[Photo: Getty images]
World No.1 Scottie Scheffler has captured a third career major in dominant fashion at the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow, marking the Texan’s first big title outside the Masters.
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A year after an arrest at the 2024 PGA at Valhalla due to a traffic incident, Scheffler fended off Spain’s Jon Rahm down the back nine at Quail Hollow to win the professionals-only major.
“Getting a chance to play in a major championship and playing with the lead and having a chance to win is the most fun I’ll have in my career, outside of the team events,” he said.
The Texan had triumphed at the Masters in 2022 and 2024 but he broke away from Augusta National as the only course at which he’d won a major when he finished at 11-under-par at Quail Hollow, an even-par 71 earned a whopping five-shot victory and the Wanamaker Trophy.
Scheffler joked about fighting the hooks early in the final day which led to three front-nine bogeys including the opening hole Sunday (Monday AEST). “I don’t know, I mean, I just kept hitting it left (laughter); I knew it was going to be a challenging day,” Scheffler said.
“I was excited for today. I was a little bit anxious. You work your whole lifetime for a chance to play in these tournaments, and I had a great opportunity to win one.
“Finishing off a major championship is always difficult, and I did a good job of staying patient on the front nine. I didn’t have my best stuff, but I kept myself in it, and I stepped up on the back nine and had a really good nine holes. That’s about it.”
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Rahm gave Scheffler a valiant run and was briefly tied for the lead midway through the final day, but ultimately faded spectacularly while US Open champion Bryson DeChambeau tied for second at six-under alongside Harris English and Davis Riley.
Rahm let good birdie looks go asking at holes 12-15 and then everything unravelled for the two-time major winner at the vaunted Green Mile. Rahm bogeyed the 16th from a greenside bunker and then found the water at the par-3 17th that led to a double bogey.
He stumbled to a 73 and at four-under he finished T-8 following a bogey at 16 and double bogeys at 17 and 18.
“It was really close,” Rahm said. “God, it’s been a while since I had that much fun on a golf course, [through] 15 holes. Even the first seven today where I was swinging well and things weren’t happening, but I kept myself in and made the pars that I needed and played really good golf from the 8th to the 15th. It’s just mistakes around the green … that bunker shot on 18, I thought I landed it where I needed to. It was just softer bounds and a misread and what to say about 15. Yeah, the last three holes, it’s a tough pill to swallow right now.”
Scheffler squandered a five-stroke edge when Rahm equalled him in the lead, but a birdie at the par-five 10th put Scheffler back in front. Scheffler then resumed his stranglehold on the field with birdies at 14 and 15. Scheffler credited his caddie Ted Scott for helping his mentality as things were unravelling.
“I’m just really proud of the way I fought this week,” Scheffler said. “I was battling my swing the first couple days. I didn’t have as good a prep week as I wanted to. It was a battle out there.
“Teddy did a good job of keeping me in it, and [swing coach] Randy [Smith] helped me figure out things on my swing. It was a real team effort this week. I’m proud of the whole squad. Looking forward to celebrating this one.”
Scheffler won $US3.42 million ($A5.3 million) for winning the Wanamaker. While the purse is the largest in PGA Championship history, Scheffler won about $US2 million more than anyone else in the field given English, DeChambeau and Riley shared second, and the runner-up prize was split between the three at $US1.42 million.
Scheffler became the 10th consecutive American to win the event. The 28-year-old Scheffler equalled Spanish legend Seve Ballesteros as the only players in the past century to win their first three majors by at least three shots.
After suffering a right hand injury last December, Scheffler only won his first title of the year two weeks ago at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson. That was Scheffler’s 15th career PGA Tour title, all of which have come in a span of three years.
Scheffler won nine titles in 2024 including the Olympic gold medal in Paris.
