CHARLOTTE – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Scottie Scheffler was not at the top of his game but survived a mid-round scare from Jon Rahm to win the PGA Championship by five strokes at Quail Hollow Club on Sunday.
It wasn’t as easy as many expected, but the 28-year-old Scheffler collected his third major title with an even-par 71 that was enough for the Olympic champion to pick up something much bigger than a gold medal — the huge Wanamaker Trophy.
“I’m just really proud of the way we fought this week,” Scheffler said. “I was battling my swing the first couple days. … I’m looking forward to celebrating this one.”
He finished at 11-under 273, while fellow Americans Bryson DeChambeau (70), Harris English (65) and Davis Riley (72) tied for second at 6 under. Venezuela’s Jhonattan Vegas (72), the tournament’s 36-hole leader, finished at 5 under alongside Canadian Taylor Pendrith (68) and J.T. Poston (73).
The large margin of victory disguised the fact that the final result was very much up in the air until Rahm self-destructed over the final three holes and plunged all the way down to tie for eighth at 4-under.
The World No. 1 started the day with a three-shot lead but several poor tee shots that he pulled on the front nine eventually caught up with him as he ran up three bogeys on the outward half, along with one birdie.
After Rahm, playing two pairings ahead, piled up three birdies in four holes around the turn, Scheffler arrived at the 10th tee tied for the lead.
But Scheffler got his driving back on track with a good tee shot at the par-5 10th, eventually making an up-and-down birdie from a greenside bunker to regain the sole lead. He did not let it slip again.
A 7-foot birdie at the drivable par-4 14th, where he got up and down from a greenside bunker, extended his lead to two shots and there would be no further drama, at least in the battle for victory.
“I just kept hitting it left (on the front nine),” Scheffler said. “I knew it was going to be a challenging day. 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.”
Scheffler bogeyed the first hole, but after a pulled drive at the par-4 second somehow avoided a clump of pines and ended in prime position in pine straw only 85 yards from the hole, he took advantage of the lucky break to make a birdie. At that stage it seemed the final round might be devoid of drama, but Rahm had other ideas.
In the end, the two-time major winner from Spain could not close the deal.
His birdie putt at the 13th hole somehow lipped out. Had it dropped in, the last few holes might have unfolded differently, but when Rahm bogeyed the 16th his race had been run. A 6-iron into the water at the brutal par-3 17th only confirmed his fate, and consecutive double bogeys on the final two holes marked an ignominious finish for the LIV player.
He shot 73 to finish seven strokes behind Scheffler.
“Yeah, the last three holes, it’s a tough pill to swallow right now,” Rahm said. “… Pretty fresh wound right now. But there’s been a lot of good happening this week and a lot of positive feelings to take for the rest of the year.”
Rahm’s fellow LIV member, DeChambeau, briefly held sole possession of the lead in the third round before unraveling on the Green Mile. DeChambeau carded four birdies and three bogeys Sunday, never quite threatening Scheffler the way Rahm did.
It marked DeChambeau’s fourth top-five placement in the past five majors, including a runner-up finish to Xander Schauffele at last year’s PGA and his victory at the U.S. Open.
“Always proud to top-five in a major,” DeChambeau said. “I feel like I’m playing good when I’m doing that but I mean, it’s disappointing not to get the job done because that’s what I came here to do.”
Scheffler has been so dominant since he burst onto the scene that only three years and 94 days have passed between his first PGA Tour victory and his 15th. Since 1950, only Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus took less time to accomplish the same feat, and only by a few days at that.
In his most recent start prior to the PGA Championship, Scheffler won the CJ Cup Byron Nelson tournament by eight strokes.
Since 1970, only one other player has won consecutive PGA Tour appearances by at least 5 strokes: Woods, who did so twice.
Scheffler is also the first player since Seve Ballesteros more than four decades ago to win his first three majors by at least three shots.
Scheffler’s performance here was a reminder, if any was needed, that though Rory McIlroy is golf’s biggest current star, he has competition for the title of the game’s best player.
Five weeks removed from completing the career Grand Slam, the Northern Irishman was out of sorts all week, finishing in a tie for 47th at 3-over 287.
– Field Level Media
