Latest news with #153rdBritishOpen
New York Post
6 hours ago
- Sport
- New York Post
Scottie Scheffler is all but destined for British Open win after another clinical round
PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland — Aside from the last 18 holes needing to be played to make the proceedings official, all that really remains of the 153rd British Open is the coronation of Scottie Scheffler as the 'Champion Golfer of the Year'' around Royal Portrush on Sunday. Think of all those final-round coronations Tiger Woods enjoyed while he was putting golf's best fields to sleep en route to winning his 15 major championships. Spoiler alert: That's what's in store for Sunday … minus the Sunday red golf shirt. If you think the final result of this Open isn't done and dusted with Scheffler taking a four-shot lead into the final round, then you believe fish and chips are fat free and a half dozen pints of Guinness won't result in a hangover the next morning. Stop us if you've heard this before, but the 29-year-old Scheffler was positively clinical on Saturday. 4 Scottie Scheffler hits from a bunker on the 12th hole during the third round of The 153rd Open Championship golf tournament. Mike Frey-Imagn Images This isn't meant to be an insult, but Scheffler is so predictably consistent that he's boring. He goes about his business with so little expression, he looks more like a doctor performing surgery. Scheffler began Saturday leading Matt Fitzpatrick by one shot. He'll begin Sunday with a four-shot lead over Haotong Li and a six-shot lead over Fitzpatrick as he readies to secure his second major championship of the year to go along with his PGA Championship win in May. That'll leave him needing only a U.S. Open win to complete the career Grand Slam. So go ahead and bet on him not winning a U.S. Open or three before he's finished. Sure, you say that there are 18 holes to play on Sunday, and with the unpredictability of links golf, anything can happen depending on the weather conditions. 4 Scottie Scheffler of the U.S. shakes hands with England's Matthew Fitzpatrick on the 18th green after finishing their third round. REUTERS But even Scheffler's nearest competitors had all but conceded their fate before dinner time Saturday in Northern Ireland. Since 2022, Scheffler has taken 10 outright 54-hole leads into Sunday and closed the deal in every one of them. Asked why he's been such a good closer of tournaments, Scheffler said, 'Your guess is as good as mine. I like being out here competing. This is why we work so hard is to have opportunities like this, and I'm excited for the challenge of tomorrow. 'Winning major championships is not an easy task, and I've put myself in a good position. Going into tomorrow I'm going to step up there on the first tee and I'm going to be trying to get the ball in the fairway, and when I get to the second shot I'm going to be trying to get that ball on the green. There's not really too much else going on.'' 4 US golfer Scottie Scheffler walks to the 18th tee on day three of the 153rd Open Championship at Royal Portrush golf club in Northern Ireland on July 19, 2025. AFP via Getty Images Scheffler won the 2022 Masters, his first major, by three shots. He won the 2024 Masters by four shots. He won the PGA Championship two months ago at Quail Hollow by five shots. Figure on him winning this British Open by six or more shots. 'It's going to be tough to catch him tomorrow if he keeps playing the way he's been playing,'' Rory McIlroy, who's six shots back at 8-under, said. 'I'm actually quite looking forward to it,'' Li said of playing in the final pairing with Scheffler on Sunday. 'Four shots behind, kind of like play for second, especially play with world No. 1. I just try to play my best out there and hopefully make something happen. It's going to be exciting.'' 4 Scottie Scheffler of the United States lines up his putt on the 18th green during the third round of the British Open golf championship at the Royal Portrush Golf Club, Northern Ireland, Saturday, July 19, 2025. AP Harris English, who's also 8-under, called what Scheffler is doing right now 'unbelievable.'' 'I call Scottie a friend,'' English said. 'I've known him for a good while since his amateur days. I'm just so impressed with his work ethic. No. 1 in the world for I don't know how many weeks, but he works harder than anybody I've ever seen. 'He's got a great system. He's got his belief and he works like he's never going to play in another major championship ever again. It's really impressive. He's a great guy overall. He's easy to root for. I can't say anything bad about the guy. It's impressive to watch, and what he's doing is incredible.'' Scheffler played bogey-free on Saturday, has only one bogey in his past two rounds and three all week. He does not — and will not — back up. 'Anytime you can keep a clean card around a major championship, you're going to be having a pretty good day,'' Scheffler said. Though he does everything well, Scheffler's putting has absolutely stood out all week. Fitzpatrick, who was struggling with his putting on Saturday, surely noticed. 'I would expect that of someone of a high class professional that Scottie is,'' Fitzpatrick said. 'There's definitely plaudits for doing that, putting in the work, but at the same time it's to be expected.''
USA Today
7 hours ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Scottie Scheffler grasps control of 2025 British Open after stellar Saturday at Royal Portrush
PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland — Matt Fitzpatrick is annoyed with his putting coach Phil Kenyon. Not for something he did or didn't do to help Fitzpatrick's game but rather because Kenyon has shared his secrets with world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler. 'His putting is night and day,' said Fitzpatrick, who was paired in the final group on Saturday at the 153rd British Open with Scheffler. 'He's just not missed a putt today. There isn't one putt that he's missed, and that's obviously the difference that's taken him to this unbeatable run.' Scheffler is the leading the field in Strokes Gained: Putting this week and whenever his putter heats up – and outshines his otherworldly ball striking – Scheffler is going to be tough to beat. On Saturday, he shot a bogey-free 4-under 67 at Royal Portrush Golf Club to improve to 14-under 199 – his lowest 54-hole total at a major – and assume a four-stroke lead over China's Haotong Li. Scheffler stayed patient, even when he endured an early 3-putt par, even when he failed to make a birdie in his first six holes and even when he needed to salvage pars at Nos. 11 and 14. 'I think anytime you can keep a clean card around a major championship, you're going to be having a pretty good day,' Scheffler said. 'Sometimes major championships it can be tough to make birdies, and today was one of those days where I just had to give myself some looks and was able to hole a few.' The two-time Masters champion already added the PGA Championship to his trophy case in May and now he's 18 holes away from a Claret Jug and a third leg of the career Grand Slam. Asked how satisfying it would be to conquer links-style golf, he replied, 'it would be nice, but I'm not going to be thinking about that tonight.' Scheffler will be bidding for his 17th Tour title and fourth career major and will attempt to become the seventh Open Championship winner to record four rounds in the 60s. He'll be paired in the final round with Haotong Li, who was a member of the International Team in the 2019 Presidents Cup but suffered the yips and hadn't played in a major in three years. He shot 2-under 69 on Saturday and is alone in second. 'I'm actually quite looking forward to it,' he said of playing alongside Scheffler on Sunday. 'Four shots behind, kind of like play for second, especially play with world No. 1. I just try to play my best out there and hopefully make something happen.' Fitzpatrick, who is seeking to become the first Englishman since Nick Faldo 33 years ago to win the British Open, is in third after shooting even-par 71. He knows he faces an unenviable task on Sunday. 'Let's be realistic, he's five ahead. It's not easy. But if you get off to a good start, you get 3-under through 6, like some of the guys today, 7 the par-5, and all of a sudden you're kind of right back in it, you would hope,' he said. 'It's clear what I have to do tomorrow.' Four golfers are tied at 8 under, including Chris Gotterup, who won last week's Scottish Open, Harris English, Tyrrell Hatton and Rory McIlroy. The world No. 2 has had his fair share of battles with Scheffler and was honest as ever in assessing the uphill battle he faces. 'He's playing like Scottie. I don't think it's a surprise. Everyone's seen the way he's played or plays over the last two or three years. He's just so solid. He doesn't make mistakes,' McIlroy said. 'He's turned himself into a really consistent putter as well. So there doesn't seem to be any weakness there. Whenever you're trying to chase down a guy like that, it's hard to do.' But much like Fitzpatrick, McIlroy can envision a path to coming from behind and stealing the trophy from one of golf's top frontrunners. McIlroy has done it before, most notably at the 2023 FedEx Cup. 'I've got a chance,' McIlroy said. 'I need to get off to a great start like I did today, and if I can do that, anything can happen. I've come from a few shots behind before at big tournaments and was able to win. If I can get off to one of those hot starts again, maybe Scottie feels a little bit of that a couple of groups behind, and you never know. Scottie is the best player in the world right now. I think it's clear for everyone to see. He's just consistently so good each and every week he tees it up, so it's going to be a tall order to be able to catch him tomorrow. But I'm going to look forward to the challenge.' Whomever comes out on top will have the honor of being known as the Champion Golfer of the Year.
USA Today
13 hours ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Bryson DeChambeau shares pace-of-play solution after being put on clock at 2025 British Open
PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland — Bryson DeChambeau was put on the clock on Saturday during the third round of the 153rd British Open at Royal Portrush Golf Club. And he has an idea on how rounds at professional golf events can speed up – start timing players. 'I think it would be more fair towards everybody. If somebody is playing slower, the guy can go up to him and say, 'Hey, man, you're over par with your time.' All you do is you just time them for every single shot. He gets there and puts the bag down, and how long it takes him to hit that shot and how long it takes him to walk to the green. It's not rocket science,' he said. 'I hope there's a better system out there at some point in time.' DeChambeau was criticized for his pace of play earlier in his PGA Tour career. Fellow LIV player Brooks Koepka took him to task for his snail-like pace. He's made strides to improve his pace. On Saturday, DeChambeau was timed on the 17th hole after hitting his tee shot. 'Understand we were struggling with pace the whole day. I was moving my butt as fast as I could. Greens were really tricky. I was trying to read them right,' DeChambeau said. 'We just kept losing time. Unfortunately on the 16-17 exchange, you've got a downhill drivable hole you can play pretty quick if you get in the right spot. They did that, and we just lost more time to the group in front of us, and they put us on the clock, which is unfortunate.' DeChambeau blamed his pace of play on being deliberate with his putting routine. 'But when it comes to iron shots, off the tee, I'm pretty fast. It's like D.J., he's really slow on the putting greens, and then he's incredibly fast on his full swing shots, second shots into it,' DeChambeau said, citing Dustin Johnson. DeChambeau said he believes timing players is the solution that would make the biggest difference. 'If you start penalizing individuals for consecutive over (bad times) – taking too much time. I can tell you, first two rounds it was out of control what I saw.' With the opening two rounds at Portrush played in threesomes and threatening the six-hour mark, DeChambeau wasn't the only one to express disappointment with the pace of play at the Open. 'I do think it's ridiculous; the pace of play has been a combination of the way the golf course is, reachable par-5s and all that normal stuff. But it starts with the players as well and starts with the rules officials,' Matt Fitzpatrick said on Friday. He declined to offer a solution, but DeChambeau pitched one that has been discussed for years. 'You time how long someone takes individually, and then you separate that from the other person playing. You start/stop on him the whole entire thing. It's one way. I'm not saying it's the answer. I'm definitely not somebody that has the most experience or knowledge on it. If somebody has a different way of monitoring it, I hope they make it.'
USA Today
a day ago
- Sport
- USA Today
'Absolute, true mastery': Scottie Scheffler goes low, takes British Open lead to weekend
PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland – Forget about all the pre-championship talk that Scottie Scheffler still needs to learn how to play links. On Friday, the world No. 1 golfer could have taught a Master Class, reeling off eight birdies to shoot 7-under 64 at Royal Portrush Golf Club and grab a one-stroke lead over Englishman Matt Fitzpatrick at the midway point of the 153rd British Open. 'Tiger Woodsdid this, Jack Nicklaus did this, and I think it's a testament to the truest mastery, the absolute height of the game, and it's so rare that you see someone take this game to a level where there is no past, there is no future, they're just completely in the moment,' Golf Channel's Brandel Chamblee said. 'What we've seen the last two days is absolute, true mastery.' After shooting 68 on Thursday despite hitting only three fairways, Scheffler found the short grass more often and his putter, which had been more foe than friend on slower greens than he is used to last week in Scotland, heated up. He ranks second in Strokes Gained: putting this week. It added up to his 19th career 36-hole lead or co-lead on Tour and fourth this season. Scheffler, who won the PGA Championship for his third career major in May, is poised to win a third leg of the career Grand Slam. Not even a wild weather day could slow him down as he improved to a 36-hole total of 10-under-par 132. 'It was super sunny when we were on the driving range, I'm out there in short sleeves, it's warm out. Then we get to the 1st hole, it's still sunny. Then all of a sudden, you look around and it's super dark and it starts pouring rain,' he said. 'You're like, boy, I wonder how long this is going to last.' Matt Fitzpatrick, the 2022 U.S. Open champ, would like his run of good form to continue for at least two more days. He opened with rounds of 67 and 66 as he attempts to become the first Englishman since Nick Faldo 33 years ago to win the British Open. Fitzpatrick will be paired alongside Scheffler in the final group on Saturday but said the pressure will be on Scheffler. 'He's going to have the expectation to go out and dominate. He's an exceptional player. He's World No. 1, and we're seeing Tiger-like stuff. I think the pressure is for him to win the golf tournament,' Fitzpatrick said. 'For me obviously I hope I'm going to have some more home support than him, but it's an exciting position for me to be in given where I was earlier this year.' Scheffler and Fitzpatrick have company from Brian Harman (65) and Haotong Li (67), who are two back. Harman won the 2023 British Open and looks to have regained the form that allowed him to cruise to the title two years ago. Making his Scheffler is into the joint lead. 'One of my favorite traits about Brian is when people count him out and don't believe he can do something, it almost motivates him more to be that bulldog,' Golf Channel's Johnson Wagner said. 'He's a gritty guy, he's a little undersized so people always underestimate him like they did at [the 2023 Open] and he just slammed the door on them. I wouldn't count Brian out just yet.' Further down the leaderboard is a party of five at 5 under, including Dane Rasmus Hojgaard, Englishman Tyrrell Hatton (the top LIV contender), Scotland's Robert MacIntyre and Americans Harris English and Chris Gotterup. Hojgaard's twin brother, Nicolai, and Tony Finau are a shot further back at 4 under and T-10. Among those lurking at 3 under include Northern Ireland's own Rory McIlroy and U.S. Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley. 'I'm excited for that opportunity,' McIlroy said. 'I didn't have this opportunity six years ago, so to play an extra two days in this atmosphere in front of these crowds, I'm very excited for that. I feel like my game's definitely good enough to make a run.' Bryson DeChambeau rallied to make the cut on the number with a 65 on Friday. Seventy golfers advanced to the weekend with a 36-hole total of 1-over 143 or better. Among those sent packing were Collin Morikawa, who for the first time in his career failed to record a top 10 at a major; Patrick Cantlay, who missed his third cut in a row at a major; LIV's Joaquin Niemann and Australian Adam Scott. The Claret Jug and the honor to be called Champion Golfer of the Year still is very much up for grabs but it won't be easy to chase down world No. 1. 'It would not surprise me at all if he leaves everyone in the rearview mirror,' Chamblee said.
USA Today
a day ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Shane Lowry assessed two-stroke penalty at 2025 British Open
PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland – Shane Lowry was assessed a two-stroke penalty after the second round of the 153rd British Open for causing his ball to move at Royal Portrush Golf Club while making a practice swing. Lowry was preparing to play his second shot from the rough on the par-5 12th hole. His score on the hole was changed from a par to a double bogey. The Irishman, who won the 2019 Open at Royal Portrush, signed instead for a 1-over 72, which left him with a 36-hole total of even-par 142. Lowry said he was informed of a possible rules infraction while walking up the 15th fairway when a rules official alerted him of the possibility. The R&A spent more than 20 minutes reviewing the violation with Lowry and his fellow competitors, 36-hole leader Scottie Scheffler and Collin Morikawa, after the round was completed. 'I wasn't arguing my case but I was disappointed that they don't have more camera angles on it,' Lowry said. 'I have to take the penalty because I can't have my name talked about or tossed around like that. I'll get on with it but it's really, really disappointing.' Lowry said he felt the decision had already been made. 'I think they had it in their heads the ball moved, I caused it to move, it's a two-shot penalty,' he said. 'They only had one camera angle, which was zoomed in at the ball. They had none of me actually full length, which we were looking for and needed.' Video emerged on whether Lowry had committed violation Video footage emerged on social media of the incident and there was great debate over whether he had committed a violation. More: Shane Lowry returns to Royal Portrush where a large mural honors his 2019 British Open win 'If the ball moved, I would have called it on myself. My head was definitely looking down at the ball and I didn't see it moving,' Lowry said. 'The last thing I want to do is sit there and argue and not take the penalty and then get slaughtered all over social media tonight for being a cheat.' Scottie Scheffler asked about Lowry incident Scheffler was asked for his opinion on the ruling during his post-round press conference. "Ultimately, in golf, it's up to the player, and I felt like Shane was put in a pretty tough situation there when they were zooming in on his golf ball," Scheffler said. "In the rough it's hard to tell. From what I looked at very briefly on the video, it looked like it was very difficult to see if the ball was moving – sorry, if the ball moved. The camera was kind of zooming in as stuff was happening. More: British Open live cut line tracker: Who's in danger of missing the weekend at Portrush? "One of the great things about the game of golf is that you call your penalties on yourself. This situation, I think it was just – it was a very tough spot for Shane to be put in. He handled it really well. It's obviously very frustrating. It's frustrating for me as a competitor of his and a player to watch him after kind of deal with that because the last thing you want to be known in the game of golf is somebody who cheats. "I'm not going to state a strong opinion here in the media on whether or not I thought he deserved the penalty, but all I'm going to say is it was a very tough situation." A tough pill for Lowry to swallow, indeed, but he took his medicine. 'That's hard to take,' he said. 'Look, I'll just have to dust myself off and get out there tomorrow and give it a go.'
