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After just two swings in Sunday’s final round of the Open, it already seemed close to over. After two holes, it definitely felt over. After four holes, engraver Garry Harvey could start etching the name of Scottie Scheffler into the claret jug, although he waited until near the end of the inevitable conclusion.
Scheffler bullied his way to another major championship victory Sunday at Royal Portrush, settling matters early on the way to a four-stroke victory. On a gorgeous afternoon on the north coast of Northern Ireland, Scheffler birdied three of the first five holes to solidify a four-stroke overnight lead and closed with a more-than-sufficient three-under 68.
With a 17-under 267 aggregate total, Scheffler collected his fourth major title and second of the year following a six-stroke victory at the PGA Championship in May. The 29-year-old Dallas native now owns three legs of the career Grand Slam, joining Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Tiger Woods as players who have won the Masters, PGA and Open Championship before age 30.
Just the seventh Open champion with four rounds in the 60s, Scheffler matched Seve Ballesteros as the only other man since 1945 to capture his first four major titles by three or more shots. The World No. 1 triumphed for the 10th straight time when holding the outright 54-hole lead and added his name to Woods’ as the only reigning World No. 1s to become Champion Golfer of the Year.
“It’s a very special feeling,” Scheffler said after becoming the fourth man to win at least three different majors by four or more strokes. (The others: Nicklaus, Woods and Ben Hogan.) “It takes a lot of work to get to this point. This was a tough week. It was challenging. The golf course was playing really tough, and I had to focus really hard over the course of the weekend.”
He is the 12th straight first-time winner of the Golf Champion Trophy, the formal name of the claret jug, and the gold medal that goes along with it. His share of the $19 million purse was $3.1 million.
It wasn’t all smooth sailing for Scheffler, who won his 17th PGA Tour title and fourth this season.
A scratchy three-hole stretch required consecutive par-saving putts of 16 and 15 feet, respectively, at the sixth and seventh holes. He celebrated each with impassioned fist pumps before suffering a double bogey at the par-4 eighth when he found a fairway bunker off the tee and needed two shots to escape it. That hiccup, only his fourth hole over par for the week, dropped his lead to the four strokes he owned at the start of the day.
Scheffler had built a generous buffer starting at the opening hole when he slung his approach from 143 yards to within 16 inches of the cup for an opening birdie. When China’s Haotong Li, his nearest pursuer when the round began, bogeyed the par-5 second, Scheffler was five ahead. The gap grew to seven when Scheffler holed a seven-footer for birdie at the par-4 fourth hole after Li failed to save par from 17 feet.
After the double at the eighth, Scheffler bounced back with birdie from five feet at the ninth. No one got closer than four shots the remainder of the round as Scheffler became the 31st player with at least four major titles.
When the last putt dropped, a tap in for par, he let out a celebratory roar and tossed his white cap in the air as his wife Meredith, holding their son Bennett, approached him on the green.
“Golf is a funny game. You’ve got to stay focused for the entire tournament, and I did a good job of that,” the normally stoic Scheffler said. “And then when I see my family afterward, it’s a pretty special feeling that’s hard to describe. It’s something I’m very grateful for and something I’ll hold onto for a long time.”
Harris English birdied two of his last three holes for 66 to come in second with a 271 total for his second runner-up finish of the year, both coming to Scheffler. On his 26th birthday, Scottish Open champion Chris Gotterup closed with a 67 and was another stroke back in third in his Open debut.
“Even though winning today was probably not attainable unless I shot nine under, I felt like I needed a really good round and wanted to play well in the Open Championship and give myself a run,” English said. “Yeah, losing to Scottie twice in two majors, the only guy to beat me at the PGA and this week, I’m playing some good golf. Just need to clean it up a little bit.”
Wyndham Clark added a 65 to consecutive 66s and ended up T-4 at 273 with Li, who closed with a 70, and Matt Fitzpatrick of England, who shot 69. Bryson DeChambeau equalled Clark’s 16-under rally over the final three days capped by a closing 64, tying Scheffler for low round of the championship. At 275 and T-10, DeChambeau was high finisher among LIV golfers.
Masters champion and hometown hero Rory McIlroy didn’t get much going after beginning the day six back. His final-round 69 and 274 total left him in a tie for seventh with defending champion Xander Schauffele and Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre.
“I think a lot more positive than they were six years ago,” McIlroy said, referring to his experience compared to missing the cut at Royal Portrush in 2019. “I mean, look, I’m really pleased with my week. I wish I had been closer to Scottie going into today and been able to make a real push. But he’s been on a different level all week and he’s been on a different level for the last two years to the rest of us.
“In a historical context, you could argue that there’s only maybe two or three players in the history of the game that have been on a run, the one that Scottie’s been on here for the last 24 to 36 months. Incredibly impressive.”
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