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Washington Post
a day ago
- General
- Washington Post
Sweden's Maja Stark wins the U.S. Women's Open for her first major championship
ERIN, Wis. — Maja Stark continued the steady play she had demonstrated all week to win the U.S. Women's Open and claim her first major championship Sunday at Erin Hills. Stark carded a final round 72 and finished with a four-round total of 7-under 281 to beat top-ranked Nelly Korda and Japan's Rio Takeda by two strokes.
Washington Post
22-05-2025
- Climate
- Washington Post
As the Senior PGA begins at Congressional, it feels a little like Scotland
When Stewart Cink began his opening round at the Senior PGA Championship, the accommodations Mother Nature presented at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda were far from welcoming. Cloud cover, precipitation and the occasional stiff breeze recalled British Open elements rather than spring on this side of the pond. No wonder Cink managed just fine over his front side during Thursday's morning wave, drawing from his memorable week in 2009 at Turnberry in Scotland, where the American defeated Tom Watson in a playoff to capture his first and only major championship.
Khaleej Times
20-05-2025
- Sport
- Khaleej Times
Scottie Scheffler reinforces his status as golf's most consistent and relentless champion
In a major season already punctuated by emotional comebacks and history-making performances, Scottie Scheffler's emphatic victory at the PGA Championship served as a powerful reminder: the world's top-ranked golfer is still very much the man to beat. His third major title—and first outside Augusta—didn't just add to an already glittering résumé, it reinforced the quiet dominance that defines Scheffler's game. Even amid a tense final round at Quail Hollow, with challengers circling like hungry wolves and his swing misfiring, Scheffler never seemed to blink. "I felt like this was as hard as I battled for a tournament in my career," Scheffler admitted. 'Finishing off a major championship is always difficult. I didn't have my best stuff, but I kept myself in it. I was battling my swing the first couple of days.' Scheffler's margin of victory—five strokes—felt eerily reminiscent of the Tiger Woods era, not just in numbers but in tone. The same steely control, the relentless pressure, the aura of inevitability. After stumbling early with three bogeys on the front nine, Scheffler steadied himself and surged on the back nine, birdieing three of five holes through 15. From there, the outcome seemed certain. "This back nine will be one that I remember for a long time," he said. "To step up when I needed to the most, I'll remember that for a while." Tears, Triumph, True Passion The moment wasn't just about technique or temperament. As Scheffler walked toward the 18th green, the emotion finally cracked through his usually stoic demeanour. He wiped away tears, slammed his hat onto the putting surface, and let out a yell of triumph—no longer the composed tactician, but a competitor who deeply cares. "Sometimes I wish I didn't care as much as I did — or as I do," he reflected. "It would be a lot easier if I could show up and be like, eh, win or lose, I'm still going to go home and do whatever. Sometimes I feel that way. But at the end of the day, this means a lot to me." While others like Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau threatened to spoil the party, they couldn't sustain the level required to keep pace with Scheffler's late charge. Rahm, who tied the lead on the 11th, fell away as quickly as he rose, eventually succumbing to water on the 17th. "It's a tough pill to swallow," Rahm said afterwards. Ties That Bind Rory But perhaps the most significant rival in the wider narrative of this golf season is Rory McIlroy. The Northern Irishman finally completed his career Grand Slam earlier this year with an emotional Masters victory, a moment celebrated around the world—including in Dubai, a city with which McIlroy shares deep ties. Dubai has served as a base and inspiration for Rory for years, and many here saw his Augusta triumph as the culmination of a long and emotional journey. Yet even amid McIlroy's resurgence, Scheffler's win in Charlotte confirmed the existing hierarchy: Rory may have the headlines, but Scottie still has the crown. 'He just doesn't get too high or low, but his game speaks for itself,' said Luke Donald, drawing comparisons between Scheffler and Woods. 'And he hates to lose.' Scheffler, who is now 3-for-3 when leading after 54 holes in majors, continues to invite comparisons to the legends of the game—not through flair, but through quiet devastation. Opponents aren't beaten by miracle shots, but by the psychological grind of watching Scheffler calmly dissect course after course. Winning Mentality Even his coach, Randy Smith, put it plainly: "He wants to win every time he goes out here, regardless if it's golf, pickleball, whatever it is, he wants to win." Smith likened Scheffler to that singular player in every sport who wants the ball with one second left. It's not about bravado; it's about belief—and a relentless will to win. With three majors now to his name at just 27, Scheffler's climb toward the Grand Slam is no longer speculative—it's probable. And for those wondering if his Masters success was a singular strength, his PGA performance provided the answer. Scheffler is still the best golfer on the planet. Everyone else, for now, is playing catch-up.
Telegraph
19-05-2025
- Sport
- Telegraph
Bryson DeChambeau plots new plan to beat Scottie Scheffler: a straighter golf ball
As Scottie Scheffler's rivals left North Carolina considering how they can possibly deny the world No 1 further major victories this season, it was perhaps no surprise to hear 'The Mad Scientist' sounding the most confident of discovering the secret. However, Bryson DeChambeau's 'trick up my sleeve' of which he boasted is not as highbrow as one might think and is instead simply the wish of anybody who has ever picked up a club – hacker or superstar alike. 'What I really think needs to happen is to get a golf ball that flies straighter,' he said. Sign us all up for that, Bryson. DeChambeau recognises that he and his suppliers have only three weeks to meet his demanding order before the year's third major at Oakmont, but the 31-year-old is adamant it can be achieved. 'I'm going to be working my butt off to bring it for the US Open, but I've got to get some equipment here soon,' he said. 'It's all up to manufacturing.' Of course, there will be accusations of a workman blaming his tools, but, again, DeChambeau is perhaps merely summing up the feelings of many frustrated golfers in this regard. In fairness to the American, he does have science in his corner and, as the player who hits the ball hardest and highest, his Titleist ProV1x Left Dash is affected more than his fellow pros. 'Everybody talks about how straight the golf ball now flies,' he said. 'Well, upwards of 190 [mph ball speed] like Rory [McIlroy] and myself, it's actually quite difficult to control the golf ball. The ball sidespins quite a bit and it gets hit by the wind quite a bit because our golf balls are just in the air longer. So I'm looking at ways of how to rectify that.' DeChambeau is forever searching and plotting and that helps make him the most intriguing character on the fairways at the moment. Certainly, he has established himself as a big-time operator. This was his fifth top-six finish in the past five majors and, since Scheffler won last year's Masters, even he has to bow to his countryman's consistency in the events that really matter. His self-belief and his insistence that the only thing holding him back from usurping Scheffler is the space-age technology in his hands, or on his tee pegs, will naturally rankle some. After all, he was beaten by five shots at Quail Hollow on Sunday and was never truly in contention in the final round, only ever climbing to within two shots of Scheffler before the leader soared clear. But with the scale of his ambition and the quirkiness of his personality, it is maybe inevitable he thinks like this. Others will think it a forlorn task to supplant Scheffler, but the nerd in DeChambeau assures him that there has to be a way. However, the point is, should he be looking in a different place and is the blame being apportioned wisely? While his focus on his driving was understandable – he led the charts in driving distance for the week but he was down in a tie for 68th in driving accuracy – it is clearly his wedge game that is the weakness. In the Sky Sports commentary booth, Paul McGinley noted that DeChambeau is too linear with those shots that are bread and butter for Scheffler. 'Another example of the one-dimensional iron play that he has and why he ranks so low in that category,' McGinley commented after one poor approach from within 130 yards. 'Pin on the right or wind off right, those sorts of things seem to cause him problems.' In an interview with Telegraph Sport last month, DeChambeau acknowledged that 'the two frontiers for me are my wedge game and controlling my ball in the wind'. 'I am getting there and if I ever do then, wow, I'm going to have a spectacular career,' he added. On that occasion, he placed the burden on himself and went on to suggest that he needs more 'feel' and less brawn. Yet that was a rare moment and for DeChambeau, more than any of his peers, the technique is married to the technology and in telling comments in Hong Kong in March he cast the load on the engineers and not himself. 'My ball is spinning too much with my wedges,' DeChambeau said. 'If I try to hit a full shot, it'll rip off the green. There's something weird with me in general and the way I play golf. I'm looking for a ball that launches a lot lower, has controlled spin at a full swing and half swing still has spin. Hopefully, I can go find a golf ball that can do that because I'm not changing my motion. I'm doing too well with that.' On Sunday, he said he was 'baffled' at his inability to get over the major line again – 'definitely had an opportunity to beat Rory [at last month's Masters] and definitely had an opportunity to give Scottie a run this week' – but self-reflection leading to game improvement is probably the most notable hump he needs to counter. Nobody can deny his form in the majors and, on this run, it is difficult to envisage him not adding to his two major wins in the near future. But Scheffler showed the level to which he can raise himself and his game and he is the overwhelming favourite for Oakmont. The gap might be bigger and the solution more complex than even DeChambeau might suspect.
Times
19-05-2025
- Sport
- Times
Scottie Scheffler holds off Jon Rahm to win PGA Championship
Scottie Scheffler is not the sort to over dramatise golf but he sounded an ominous warning as he basked in the glow of winning his third major at the US PGA Championship. 'I can be a crazy person when it comes to putting my mind to something,' he said after his five-stroke triumph. 'Sometimes I wish I didn't care as much.' This one was far from perfect but he was able to maintain calm when threatened by a renascent Jon Rahm. In the past 50 years only Crazy Scottie and Seve Ballesteros have won their first three majors by at least three shots. Decent duo. His round of 71 took him to 11 under par and means that at 28 he has established himself as
