Jon Rahm walked head bowed down the undulating fairway of the 16th hole at Quail Hollow Country Club. The severe expression hidden under his bright pink cap revealed nothing, while the sounds coming from the nearby 14th hole green, where Scottie Scheffler had just birdied to increase his lead to two strokes, practically sealed his fate in the championship.
Even if you don’t want to look at the leaderboards, the crowd lets you know.
Jon Rahm
For a brief moment, Rahm seemed capable of achieving the unthinkable: catching the world number 1, who began the day with a five-stroke lead over Rahm, on a significant championship Sunday. After tying on the 11th hole thanks to an unusual two-over-par round in Scheffler’s first nine holes, it seemed that Rahm had absorbed the momentum and was ready to head towards the Wanamaker Trophy.
But beating Scheffler requires more than just a single stretch of good golf. The now three-time major winner’s trademark isn’t brilliance, but consistency and an astonishing ability to remain unfazed by mistakes. The pressure he puts on his opponents occurs organically; his game is so solid and bulletproof that those trying to beat him know that the effort required to overcome the world’s best player will be Herculean.
Scheffler’s inevitability hung in the humid Charlotte air all Sunday. That’s why, when Rahm walked off the 16th green with a bogey and Scheffler had played holes 14 and 15 in two under par, the Spaniard couldn’t help but go for broke. His tee shot on the 17th hole, a par 3, found the water. Game over.
This second round will be something I will remember for a long time. Taking a step forward when I needed it most, I will remember it for a while.
Scottie Scheffler
Nineteen years ago, during the 2006 PGA Championship, Luke Donald witnessed a similar movie. Donald, then the world’s No. 10 player, shared the lead after 36 holes and shot a third-round 66 at Medinah Country Club on Saturday to reach 14-under. There was only one problem: Tiger Woods shot a course-record 65 that day to enter Sunday tied for the lead with Donald. Up to that point, Woods was 11-0 in majors where he held at least a share of the lead after 54 holes.
Tiger had a kind of aura that made you feel like you need to do more, that you really have to raise your game to beat him. And I think he understood that.
Luke Donald
That Sunday, Woods and Donald played in the final pairing together, and Woods shot a round of 68 on his way to securing his 12th major victory by five strokes over second place. On Sunday in Charlotte, Scheffler, who now has a 3-0 record with a lead after 54 holes in a major, finished with the same margin of victory: five strokes.
“He just played his game, didn’t make too many mistakes and wore you down, and I certainly experienced that in 2006,” Donald said of Woods. “I think Scottie is a similar player when he gets in front.”
Since Scheffler won the 2024 Masters and firmly positioned himself at the top of the sport, many things have happened. Xander Schauffele has won two majors, Bryson DeChambeau reached two majors, and Rory McIlroy finally secured his green jacket and the Grand Slam.
Scheffler hasn’t been forgotten in that time period: he’s won six times on tour and has had three top-10 finishes in majors, but a small narrative began to emerge: When will Scheffler win a major other than the Masters?
It was fitting that Rahm was Scheffler’s rival on Sunday. They have placed green jackets on each other, and they entered the tournament with two majors each. Now, Scheffler rises above not only Rahm, but also DeChambeau, Schauffele, Collin Morikawa, and Justin Thomas. He is the player of his generation, and everyone else is simply trying to catch up.
There were times I felt I pressed. I have to be more precise and fix what I can fix to be more consistent and get there, like what Scottie is doing right now.
Bryson DeChambeau
In the last 24 months, no one has received more praise from their peers than Scheffler, as everyone has tried to explain his greatness while marveling at it. “I’ve played a lot of golf with him, and it seems like every shot has a magnitude of force and just gets there,” said Sam Burns.
With Scheffler, none of that seems to get out of control. Even after making three bogeys in the first nine holes and battling a left miss with his swing, he didn’t seem fazed. All week he had been working with his coach, Randy Smith, to move his hips toward the target more efficiently, and for a moment, it seemed like bad habits were creeping back into his swing. But then, Scheffler stood on the tee of the 10th hole, aimed more to the right at the suggestion of his caddie Ted Scott, made sure to make a full body turn, and hit it hard. Something clicked. After three more birdies in the next 15 holes, Scheffler’s victory seemed inevitable again.
I felt like this was the toughest battle I’ve had for a tournament in my career. Finishing a major championship is always difficult. I didn’t have my best game, but I hung in there. I was battling my swing the first few days.
Scottie Scheffler
Scheffler has already drawn many comparisons to Woods in his last two seasons due to his excellent ball-striking. But that he can win without his best game and then win by a lot when he capitalizes on it, also resembles what Woods did in his prime.
He simply doesn’t get too high or too low, but his game speaks for itself. And he hates to lose.
Luke Donald
As Scheffler has won more and become a prominent figure in the sport, he has allowed himself to show and tell exactly how much he cares. At the 2024 Masters, he shared how nervous he had been and that he wished he didn’t want to win as much as he did. On Sunday, Scheffler wiped away tears on his way down the 18th fairway at Quail Hollow before throwing his cap onto the green in ecstasy and shouting moments after the final putt dropped. He is no longer just a two-time Masters winner, but now, a three-time major champion at 27 years old, halfway to the Grand Slam.
Sometimes I wish I didn’t care as much as I do, or as I do. It would be so much easier if I could just show up and say, eh, win or lose, I’m still going to go home and do whatever. Sometimes I feel like that. But at the end of the day, this means a lot to me.
Scottie Scheffler
He wants to win every time he goes out, no matter if it’s golf, pickleball, whatever, he wants to win. I keep equating it to other sports. You have the basketball player, you always know who it is on a team, who wants the ball with one second left, and that’s him.
Randy Smith
If McIlroy’s emotional victory at this year’s Masters was the end of a story, then Scheffler’s victory at Quail Hollow was a timely reminder of the one that only gets stronger. McIlroy might be having the best year in the sport, but the title of best player in the world still belongs to Scheffler.
