Scottie Scheffler leaves rivals awestruck after Open win

CNN

5 days ago

For a few fleeting moments, as he stared down at the ball that had careened off the bunker's lip and back to his feet, Scottie Scheffler looked human.
Then the world's supreme golfer dusted himself down, birdied the next hole, and resumed his metronomic march towards The Open Championship.
Not even a shock double bogey could take any shine off the American's imperious capture of the sport's oldest tournament on Sunday, as the world No. 1 glided to a four-shot victory and his fourth career major at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland.
A closing three-under 68 saw him finish comfortably clear of compatriot Harris English on 17-under par overall, crowning him as the first player during the modern major championship era to win his first four majors by three or more strokes, according to PGA Tour Communications.
'This was, I felt like, one of my best performances mentally,' Scheffler told reporters on his return to the clubhouse.
After May's PGA Championship win, it leaves the two-time Masters champion just a US Open victory away from joining Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods and, following his long-awaited victory at Augusta National in April, Rory McIlroy in completing the career grand slam.
And with next year's US Open Sunday at Shinnecock Hills in Southampton, New York, falling on June 21, Scheffler has the opportunity to complete the set on his 30th birthday.
'To win all four major championships is pretty dang special … (But) I don't focus too much on that stuff,' Scheffler said.
'I don't think about winning tournaments. I just look at the body of work I have and just think about ways to improve.'
As the only major in which Scheffler had previously failed to record a top-five finish in, The Open had been a tournament that the 17-time PGA Tour winner had typically found harder to bend to his will but he looked at ease from the start on the Causeway Coast, even as rain and wind buffeted the field.
Just three days after his existential rumination on just why he plays golf and his stirring confession that it was 'not a fulfilling life,' Scheffler posted an opening 68 before accelerating to the front with a career-low major round of 64 and shooting 67 to extend his lead.
Though his struggles in the sand at the eighth hole Sunday provided a momentary scare, by the close it was nothing more than a pockmark on a near-flawless week of golf that ended with Scheffler embracing his wife Meredith and 14-month-old son Bennett.
'If somebody was going to listen to the comments I had this week, I would encourage them to listen to all of it, and I hope I did a good job communicating that, yeah, this is amazing to win the Open Championship, but at the end of the day, having success in life, whether it be in golf, work, whatever it is, that's not what fulfills the deepest desires of your heart,' said Scheffler.
'Am I grateful for it? Do I enjoy it? Oh, my gosh, yes, this is a cool feeling. I can't wait to get home and celebrate this championship with the people that have helped me along the way. But at the end of the day, it doesn't fulfill the deepest desires of my heart.'
English had finished in a share of second behind Scheffler in spring's PGA Championship and closed with a superb 66 to take solo possession of runner-up this time around.
'I wasn't playing professional golf when Tiger (Woods) was at his peak … but it's pretty incredible,' English said of Scheffler.
'Just how good of a frontrunner 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?''
The world No. 19 and Chris Gotterup, one shot behind at 12-under overall after shooting 67, will hope to have strengthened their claim for a spot on American Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley's team for Bethpage Black in Farmingdale, New York in September.
A fairytale home victory for McIlroy never looked close to materializing, as the world No. 2 shot a closing 69 to finish seven shots back from Scheffler in a share of seventh with American Xander Schauffele and Scotland's Robert MacIntyre.
Born just 60 miles away in the small town of Holywood, McIlroy battled hard to delight the roaring masses that followed him in droves even during his practice rounds, but, despite a Saturday 66, the 36-year-old ultimately left himself with too much ground to make up after a slow start.
Regardless, golf's latest grand slam champion received a victor's reception as he departed the 18th green, vanquishing the ghosts of his tearful early exit when the major returned to the Dunluce Links course for the first time in 68 years in 2019.
'None of us could hang with Scottie this week,' McIlroy said. 'He's an incredible player, he's been dominant this week … he's been dominant for the last couple years. He is the bar that we're all trying to get to.'
'I tried as best as I could to keep my emotions in check, especially walking up the last and that reception … I've gotten everything I wanted out of this week apart from a Claret Jug, and that's just because one person was just a little bit better than the rest of us.'
Outgoing Open champion Schauffele, who shot 68, added: 'I don't think we thought the golfing world would see someone as dominant as Tiger (Woods) come through so soon, and here's Scottie sort of taking that throne of dominance.
'You can't even say he's on a run. He's just been killing it for over two years now. He's a tough man to beat, and when you see his name up on the leaderboard, it sucks for us.'
The pursuing pack awoke Sunday with the unenviable task of catching a force at the peak of his powers who, even without the padding of a four shot cushion, is rarely caught once ahead.
Scheffler had converted all seven of his previous 54-hole leads or co-leads on the PGA Tour and, more pertinently, sealed his three prior major titles in increasingly convincing fashion from the same positions; by three and four strokes at the Masters in 2022 and 2024 respectively and by five at the PGA Championship in May.
There were some glimmers of optimism for those fans hoping not to tune into a procession. Woods was the only previous world No. 1 to arrive at The Open and win, albeit with the caveat that he did it three times in 2000, 2005 and 2006.
Meanwhile, Scheffler's playing partner Haotong Li had dazzled throughout and boasted pedigree for late rampages at the tournament, having closed with a blistering 63 at Royal Birkdale in 2017.
Then, of course, there was a resurgent McIlroy, the ever-relevant factor of his historic talents twinned with the intangible influence of a vociferous crowd straining every vocal cord to will their hero to a fairytale home triumph that he believed would eclipse his famous Masters conquest.
It meant that as the Sunday sun rose and, unlike for most of a blusteringly wet week on the Causeway Coast, stayed out over Royal Portrush, the grandstands crackled with anticipation of a potentially legendary Open comeback.
Across 152 previous editions of the sport's oldest tournament, only 13 players had overcome a 54-hole deficit of four or more strokes to win, Australia's Cameron Smith the most recent after reeling in McIlroy and Hovland from four back in 2022.
Then Scheffler went out and did exactly what he does better than anyone: pierce any tension with cold precision. Dialing his opening approach next to the flag, the world No. 1 tapped in for birdie to immediately suppress any hint of drama.
By the time he lasered in from just inside 15 feet for his second straight birdie at the par-five fourth, the gulf at the summit was eight strokes. Li followed him in to cut the margin back to seven, but the erraticness of his early scorecard – birdie, bogey, par, bogey, birdie – only further emphasized the contrasting metronomic smoothness of his playing partner.
The Chinese star could only laugh a hole later when Scheffler, at last looking fallible after an underhit tee shot left him with an uphill battle to extend his run of 30 holes without bogey, rolled in from 16 feet.
The par-save evoked a rare show of emotion from the typically unreadable American, who fist pumped the air before accompanying Li, chuckling incredulously, to the next tee.
Then suddenly, out of nowhere, a reminder that Scheffler is mortal after all – and a flicker of hope for the chasers.
After finding a bunker from the eighth tee, he was still in the sand a shot later after his escape attempt went blasting into the lip of the trap and landed back at his feet.
The uncharacteristically clumsy error ended in a first double bogey of the week for Scheffler and, with compatriot Gotterup ticking along nicely up ahead, scythed his lead back to four strokes.
Yet normal service resumed instantly, the door slamming shut no sooner than it had cracked ajar as Scheffler birdied the ninth following another pinpoint approach.
With a fading McIlroy double bogeying the 10th, up ahead English did his best to apply pressure on Scheffler with an eagle and two birdies on the back nine. Yet the world No. 1 motored along unfazed, steadily plotting his course to take a four-shot cushion to the final tee.
One last straightforward par duly ensued, a wide smile at last breaking across Scheffler's face as he lined up his penultimate putt.
After tapping in for victory, the new Open champion made a beeline for, as he so candidly outlined on the eve of the tournament, his real prize.
With his wife at his side, and his son on his arm, Scheffler headed off to pick up another trophy.
This story has been updated with additional reporting.