LOUISVILLE, Kentucky — Bryson DeChambeau was still coping with losing the PGA Championship when he began looking forward to using the heartbreaking defeat as inspiration for next month's US Open.
DeChambeau fired a bogey-free seven-under par 64 in the final round at Valhalla but Xander Schauffele's six-foot birdie putt on the final hole gave him a one-stroke victory for his first major title.
Schauffele's 21-under performance broke the old 72-hole record low under-par winning score.
"Proud of myself for the way I handled adversity. Definitely disappointing, but one that gives me a lot of momentum for the rest of the majors," DeChambeau said.
"It will be closing time, hopefully, over the next couple majors. I've got to learn from this and learn a lot."
DeChambeau, the top finisher among 16 LIV Golf players in the field, birdied two of the last three holes to keep the pressure on his American compatriot and hopes to add clutch putting to his trademark long drives.
"The resilience that I had out there was awesome," DeChambeau said. "I putted well this week. I figured some good stuff out. Just got to remember those things and use that for the US Open. I'm excited for Pinehurst."
DeChambeau matched the old sub-par major mark at 20-under by using his putter to take full advantage of rain-softened Valhalla greens.
"I shocked myself a couple [of] times. Putted fantastic," DeChambeau said. "I don't feel like I missed one big-moment putt out there. Every time I needed to get up-and-down, I got up-and-down.
"Definitely surprised myself, impressed myself, and I know I can do it again. It's just going to take some time. Got to figure some stuff out."
That includes getting his tee shots back to their most formidable level.
"Didn't strike it my best all week," he said. "Felt like I had my 'B' game pretty much. My putting was A-plus, my wedging was A-plus, short game was A-plus, driving was like B."