Recapping the 2024 VR PGA Championship
In the world of professional golf, Xander Schauffele went wire-to-wire at Valhalla Golf Club to lift the Wanamaker Trophy for his first career Major Championship. Meanwhile, virtual golfers all over the world battled it out at the same venue as part of the GOLF+ TOUR VR PGA Championship. It was a familiar name atop the Diamond Tier Pro Tour, while the Amateur Tour saw a former #1 return to the top of leaderboard.
What is the GOLF+ TOUR?
For those that may be new to GOLF+, the GOLF+ TOUR operates in a similar manner to the various professional golf tours around the world. GOLF+ players opt to play in either the Pro Difficulty or Amateur Difficulty Tours, and then earn world ranking points based on their finishes in each week's tournament.
Each Tour is separated into ten different "tiers" and players work their way up and down through the tiers based on their world ranking points. As a player climbs the ranks, the conditions become more difficult and the tournaments become longer in terms of rounds played. The Diamond Tier is the top group on each Tour, consists of just 100 total players and contain four round tournaments.
Note: The GOLF+ Tour now features Daily Tournaments in addition to the standard weekly competitions. Each Daily Tournament earns players 5% of the ranking points that earned in a weekly tournament.
World #1 Victorious Again
GOLF+ players know the name, but again for those new to the world of VR Golf, TopherJaims is currently the undisputed, number one ranked player in the world of GOLF+. Heading into this week's VR PGA Championship, he had won seven consecutive Diamond Pro events and 25 of the 35 all-time weekly tournaments.
In many ways, Topher's last eight months have mirrored that of professional golf's world #1, Scottie Scheffler. Topher, like Scheffler, came up short in last fall's VR FedEx Cup Championship - falling to then #1 ranked Paper_Shaper at East Lake by one shot. After putting the Playoffs in the rearview, TopherJaims has gone on to have a dominant 2024 season. His current lead in the GOLF+ TOUR world rankings over the #2 ranked player, WKingg, is equal to that of WKingg's lead over the #13 ranked player, G.Ball.
Wire-to-Wire, Just like Xander
TopherJaims fired a ten-under, 62 (the second hole at Valhalla played as a Par 5 in the VR PGA Championship and a Par 4 in the PGA Championship) to take a two-shot lead after the opening round. He followed that with a round of 59 in the second round, three shots better than any one else in the field. Sitting at -23 halfway through the tournament, Topher held a commanding eight shot lead over second-place, Rickyu2.
A third-round 66 extended Topher's lead to nine shots over Traildawg who paced the field with a 63 in round three, and he capped off the wire-to-wire victory with a 64 in the final round to win by a commanding 10 shots over WKingg.
TopherJaims vs. Xander Schauffele Final Round
It's certainly fair to say Schauffele may have had a bit more pressure during his final round at Valhalla on Sunday than Topher, particularly as both both Bryson DeChambeau and Viktor Hovland made back-nine charges. Regardless, it's interesting to take a look at how both champions played eerily similar rounds to close out the victory.
Both started off three-under through the first eight holes with birdies on 1, 4 and 7 and pars on 2, 3, 5 and 6. Schauffele was able to make the turn at 31 with a birdie on 9, while Topher settled for a par. The PGA Championship looked to be at a turning point when Schauffele made a sloppy bogey at the par-5 10th, a hole that Topher birdied in all four rounds. Schauffele rebounded with birdies on 11 and 12 before carding five straight pars heading to 18. Topher made par at 11 and 12, but strung together 3 straight birdies on 13, 14, and 15 to effectively seal the VR PGA Championship.
Topher and Schauffele would go on to both birdie 18, a hole they combined to play 7-under in eight total rounds!
Hear from TopherJaims following his win at Valhalla.
A Former #1 Takes Home the Amateur Title
On the Amateur Tour, it was a wide-open chase for the VR PGA Championship. The #3 ranked player in the Diamond Tier, edward2323 was seen by many as the favorite leading into the week after securing wins in two of the last three events, including a first place finish at Valhalla last month. Meanwhile, OG_CraigWrub maintained the #1 world ranking and was coming off a second place finish at the VR Wells Fargo a week ago.
With multiple players in contention late in the final round, it was Ereischl, who had held the #1 ranking for six consecutive weeks earlier in the year, that ultimately came away with the Championship thanks to final round-59. It was Ereischl's third career win, but first since January during a stretch of nine weeks that saw eight top-5 finishes and 2 wins to catapult to the #1 world ranking.
Saving the Best for Last
Ereischl entered the final round tied at the top of the leaderboard with harrytl11 at -34, with five other players within 3 shots of the lead. A birdie on the first put Ereischl into the solo lead following a par from harrytl11. The leader would go on to birdie seven of the remaining eight holes on the front nine and added an eagle on ten to take control of the tournament.
What do the VR PGA Champions Win?
Both TopherJaims and Ereischl will receive 2 two-day passes to next year's PGA Championship to be held at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, North Carolina. GOLF+ thanks our partners at the PGA of America for providing this opportunity to our GOLF+ competitors!
