy access to the American majors.

Now it’s a global competition, and for the first time since 1982, the Americans have a clean sweep of all four majors. They won all the majors in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, but the British Open was not held that year.

Scottie Scheffler won the Masters, Xander Schauffele won the PGA Championship and British Open, and Bryson DeChambeau won the U.S. Open. The 1982 sweep consisted of Craig Stadler (Masters), Tom Watson (U.S. Open and British Open), and Raymond Floyd (PGA Championship).

Adam Scott remembers when he was just starting his pro career and Sergio Garcia wouldn’t let him pay for dinner until Scott had a tour card.

Add Shane Lowry to that list.

England’s Laurie Canter reflects on his first year on the European Tour in 2016. He had already missed nine cuts that year and when he played the Portugal Masters, the money was tight.

“I was there with Gary Hurley, another guy in a similar situation,” Canter said. “We were eating at a pizza place together and at the end of the meal the check came. The lady said, ‘Your check was paid by that gentleman over there.’ And it was Shane. So there you have it. I barely knew him, I barely said a word to him at that point.

“I think he recognized a couple of the rookies and he was like, ‘Throw those guys a bone.’ I never forgot that. It was a really nice gesture.”

The LIV Golf League returns outside London this week, with three more events taking place before season three concludes with the Team Championship.

But it will be nearly nine months before LIV players like Jon Rahm, Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau take on the rest of golf’s best at the next majors.

And it wasn’t a great year, except for DeChambeau, during this year’s majors.

Koepka holds the distinction of being the only LIV golfer to make the cut in all four majors. For Koepka, who won last year’s PGA Championship and was runner-up in the Masters, that’s small consolation. He didn’t finish in the top 25 in any of them, his worst showing when healthy.

Rahm, who missed the cut at the PGA Championship and was forced to withdraw from the U.S. Open with a foot infection, finished tied for seventh at the British Open. He was the only LIV player to finish in the top 10 at the British Open, a year after failing to do so at Hoylake.

Cameron Smith tied for sixth in the Masters. He finished outside the top 30 in the next two and missed the cut at Royal Troon. Tyrrell Hatton tied for ninth in the Masters. He finished outside the top 25 in the next two. As a newcomer to LIV this year, he missed the cut at the British Open.

DeChambeau was a different story. After finishing sixth at the Masters, he finished one stroke behind Schauffele at the PGA Championship and won the U.S. Open. But at the British Open, with his popularity growing, he missed the cut at Royal Troon.

DeChambeau is one of ten LIV players currently eligible for the Masters, seven of whom are former champions.

Laura Davies says she will not be making a final trip over the Swilcan Burn at St Andrews.

Golfweek reports that Davies has decided not to play in next week’s Women’s British Open, when it returns to the Old Course. The report says Davies came to that conclusion after a tee shot in Utah during the LPGA Senior Championship.

It wasn’t an injury, but rather a feeling of insecurity that was plaguing her.

“I just don’t think I’m good enough anymore,” Davies said. “It would have been great, don’t get me wrong. … I wish I could have just stood up and said I’m going to try, I don’t care how bad I am. But I do care. That’s the problem.”

Davies was inducted into the World Golf Gall of Fame in 2015 at a ceremony at St Andrews during the British Open. She has played in the past 43 consecutive Women’s British Opens.

Hideki Matsuyama struggled in the final major of the year, finishing 21 strokes behind the leaders in a tie for 66th place. But his performances in the majors have been remarkably consistent.

Matsuyama is the only player to have made the cut in all four majors in the past three seasons. But his streak goes back even further. He has not missed the cut in a major since the 2019 British Open at Royal Portrush.

Matsuyama played just three majors in 2021, withdrawing from the British Open as he recovered from the coronavirus and the Olympics were the following week in Tokyo. He has made the cut in his last 18 majors.

Twelve other players made the cut in all four majors this year: Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele, Collin Morikawa, Cameron Young, Nicolai Hojgaard, Patrick Cantlay, Harris English, Corey Conners, Ryan Fox, Russell Henley, Shane Lowry and Brooks Koepka.

At the other end of the spectrum was Phoenix Open winner Nick Taylor, the only player to miss the cut in all four majors.

The LPGA Tour is starting to show serious parity this year outside of Nelly Korda and her six wins in 2024. Hannah Green is the only other multiple winner. In 20 events, 14 players have won. … Xander Schauffele finished the four majors on a combined 32-under par, 15 strokes better than Scottie Scheffler. Only two other players have been under par for majors — Collin Morikawa (15-under) and Shane Lowry (6-under). … Matt McCarty became the 13th first-time winner on the Korn Ferry Tour this year. Last season there were 10. … Padraig Harrington will attempt to become only the third player to win a British Open and Senior British Open on the same course at Carnoustie. Tom Watson won both at Muirfield and Turnberry, while Bob Charles won both at Royal Lytham & St. Annes.

The longest par putt made by Xander Schauffele in the final round of the British Open at Royal Troon was 2 feet and 10 inches (78 cm).

“It’s one of the coolest jobs in the world. You can sit outside in the sun. I don’t have to sit behind a desk. I’m my own boss — most of the time. Those are some freedoms that I don’t take for granted at all.” — PGA and British Open champion Xander Schauffele

AP Golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf