Golf: Xander Schauffele wins by one shot at Renaissance Club To Win Scottish Open

Xander Schauffele recovered from a nervy front nine to claim the Scottish Open title at the Renaissance Club - his third successive victory.

The overnight leader steadied himself after bogeys at six, seven and nine looked to have unsettled his challenge.

 

Birdies at 14 and 16 helped salvage a level-par 70 and take Schauffele clear of compatriot Kurt Kitayama and South Korea's Joohyung Kim.

Kitayama finished one shot back and claimed a spot at next week's Open.

"It's an incredible feeling," Schauffele, who earns $1.4m (£1.2m) for his win, told Sky Sports.

The American, who won the JP McManus Pro-Am earlier in the week in Ireland, to follow his win at the PGA Tour's Travelers Championship, said there was "a big sense of relief", explaining: "It was a very stressful day and this is very rewarding.

"I was just trying to find something. Every time I wanted to cut it, I hit away right, and every time I wanted to draw it, it went away left.

"It was nice to hit a few better shots coming down the stretch and calm the ship. It was looking pretty bad for a bit, but this one is extra special because of that."

Kitayama and Kim ended up posing the greatest threat to Schauffele, who was one clear at the start of play, with rounds of four and three under par respectively.

Spain's Rafael Cabrera Bello, Englishman Jordan Smith plus Americans plus Jordan Speith and Ryan Palmer had been the nearest challengers overnight, but all shot over par to fade from contention.

Patrick Cantlay and Tommy Fleetwood also had good final rounds to finish on four under par.

Welshman Jamie Donaldson and America's Brandon Wu claimed the other two spots at the Open after finishing on three under par, alongside US Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick and Cameron Tringale, who shot a course record of 61 for his first round.

Russell Knox and Conor Syme were the highest-placed Scots on three over par.

BBC