CHARLOTTE, N.C. — One 12 months and sooner or later after his reserving mugshot was the lasting picture of the PGA Championship, Scottie Scheffler was elevating the Wanamaker Trophy for all to see on Sunday because the world’s No. 1 golfer captured his third profession main at Quail Hole Membership.
Scheffler posted an even-par 71 within the ultimate spherical of the 107th PGA Championship for a five-stroke victory over Harris English, Bryson DeChambeau and Davis Riley. What had appeared inevitable in the beginning of the day started to slide away, at the least for a short second, as Scheffler made the flip and was tied with Spain’s Jon Rahm on a sweltering, humid afternoon in North Carolina.
However then Scheffler stepped on the gasoline on the again 9, as he has executed so many occasions earlier than, and Rahm imploded on the “Inexperienced Mile” — Quail Hole’s treacherous three-hole closing stretch.
After making the ultimate putt, Scheffler threw his arms into the air as the group chanted his identify. He spiked his hat on the inexperienced. He discovered his spouse, Meredith, and son, Bennett. His father, Scott, instructed him: “Phrases can not describe what we simply witnessed. You might be so robust. We’re so pleased with you.”
Within the span of solely three hundred and sixty six days, Scheffler’s story went from being in handcuffs at the back of a squad automotive to including the Wanamaker Trophy to an already outstanding profession that features two Masters inexperienced jackets.
Scheffler joined Seve Ballesteros as the one golfers previously 100 years to win every of their first three majors by greater than three strokes. He captured the 2002 Masters by three over Rory McIlroy and the 2024 Masters by 4 over Ludvig Åberg.
It was the fifteenth PGA Tour victory for the 28-year-old Scheffler. Since World Struggle II, solely two different golfers have received 15 occasions on tour and captured three majors earlier than age 29 — Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods.
After squandering a three-stroke lead, Scheffler reclaimed it with a 9-foot birdie putt on No. 10. He went two in entrance with a 7-footer on No. 14, then led by three when Rahm made his first bogey of the spherical on No. 16.
One other birdie on the fifteenth gave Scheffler a four-shot cushion heading into the “Inexperienced Mile.” It might develop to 5 earlier than he reached the sixteenth inexperienced.
Rahm was tied with Scheffler at 9 below after his twelfth gap. He had beauty at birdies on Nos. 13 and 14 however missed each. After making par on the fifteenth, Rahm hit his tee shot on the par-4 sixteenth manner left, resulting in a bogey.
On the par-3 seventeenth, his tee shot bounced off the inexperienced and into the water, and he made a double-bogey 5. On the final gap, he hit his drive into the creek down the left facet, main to a different double bogey. He was 5 over in his final three holes and tied for eighth at 4 below.
Scheffler began the day with a three-stroke lead, however when he made the flip at 2-over 37, his benefit was down to at least one over Rahm, who made birdies on Nos. 8 and 10 to make a cost.
Rahm, who began the spherical 5 pictures behind Scheffler, tied for the lead with one other birdie on the par-4 eleventh. Rahm was wild off the tee, discovering solely two of the primary 10 fairways, however he wanted solely 13 putts within the first 11 holes. He chipped brilliantly when he missed the inexperienced and averted bogeys.
It was a far totally different feeling for Scheffler than final 12 months’s PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Membership in Louisville, Kentucky.
On Could 17, 2024, Scheffler discovered himself at the back of a squad automotive after a Louisville Metro Police officer stated the golfer disobeyed his command to cease and tried to drive round a crash scene on a median. Site visitors outdoors the golf course had been stopped after a person was struck and killed by a shuttle bus round 5 a.m. ET.
An arrest report stated Det. Bryan Gillis was dragged “to the bottom” and suffered “ache, swelling, and abrasions to his left wrist” after Scheffler’s automotive “accelerated ahead.”
Scheffler confronted prices of second-degree assault of a police officer, third-degree felony mischief, reckless driving, and disregarding visitors alerts from an officer directing visitors. The assault cost was a felony; the others had been misdemeanors.
Twelve days after Scheffler’s arrest, Jefferson County Legal professional Mike O’Connell dropped the fees towards Scheffler. O’Connell stated Scheffler’s characterization that the incident was a “massive misunderstanding” was corroborated by the proof.
Going into final 12 months’s PGA Championship, Scheffler had received 4 of his previous 5 begins, together with his second Masters victory that April. After being booked right into a downtown detention heart, he was launched on bond lower than an hour and a half earlier than his second-round tee time.
Someway, Scheffler posted a 5-under 66 that day. He slipped to a 2-over 73 within the third spherical, which knocked him out of the hunt. He bounced again with a 65 on Sunday and tied for eighth at 13 below, eight strokes behind winner Xander Schauffele.
