Schmid Finishes T4 at PGA Championship in Final Pairing

Matti Schmid walked to the first tee at Aronimink on Sunday inside the final pairing of a major championship. It was the position every German had waited for since Martin Kaymer lifted the Wanamaker Trophy in 2010. By the close of the 108th PGA Championship, Schmid had a share of fourth place and a round that told the story of a player who belonged.

A German back in the frame

The final round at Aronimink Golf Club in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, offered no clear favourite. In total, 22 players finished within four shots of the lead, the most after 54 holes at a major since 27 players were within four at the 2001 Open Championship. Schmid started two behind Alex Smalley, the pair drawn together in the last group off the tee.

He began with a stumble. Schmid, playing in the final pairing with Smalley, bogeyed the 1st hole but rebounded with three birdies to hold the outright lead at 6-under headed to the back nine. The turn came as the conditions sharpened. Schmid made birdie at the 6th in style, while Smalley collapsed and double-bogeyed, sending Schmid into the solo lead. For a stretch of the afternoon, the championship ran through the man from Regensburg.

The lead did not hold. Aaron Rai birdied the 11th and Schmid bogeyed the 10th as the two Europeans switched places on the leaderboard. Schmid answered once more. Rai's lead was cut to one after Schmid birdied the 13th, nearly driving the green, to reach 6-under for the week. Then came the decisive blow from the eventual champion. A tap-in birdie for Rai at the par-5 16th moved him to 8-under, with only Schmid and Jon Rahm within three shots coming down the stretch, before Rai's long putt at the 17th settled matters. Schmid signed for a share of fourth on 5-under, level with Ludvig Åberg and Justin Thomas.

The making of the moment

The result did not arrive without foundation. Born in Regensburg and 28 years old, Schmid played college golf at the University of Louisville and won back-to-back European Amateur Championships in 2019 and 2020. The years since brought steady work on Tour rather than headlines. His third round at Aronimink hinted at what was coming. The low round of the day was a 65, shared by Justin Rose, Chris Kirk, Matti Schmid, Nick Taylor and Kristoffer Reitan.

Sunday placed him among established names. This year's PGA Championship was the first time in the major's history that six countries were represented among the top six players entering the final round. Schmid held his ground in that company, leading a major with nine holes to play before the champion pulled clear.

Kaymer won. Schmid did not. But for the first time in sixteen years, Germany was in the last group at a major, and the name at the top of the leaderboard, for a while, was his.