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00:00for a historic final round yesterday at Royal Troon. The
00:07150-second playing of the Open Championship and a final round
00:12sixty-five for the second time in a final round of a major
00:15championship this year that culminates in a victory for
00:19Xander Shoffley. He wins the Open. The champion golfer of the
00:24year at nine under par. Charlie, we talked about this
00:28as we let off the show with this conversation in our
00:31opening hour. Entering this year, the knock against Xander,
00:34he could not win a major championship. Always a
00:37bridesmaid, never a bride. Runner-up finishes, top ten
00:41finishes. He was always around the top of the leaderboard but
00:45never the champion when all was said and done on a Sunday
00:48afternoon. But yesterday, like we saw at Valhalla, the stones
00:53to get it done on Sunday. What changed this year for Xander
00:57Shoffley and what did you see yesterday at the Open? Well, I
01:01think the first place to start is a lot of people held some
01:04skepticism around that win at Valhalla just because that that
01:08major championship, the score we saw there didn't necessarily
01:10feel like a major championship. If you wanted any sort of
01:14validation of Xander Shoffley's greatness, going out and doing
01:17it at Royal Troon in these conditions these weeks, that's
01:20all the validation Xander needs that I am a legitimate major
01:24and you know, it is wild to think we start this year. He's
01:29probably the best player to never win a major holding that
01:32sort of label and then he wins two in his last three tries.
01:36Truly amazing stuff from a guy who's got all the talent in the
01:38world. The big difference this year to me is the ball speed and
01:43the distance he's gained. He did a ton of speed training in
01:46the offseason. Xander's always been one of the steadiest, one
01:49of the most consistent players on tour. He is phenomenally
01:52straight. He's a great iron player. He is an incredibly
01:55consistent putter, but the X factor now has been he is
01:58absolutely roasting the golf ball off the tee and he's got
02:02less club into a lot of these greens and his than his peers
02:05and I think to me that is where you start getting a real
02:08scoring advantage. If you can still hit it straight, but
02:10you're also, you know, gaining 5, 10, 15 yards, huge
02:14difference maker. So for me, I think that's the leap he's made
02:17and I think, you know, it to me like juxtapose Xander against
02:22Scottie Scheffler yesterday where Scottie is, you know,
02:25maybe the best ball striker we've seen since the Tiger
02:27Woods and they're right at the top there in that stroke skin
02:29approach category, but Scottie struggling again with the
02:32putter and Xander's formula now is looking better and better
02:35and better. It's just consistency. It's top tier elite
02:39consistency and it's a lot of fun to watch.