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Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Scottie Scheffler runs away with US PGA title after challengers fade away
Just another Scottie Sunday. Major number three for Scottie Scheffler, the first outside Augusta National and the latest stride towards golfing immortality. A year on from being bundled into a police cell during his last attempt to lift the Wanamaker Trophy, Scheffler took no prisoners. Dancing to the jailhouse rock. Jon Rahm swung and missed at the new US PGA champion before capitulating under sheer frustration. Nobody else seriously featured. Scheffler earned himself $3.4m (£2.5m) plus further daylight between himself and the rest at the summit of the world rankings. The most remarkable thing about Scheffler is how unremarkable he makes all this seem. This is a golfer who has walked up to the 72nd green of a major holding six-, five- and four-shot leads. He has no experience of anxiety in such scenarios because of his own ability to steady the ship as others waver. Related: US PGA Championship 2025: Scheffler storms to third major title after Rahm falters – live reaction A 71 enable him to breeze home by five at 12 under par. Second belonged to Harris English, Bryson DeChambeau and Davis Riley. The biggest criticism of hosting the year's second major at Quail Hollow has been that a PGA Tour event is played here every year. Many felt this tournament did not feel suitably distinct. Scheffler certainly did not; this is his 15th victory since early 2022. The gap between wins from last September to the start of this month, when Scheffler prevailed at the Byron Nelson, felt like a drought. This US PGA Sunday was not without flickers of drama. Scheffler began round four with a three-shot lead. The advantage was stretched to five within the same number of holes. This felt like a procession. Rahm then made things interesting. Birdies at the 8th and 10th placed him within two of Scheffler. Rahm had dual motivation; to prove his switch to LIV had not blunted his major capabilities and to win a first US PGA for Spain. As Scheffler made a bogey at the 9th and Rahm a birdie at the 11th, we had a tie. Rahm had taken just 13 putts in 11 holes. Scheffler found only four greens in regulation during his outward half. Scheffler now needed to steady himself. Should there have been any doubt he would do precisely that? Birdies at the 10th and 14th – Rahm failed to take advantage of the gettable latter – placed this tournament back into Scheffler's grip. The Green Mile bit Rahm. He dropped a shot at the 16th to leave Scheffler again leading by three. Rahm then found water at the short 17th. Race, run. Scheffler had five shots to spare when finding a fairway bunker from the 16th tee. Rahm cracked his drive into water at the last, smoke flowing out of his ears. As Rahm signed for a 73 and share of eighth, it was so hard to remember what had happened just hours before. Rahm finished seven shots behind Scheffler. DeChambeau's erratic day at the office involved 70 shots. Too much of the US Open champion's fine work was undermined by sloppy wedge play during this major. 'I'm pretty disappointed,' said DeChambeau. 'But Scottie is an incredible golfer and I've got to look forward to trying to get to his level.' English played the back nine in a wonderful 31, his 65 blasting him up the leaderboard. A US Ryder Cup berth is within English's sights. Rory McIlroy's low-key week ended with a 72. The Masters champion's aggregate was three over par. There will be an element of reset required after the emotion and heroics of Augusta National. A 69 from Sergio García was not sufficient to allow the Spaniard to talk up his hopes of a Ryder Cup reappearance, at Bethpage in September. 'The way I'm playing, even if Luke [Donald] offered me a pick right now, I would tell him no,' Garcia said. 'So obviously I need to get better. I need to get more where I was just before the Masters, just to show myself and show everyone that my game is solid and it can help the team. It's as simple as that. The good thing is that there's still months until the team is finalised. I have time to gain some confidence and improve a little bit on my game.' García watched on as his compatriot Rahm sought to make history for their country. He could not. Still, the mere fact Rahm made this interesting for a while is to his huge credit. Scheffler's treble of major titles will only grow, grow and grow.
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Tyrell Hatton faces fine for US PGA outburst as Vegas leads the pack
Tyrrell Hatton's love-hate relationship with his professional domain continues. The Englishman will inevitably be fined after a foul-mouthed tirade during his second round of the US PGA Championship was picked up on live television coverage. Hatton was within a shot of the lead when reaching the tee at the 18th, his 9th. Hatton's drive found a water hazard. What happened next was rather typical for a player prone to tempestuous moments on golf courses. The 33-year-old bawled out 'piece of shit' before adding a c-word insult, apparently towards his driver. Hatton's mood hardly improved as he slumped to a triple-bogey seven. Advertisement Related: US PGA Championship 2025: golf updates from second round – live 'It wasn't my finest moment on the course,' said Hatton of his outburst. 'I was running hot in that moment. I'm pretty good sometimes at saying the wrong thing.' The strange thing is Hatton's refusal to moderate his behaviour. Perhaps he thinks he does not need to. Maybe last year's move to LIV Golf has loosened his inhibitions even further. Rebel tour, rebel antics. At the Dubai Desert Classic in January, Hatton plunged a club right through a tee marker. By Sunday, Hatton was holding the trophy. Hatton was widely condemned for ranting, raving and club snapping at another Dubai event last November. He needs to tone it down a couple of notches, if simply on the basis of example-setting. He remains a fantastic player; there is no need for the histrionics. Advertisement Shane Lowry summoned his inner Hatton as he whacked the turf in anger on the 8th. Lowry had found a horrible lie on the fairway. 'Fuck this place,' added the 2019 Open champion for good measure. What an intemperate scene. Mud balls, a theme in this US PGA, have troubled Hatton, albeit to a lesser extent than that drive. 'You do your job off the tee, you hit a good shot then all of a sudden you are missing a green by 10 yards with an eight iron because there is mud on the ball,' Hatton said. 'It is a bit harsh and so inconsistent, it's not like the ball always does the same thing. I don't like the fact it is a bit of a wild guess. 'I was surprised it wasn't pick-up-and-place with how wet it was here on Wednesday. But it is the same for everyone.' Hatton's 73 left him at one under, seven shy of Jhonattan Vegas. The Venezuelan added a 70 to Thursday's 64. To portray this as strange would be huge understatement; Vegas has reached the age of 40 without posting a major top 10. He surely cannot keep up his form around Quail Hollow … can he? Advertisement The first meaningful sign of Vegas nerves arrived at the last, where he slumped to a double bogey, after three birdies on the back nine. Vegas enjoyed an outrageous piece of fortune on the 17th, where his wayward tee shot rebounded from a bunker rake and on to the green. Otherwise, it was 20 yards wide. Matthieu Pavon carded a superb 65 to move to minus six. Matt Fitzpatrick's welcome return to form continued, his 68 enough to equal Pavon's total. The Yorkshireman has rediscovered his touch in a fiendishly tough environment. Scottie Scheffler is in close proximity, naturally. Si Woo Kim blasted into contention with a hole in one at the 6th. Max Homa's 64 means a five-under aggregate at halfway. Bryson DeChambeau lurks with intent. The reigning US Open champion's 68 moved him to three under. DeChambeau's position would be even better but for a messy bogey at the 9th, his final hole. 'It is a great test,' said DeChambeau of this Charlotte venue. 'It was a weird day. I felt like I was playing good, just didn't get anything out of it. I got some weird breaks out there. That's what this golf course does to you. I've just got to have my putting a little more on and keep playing the way I am. I easily could be seven or eight under right now or I could be even par. I think a 65, 64 is out there. I almost shot it today and I definitely saw it out there, I just didn't accomplish it.' Advertisement It would be a surprise if DeChambeau is not part of the round four equation. Quail Hollow typically rewards those with the Californian's driving power. This is a major that has still to burst into song. Dustin Johnson comfortably missed the cut after rounds of 78 and 76. Cameron Smith's strange slide towards golfing oblivion continued with a third major early exit in a row. Justin Rose, who pushed Rory McIlroy so close at the Masters only last month, was a surprise departure at plus nine. Justin Thomas, who won the US PGA here in 2019, and Ludvig Åberg also found themselves on Friday evening planes out of Charlotte.
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Scottie Scheffler berates US PGA organisers over mud balls
Scottie Scheffler has accused the organisers of the US PGA Championship of leaving elements of the major to 'chance' after their refusal to implement preferred lies for round one at Quail Hollow. The Charlotte venue was battered by rain over the past week; the upshot was mud balls for several competitors, including Scheffler. On the 16th hole, his 8th, Scheffler found water from the middle of the fairway and made a double bogey. Scheffler recovered to post a two-under-par 69 but addressed the mud ball issue during media duties. Related: US PGA Championship 2025: day one golf updates – live 'I hit in the middle of the fairway, you've got mud on your ball and it's tough to control where it goes after that,' Scheffler said. 'It's frustrating to hit the ball in the middle of the fairway and get mud on it and have no idea where it's going to go. 'You spend your whole life trying to learn how to control a golf ball and due to a rules decision all of a sudden you have absolutely no control over where that golf ball goes. But I don't make the rules. I just have to deal with the consequences of those rules.' Major championship committees are typically reluctant to implement preferred lies due to the perception it would devalue the tournament. Scheffler claimed he was 'not surprised' about the policy in North Carolina. He said: 'If you're going to go play links golf, there's absolutely no reason you should play the ball up. It doesn't matter how much rain they get. The course could be flooded and the ball is still going to bounce because of the way the turf is and the ground underneath the turf. 'In American golf it's significantly different. When you have overseeded fairways that are not sand-capped, there's going to be a lot of mud on the ball. When you think about the purest test of golf, I don't personally think that hitting the ball in the middle of the fairway you should get punished for. 'I understand how a golf purist would be, 'Oh, play it as it lies.' But I don't think they understand what it's like literally working your entire life to learn how to hit a golf ball and control it and hit shots and control distance and all of a sudden due to a rules decision that is completely taken away from us by chance. In golf, there's enough luck throughout a 72-hole tournament that I don't think the story should be whether or not the ball is played up or down. I want the purest, fairest test of golf.' Xander Schauffele, who played alongside Scheffler, bemoaned the same scenario. 'The mud balls are going to get worse,' said the defending champion. 'They're going to get in that perfect cake zone to where it's kind of muddy underneath and then picking up mud on the way through. Maybe hit it a little bit lower off the tee, but then unfortunately the problem with hitting it low off the tee is the ball doesn't carry or roll anywhere, so then you sacrifice distance. It's a bit of a crapshoot.'
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Rory McIlroy struggles with driver as debutant Gerard makes fast start to US PGA
In terms of US PGA Championship shocks, nothing is likely to beat the 2024 sight of Scottie Scheffler in a prison jumpsuit in the hours preceding his second round at Valhalla. The return of this major was, however, dramatic enough. So much for Quail Hollow as Rory's playground. Rory McIlroy, fresh from Masters glory, opened with a three-over 74. This was not in anybody's script. Luke Donald, McIlroy's Ryder Cup captain, last posted a major top 10 in 2013. Donald produced a 67 that rolled back the years and defied seasoned analysts who insisted only big hitters can master this major property. Related: US PGA Championship 2025: day one golf updates – live The US PGA debutant Ryan Gerard, the world No 81, surged to the top of the leaderboard at seven under par. Gerard stumbled over the closing two holes but his 66 still claimed a share of the early lead. Gerard has Australia's Cam Davis for company. When a 68 for Matt Fitzpatrick is factored in – the Yorkshireman has been searching desperately for form – this was another day of the unexpected. Only the brave will predict what happens next. Beyond celebration of the completion of a career grand slam it may well be that McIlroy has a psychological adjustment to make in this fresh chapter of his extraordinary career. Perhaps that is looking too deeply into round one of this tournament. The Northern Irishman's fundamental issue was technical and uncharacteristic; he hit just four of 14 fairways. At a course dominated by long par fours, this will always place a golfer behind the eight ball. Other elements of McIlroy's game could not rescue him. He had, for example, 31 putts. Things had started so promisingly for him. He comfortably birdied the 10th, his 1st, to plant himself immediately on the upper echelons of the leaderboard. This was a congested scene; at 10.30am, 13 players were tied at the top on minus three. McIlroy three-putted from distance at the 11th and missed a short birdie attempt at the 14th. The next two holes rather typified his day; the 36-year-old pulled drives into trouble. He recovered to collect a shot at the 15th. McIlroy plus playing partners, Scheffler and Xander Schauffele, took 18 shots between them on the par-four 16th. Amazingly, McIlroy's six was his first Quail Hollow double bogey since 2010. Grisly stuff. Bogeys to bookend McIlroy's second half meant three over par. He did not look despondent but the post-round plan to head to the practice range told a story in itself. The Masters champion needs to rediscover his mojo with driver in hand. McIlroy will be well aware that Scheffler's 69 is ominous for the remainder of the field. Those to outscore Scheffler included Donald, whose 14 pars and four birdies looked blissfully simple. There is no prospect whatsoever of the Englishman playing for Europe at Bethpage in September but the captain is entitled to relish this prominence while it lasts. It is often forgotten that Donald once spent a year as the world's top-ranked golfer. 'Someone just told me it was the lowest first round in a major I've had since 2004,' Donald said. 'I'm here only because I'm captain of the European Ryder Cup team. I wouldn't be in this field otherwise. It's a nice invitation and a perk that the Ryder Cup captain gets. I understand that. I understand that my game isn't where it used to be and that the Ryder Cup is the focus. That really doesn't bother me one bit.' Fitzpatrick's world ranking of 85 seems incredible given the heights he scaled when winning the 2022 US Open. The last year has been especially grim for the meticulous Fitzpatrick, meaning he was quite right to speak reflectively after his day's work. 'It has been really hard,' Fitzpatrick said of his woes. 'It doesn't matter how many times you remind yourself what you've done and the success you've had. It's hard when you step on the range or you step on the golf course and you've got an intention the shots don't match. 'This is the worst I feel like I have ever played. It's the lowest I've ever felt, for sure, going on a golf course. I didn't want to be out here at some points. I felt much more interested in football than golf. It's tough.' Related: Scottie Scheffler berates US PGA organisers over mud balls Gerard went to college in this state, meaning he is familiar with the venue. 'I feel very comfortable here,' he said. 'There's a lot of people here that I know and I've been fortunate enough to play this golf course a few times. All of that is fantastic and it definitely helped in the preparation. 'I've been kind of just hovering in that 15th to 30th range a lot of weeks. That's not a bad thing but I'm kind of looking to step on the gas here.' Robert MacIntyre's 68 was notable. Ryan Fox, who won on the PGA Tour on Sunday, matched Donald's score. Phil Mickelson recounted a 'rough day' which included 79 shots with an eight at the 7th, his 16th. Brooks Koepka, once a regular feature at these events, is four over. LIV Golf has made Koepka richer. It is perfectly legitimate to ask whether it has made him any better.
