10 things we'll remember from the week at Troon

Xander Schauffele closed out another Open Championship with his second major win of the season thanks to a brilliant closing 6-under 65 at Royal Troon.

His final-round charge helped him pull away from the field and become the first player with two majors in the same season since Brooks Koepka did it in 2018.

Schauffele's push to victory capped an incredible week of viewing at the iconic western Scotland course that provided the backdrop for a tournament to remember.

Here are ten unforgettable moments from the week at Troon.

1. Xander's Sunday charge

Scottie Scheffler might have six wins on the year, but you can easily argue that Schauffele has had the better season. When he's on his A-game, it's tough for anybody to keep up - which was on full display Sunday. After five comfortable pars to open his round, Schauffele fired off a birdie barrage with six from holes 6-16 to pull away from the field and set up a very anti-climatic ending. His 65 matched the final-round score from Valhalla and grabbed a slice of history in the process.

2. Xander's steadiness

Nothing's going to rattle Schauffele, who remains the best all-around player in golf. The lights-out scoring and Bryson DeChambeau's run at Valhalla couldn't do it. The wind and the rain at Troon didn't knock the American off his stride either. Windy and rainy conditions caused volatile scoring all over The Open's leaderboard, but Schauffele was solid, with rounds of 69, 72, 69 and 65 securing his second major in three starts. Schauffele entered the year as the best golfer who had yet to win a major but, seven months later, he's nabbed two and is heading to the Olympics in Paris looking like the favorite to repeat as a gold medalist.

3. Rose's competitive fire

Schauffele was just three years old when Justin Rose tied for fourth as a 17-year-old amateur qualifier at the 1997 Open Championship. Over $100 million in career earnings later, the 43-year-old could have skipped The Open this time around since he wasn't exempt at Troon. Instead, the Englishman went through qualifying - which many veterans opted against - to secure his place in the field this week. From there it was vintage Rose, with steady iron play, clutch putting, and fiery reactions catapulting him up the leaderboard. While he eventually fell short, the 27-year gap between top-four finishes at The Open is an incredible achievement for the affable Rose.

4. Billy's back-nine Saturday

Billy Horschel's magic act on the back nine Saturday was something to behold. Playing in the worst conditions over that stretch, Horschel showed off outrageous short-game ability, saving par from off the green on six of his final nine holes.

Horschel's ability to battle in the worst of conditions helped him hold the 54-hole lead and won him plenty of fans on both sides of the Atlantic.

5. Scheffler's Saturday 3-wood into 17

The weather late on Saturday presented some of the worst conditions we've seen in recent memory at The Open. Gusts of up to 25 miles per hour with torrential rain pounding the players made the 238-yard par-3 17th play incredibly long, and several struggled to even make the green despite pulling driver off the tee. Scheffler showed why he's the world's best ball-striker with an absolute rope of a 3-wood to three feet for birdie.

6. Scheffler's 3-putt from seven feet Sunday

This week was the same old story for Scheffler - he was otherworldly in getting to the green and abysmal with the putter. The Masters champ ranked first by a wide margin in strokes gained: approach at over 11 for the week while sitting a whopping 133rd in putting. A stunning three-putt from seven feet on the ninth hole Sunday essentially ended his chances at a second major this season and will likely send him back to the lab to try and fix the putting woes that have kept his incredibly successful season from being the stuff of legend.

7. Dan Brown smoking on 18

The unlikely first-round leader, journeyman pro Dan Brown, hung around into Sunday and caused a stir both with his play and his habit of smoking on the golf course. The Englishman - who was making his major debut - was seen multiple times stealing a drag from a cigarette behind his caddie on Saturday, and snuck one walking up the 18th hole before stopping to pose for a selfie with fans. Why was he so secretive about it? He didn't want his parents to see him.

"They do know, but I don't do it in front of them, or I don't want to do it in front of them, so I try and hide it," Brown said afterwards.

Whether Brown contends in another major or fades back into relative obscurity, he certainly made an impact this week at Troon.

8. Rory's errant wedge

Rory McIlroy can be an effective wind player. He has a very strong record in The Open and produced one of the most impressive shots in the wind to win the Scottish Open last year. However, the 35-year-old looked lost in the blustery conditions this week. A 93-yard wedge Friday on the par-5 sixth summed up his tournament.

Tour pros are usually lethal from that distance, even in that kind of weather, but McIlroy was forced to yell 'Fore' immediately off the club face. His shot ended up some 30 yards from the flag.

9. Rory's vacation quote

McIlroy's struggles on the course were shocking, but something he said after missing the cut might have been even more surprising. McIlroy admitted he started thinking about where he would head on vacation in the coming week after he triple-bogeyed the fourth hole Friday to sit five shots off the eventual cutline. That made some question his competitive fire, especially after several players overcame difficult starts to make the cut. However you feel about the comments, they'll likely follow McIlroy around as he continues his quest to end his major drought, which now sits at 10 years.

10. Superstars miss cut

McIlroy wasn't the only superstar to miss the cut at Troon: Seven of the world's top 12 players didn't make the weekend in the season's final major. DeChambeau, the U.S. Open champion, struggled to adapt to the changing conditions, ending his brilliant major run after he finished sixth, second and first in the other three events this year. Ludvig Aberg, Wyndham Clark, Tommy Fleetwood, Viktor Hovland and Cameron Smith were among the other big names to exit before the weekend, while Tiger Woods struggled once again and finished eight shots off the cutline.