Scottie Scheffler takes another giant stride into golfing pantheon after stunning Open success
Scottie Scheffler
– the world number one – stoically took further steps to embracing greatness in his own unemotional manner; with no airs or graces, just a series of sublimely struck shots and putts as the American added the Claret Jug to an ever-growing collection of Major championships.
The step-by-step journey by Scheffler to this
153rd Open
victory over the Dunluce links, played out in sunshine with the only the barest of breezes to the extent that flags at times stuck to the sticks, was smooth with only one speed bump – a double-bogey six on the eighth – that never truly had any element of danger.
Scheffler's route to becoming the champion golfer of the year was devoid of tension, as deliverance came his way with a final-round 68 for a total of 17-under-par 267, four strokes clear of Harris English – who also finished runner-up to him in the US PGA at Quail Hollow – with Chris Gotterup completing a 1-2-3 for the United States.
'It's incredible,' said English of Scheffler's ability to slam doors shut in the faces of others. 'I wasn't playing professional golf when Tiger was at his peak, early 2000s, mid 2000s. But it's pretty incredible just how good of a front-runner he is. He's improved his putting. There's no stat that he's bad in. It's like, how do you beat this guy?'
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England's Matt Fitzpatrick finished as leading European with two birdies in his closing three holes for a 69 for 273, where he joined Wyndham Clark and Haotong Li.
Rory McIlroy acknowledges the crowd on the 18th green at the end of his final round at Royal Portrush. Photograph: Ben Brady/Inpho
For
Rory McIlroy
, the pursuit of Scheffler never gained the necessary momentum to seriously trouble him and the Masters champion's 69 for 274 left him in a three-way share of seventh place.
McIlroy hailed Scheffler's worthiness in becoming the latest custodian of the Claret Jug.
'None of us could hang with Scottie this week. He's been dominant this week. Honestly, he's been dominant for the last couple years. He is the bar that we're all trying to get to. 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. It's incredibly impressive.'
The win gave Scheffler a fourth Major title, a roll-of-honour surely certain to have additions, and took him three-quarters of the way towards achieving the career Grand Slam. Only the US Open trophy is missing from a display cabinet at home in Dallas, Texas, which has two Masters and a Wanamaker from his US PGA Championship win in May.
Scheffler was unshakeable in completing his mission. Barely displaying emotion until the very end, when wife Meredith and young son Bennett met him at the back of the 18th green, Scheffler's mental strength compared to the basalt columns of the Giant's Causeway a little way along the north Antrim coast. And his putting, once a potential weakness, was for the most part flawless, which is how it has become since hooking up with putting guru Phil Kenyon.
Scottie Scheffler celebrates with the Claret Jug at Royal Portrush. Photograph: Mike Egerton/PA Wire
Starting with a four strokes lead over China's Li, Scheffler's approach to the first-hole flag finished 12 inches away from the cup. A tap-in birdie to start proved ominous and further birdies on the fourth and fifth brought an inevitability about the outcome as the lead briefly stretched to eight shots, and then to seven. That was before a double-bogey six on the eight hole – where Scheffler got too greedy in attempting to escape a fairway bunker, clipped the top and saw it return to the sand – provided the blip.
It didn't last for long, as normal service resumed on the ninth – where he hit a lob wedge to four feet – for Scheffler's fourth birdie of the front nine to turn in 32. The champion's only birdie of the homeward journey came on the par-5 12th where one par followed another in ensuring the door would not be opened to any potential challengers. Scheffler, as ever, was in control and, as he had done in his previous three Major wins, he closed out the carrying of a 54-hole lead into the final round to seal the deal.
There was some great play from others. Bryson DeChambeau's recovery from that first-round 78 was completed with a bogey-free closing 64 for 275 in tied-10th.
'I like it when it's fair conditions, I can play well. I still have to crack the code when it's raining and windy. But I feel like we're getting close to some opportunities and solutions for that,' he said. US Open champion JJ Spaun – competing in his first Open – came home in 30 for a 68 for 278 in tied-23rd.
This is Scheffler's time, and we are witnesses to greatness. Who knows, in truth, where it will end? For him, it's about living in the moment and not looking ahead.
'I have worked since I was two or three years old to have a chance to play professional golf for a living, and now I've been able to win tournaments I've just dreamed of playing in. It's an amazing feeling, and I'm so grateful to be able to live out my dreams.
'My faith and my family is what's most important to me. I try to live as normal of a life as possible because I feel like a normal guy. I have the same friends I had growing up. I don't think that I'm anything special just because some weeks I'm better at shooting a lower score than other guys are,' said Scheffler, a piece of understatement as glorious as his golf over the four days.
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