Scheffler's magisterial march to British Open triumph
The American had confessed at the start of the week, amid some rather startling soul-searching at a news conference, how winning golf championships didn't give him a lasting feeling of fulfilment.
So it's to be hoped that even the world's top golfer may find more than fleeting satisfaction from this consummate display which again showcased the 29-year-old as a supreme generational talent.
Scheffler, starting off four shots ahead, effectively sucked all the drama out of an eagerly anticipated final day as his lordly control on the Dunluce links ensured no-one else could even land a blow on him.
From the moment he put his glorious approach from 143 yards to within 16 inches of the hole at the first for a tap-in birdie in lovely, unthreatening conditions at the storied Northern Ireland course, this most brilliant of front-runners made it feel like a Sunday afternoon seaside stroll.
How good is he when he holds a 54-hole lead? Well, Scheffler won the PGA Championship by five shots earlier this year, last year's Masters by four shots and the 2022 Masters by three. In the history of the game, no-one else has ever won each of their first four major titles by three or more.
His mastery, at 17 under for the Championships (68, 64, 67, 68) made it a one-man show. Fellow American Harris English recorded a superb five-under 66 to grab the runner's up spot behind Scheffler, just as he did at Quail Hollow in the PGA.
Chris Gotterup, the surprise American winner of the Scottish Open seven days earlier, completed his amazing week with a 67 to finish third on 12 under, while Wyndham Clark's final 65, Matt Fitzpatrick's 69 and Li Haotong's 70 got them to tied-fourth on 11 under.
Even Rory McIlroy, cheered on by his fabulous armada of fans, simply ran out of magic, trying to conjure up some cheers just to try to rattle the stoic figure in the group behind as he finished with a 69 for joint-seventh, alongside defending champion Xander Schauffele (68).
There was just one blip amid Scheffler's majestic progress. After birdieing three of the first five holes to move seven clear, he got too greedy when finding a fairway bunker at the eighth hole and left the ball in the sand after trying to blast out.
It led to a double-bogey six and his first dropped shot in 33 holes. But any alarm? Not a chance, as he responded immediately to hit back with an approach to five foot at the ninth and another birdie at the long 12th. From there it was simply cruise control as he eased to victory with six straight pars.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Perth Now
31 minutes ago
- Perth Now
Popyrin pushes German all the way in three-set thriller
Defending champion Alexei Popyrin's nine-match winning streak at the Canadian Open has come to an end in a three-set loss to top seed Alexander Zverev. The Australian, seeded 18th, took it right up to his big-serving opponent, claiming the first set in a nail-biting tiebreak before the German fought back to clinch a hard-earned 6-7 (10-8) 6-4 6-3 victory in Toronto on Monday (Tuesday AEST). Zverev, who claimed the 2017 Canadian Open with a win over tennis royalty Roger Federer, has booked his spot in the semi-finals. Leading into their quarter-final clash between former champions, world No.3 and Toronto top seed Zverev held a 3-0 head-to-head record against Popyrin, so history was certainly on the German's side. Both players are physically imposing, tall with blistering serves and crunching groundstrokes, so it was always going to be a tough battle. Neither player could make any inroads into the other's serve in the first set, with each only having one break-point opportunity. Zverev scored a mini-break to start the tiebreak, but Popyrin squared things up again, before the agile Australian finally clinched the set 7-6 (10-8), thanks in no small part to a net-cord that left the German no chance. After a first set that featured no breaks of serve, Zverev secured the first break of the match when he broke the Aussie early for a 2-0 lead in the second. However, Popyrin broke back in the seventh game to square things up again, before the German broke once more in the 10th game to take the set 6-4. Zverev made a flying start to the deciding set, breaking Popyrin in the second game, before securing a second break to clinch the decider and advance to the semi-finals. He will face the winner of the clash between Russian 11th seed Karen Khachanov and American Alex Michelsen, the No.26 seed. Despite Popyrin's loss, Australian interest remains strong at the tournament, with the red-hot Alex de Minaur, fresh off a title win at the Washington Open, to play his quarter-final against fourth-seeded American Ben Shelton. Their clash on Tuesday (Wednesday AEST) will be the first meeting between the pair. While he might leave Toronto disappointed, Popyrin has hit form at the right time and will be looking to improve on last year's showing at the year's final major, the US Open. Popyrin reached the fourth round at Flushing Meadows in New York in 2024, hot on the heels of his Canadian Open victory. With his huge serve and booming groundstrokes, Popyrin is a constant danger on hard courts, and his rivals will be keen to avoid playing him at the US Open. Popyrin's impressive run in Toronto included wins over world No.5 Holger Rune, as well as former world No.1 and 2021 US Open and Canadian Open champ Daniil Medvedev. Zverev, blessed with all the physical attributes needed to be a top-flight tennis player, has been as high as No.2 in the world rankings, but has admitted his state of mind has often let him down in the past. The German, a three-time grand slam runner-up, lost the 2020 US Open final to Austria's Dominic Thiem, despite racing to a two-set lead in the decider. Zverev also lost the 2024 French Open decider in five sets to Carlos Alcaraz, as well as this year's Australian Open final against world No.1 Jannik Sinner.
West Australian
6 hours ago
- West Australian
Day leads Aussie FedEx tilt as great Scott misses out
A resurgent Jason Day will lead a three-pronged Australian assault on golf's FedEx Cup playoffs, but veteran Adam Scott has missed out. The US PGA Tour solidified its field of 70 golfers for the post-season event after the final round of the Wyndham Championship in North Carolina on Sunday (local time). Day, showing glimpses of his absolute best in 2025 after years of battling injuries, finished the season in 37th place. The other Aussies who qualified were Min Woo Lee in 50th spot and Cam Davis (69th). Australian rookie Karl Vilips, who claimed his first US PGA Tour event this year at the Puerto Rico Open, ended the season in 83rd spot. Vilips finished the regular season in dazzling style, scoring his first hole-in-one in the final round of the Wyndham, where he was the leading Aussie, tied for 19th place at 10 under. New Zealander Ryan Fox, a two-time winner on the US PGA Tour this season, qualified in 32nd place. Scott fired a 65 on the first day of the Wyndham but was pedestrian from there. He needed a victory to catapult from 85th into the top 70, but instead dropped back to 90th in points at season's end. American Gary Woodland, the 2019 US Open winner, was among a host of notable names who failed to qualify at the Wyndham. He had an outside shot of entering the top 70 after beginning the tournament in 75th place. Woodland opened with rounds of 67 and 64 to be near the top of the leaderboard, but back-to-back 70s on the weekend weren't enough. He tied for 23rd at the Wyndham and finished the season 72nd in points. The American was attempting to make the playoffs for the first time since he underwent surgery for a brain lesion in 2023. Germany's Matti Schmid began the regular-season finale sitting 70th in the points standings, and finished exactly where he started after tying for 31st in the tournament. Chris Kirk was the only player to climb in from outside the top 70. He tied for fifth at 14 under with four rounds in the 60s, which was enough to boost him from 73rd entering the week to 61st. The one player who lost his spot was South Korea's Byeong Hun An, who missed the cut at the Wyndham and dropped from 69th to 74th in points. Defending FedEx Cup champion Scottie Scheffler holds a large lead over Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy as the top 70 players head to the FedEx St Jude Championship this week in Memphis, Tennessee. The next number to watch is No.50, because only the top 50 after Memphis will advance to the second leg of the playoffs. Australia's Lee holds 50th spot, with notable players currently on the outside including Venezuela's Jhonattan Vegas (No.56) and Americans Tony Finau (No.60) and Rickie Fowler (No.64).
Perth Now
6 hours ago
- Perth Now
Day leads Aussie FedEx tilt as great Scott misses out
A resurgent Jason Day will lead a three-pronged Australian assault on golf's FedEx Cup playoffs, but veteran Adam Scott has missed out. The US PGA Tour solidified its field of 70 golfers for the post-season event after the final round of the Wyndham Championship in North Carolina on Sunday (local time). Day, showing glimpses of his absolute best in 2025 after years of battling injuries, finished the season in 37th place. The other Aussies who qualified were Min Woo Lee in 50th spot and Cam Davis (69th). Australian rookie Karl Vilips, who claimed his first US PGA Tour event this year at the Puerto Rico Open, ended the season in 83rd spot. Vilips finished the regular season in dazzling style, scoring his first hole-in-one in the final round of the Wyndham, where he was the leading Aussie, tied for 19th place at 10 under. New Zealander Ryan Fox, a two-time winner on the US PGA Tour this season, qualified in 32nd place. Scott fired a 65 on the first day of the Wyndham but was pedestrian from there. He needed a victory to catapult from 85th into the top 70, but instead dropped back to 90th in points at season's end. American Gary Woodland, the 2019 US Open winner, was among a host of notable names who failed to qualify at the Wyndham. He had an outside shot of entering the top 70 after beginning the tournament in 75th place. Woodland opened with rounds of 67 and 64 to be near the top of the leaderboard, but back-to-back 70s on the weekend weren't enough. He tied for 23rd at the Wyndham and finished the season 72nd in points. The American was attempting to make the playoffs for the first time since he underwent surgery for a brain lesion in 2023. Germany's Matti Schmid began the regular-season finale sitting 70th in the points standings, and finished exactly where he started after tying for 31st in the tournament. Chris Kirk was the only player to climb in from outside the top 70. He tied for fifth at 14 under with four rounds in the 60s, which was enough to boost him from 73rd entering the week to 61st. The one player who lost his spot was South Korea's Byeong Hun An, who missed the cut at the Wyndham and dropped from 69th to 74th in points. Defending FedEx Cup champion Scottie Scheffler holds a large lead over Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy as the top 70 players head to the FedEx St Jude Championship this week in Memphis, Tennessee. The next number to watch is No.50, because only the top 50 after Memphis will advance to the second leg of the playoffs. Australia's Lee holds 50th spot, with notable players currently on the outside including Venezuela's Jhonattan Vegas (No.56) and Americans Tony Finau (No.60) and Rickie Fowler (No.64).
