'It was a battle out there' - Scottie Scheffler proud to win his third major title

Despite his driver failing a non-conforming test before the event, the 28-year-old backed up his runaway victory in the CJ Cup Byron Nelson a fortnight ago with an equally-impressive triumph in the 107th PGA Championship at Quail Hollow.

Three ahead at the start of the final round and then five ahead early on in the closing circuit, Scheffler suddenly found himself tied for the lead with fellow two-time major winner Jon Rahm when he reached the turn.

Great players have a capacity to move through the gears when they really have to and Scheffler did that once again, just as he did when bursting out of a group tied for the lead as he claimed his second Green Jacket at Augusta National in 2024.

Over the weekend, he covered the back nine at Quail Hollow and its testing ‘Green Mile’ in six under, having come home in 32 on Saturday then 34 on Sunday.

Despite finishing with a bogey, he won by five shots with an 11-under-par total, with fellow Americans Harris English (65), Bryson DeChambeau (70) and Davis Riley (72) sharing second spot.

After a bogey-double bogey-double bogey finish, Rahm ended up tied for eighth on four under alongside his Ryder Cup team-mate Matthew Fitzpatrick and also the US Ryder Cup captain, Keegan Bradley.

Three majors in just 23 starts in big events

“Finishing off a major championship is always difficult, and I did a good job of staying patient on the front nine,” said Scheffler of his Wanamaker Trophy triumph. “I didn't have my best stuff, but I kept myself in it, and I stepped up on the back nine and had a really good nine holes.”

He’s now claimed three of the game’s marquee titles in just 23 starts and is just the 15th player to win The Masters and the PGA Championship in their careers. Though it certainly won’t be easy, he’s a genuine contender to complete a career grand slam.

“I'm just really proud of the way I fought this week,” he added. “I was battling my swing the first couple days. I didn't have as good a prep week as I wanted to. It was a battle out there.

“Teddy (Scott, his caddie) did a good job of keeping me in it, and Randy (Smith, his coach) helped me figure out things on my swing. Marnus (Marais, his physio) helped get my body right. It was a real team effort this week. I'm proud of the whole squad. Looking forward to celebrating this one.”

It tells you everything about Scheffler, who claimed the biggest win in the event since Rory McIlroy triumphed by eight shots in 2021, that he’s become Tiger Woods-esque when it gets to the business end in tournaments.

“Any time you can win a major championship is pretty cool, and I'm proud of how I did this week just staying in it mentally and hitting the shots when I needed to,” he declared. “This back nine will be one that I remember for a long time. It was a grind out there. I think at one point on the front I maybe had a four- or five-shot lead, and making the turn I was tied for the lead. So to step up when I needed to the most, I'll remember that for a while.

Winner did ‘good job of staying patient’

“I always try to lean as much as I can on my mind. I think that's probably my greatest strength. You know, like today and this week I really just feel like I did just such a good job of staying patient when I wasn't swinging it my best, but I hit the shots when I needed to.

“I hit the important shots well this week, and that's why I'm walking away with the trophy. The shots on the golf course that are most important, those are the ones I feel like I did my best at this week and maybe at times out there, some of the easier ones maybe I lost a bit of focus or something but, overall, when I needed to, I feel like I hit the shots.

“It was a big birdie I hit on 10. Hit quality shots on 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 really, and was able to build up a lead and play pretty conservative the last three holes. Two nice up-and-downs there on 16 and 17, and I was able to kind of slap it around there on 18.”

Though not feeling quite as emotional as McIlroy did after finally claiming a Green Jacket to complete his full set of titles, Scheffler threw his hat on to the green after holing the winning putt. “Just a lot of happiness,” he said of that reaction. “Just maybe thankful as well. It was a long week. I felt like this was as hard as I battled for a tournament in my career. This was a pretty challenging week.”

The US Open at Oakmont is next up on the 2025 major schedule before Royal Portrush then stages the 153rd Open in July. It would be a surprise, to be honest, if one of those titles didn’t fall to Scheffler as well.

“Not really. I don't focus on that kind of stuff,” he said in reply to being asked about career goals. “I love coming out here and trying to compete and win golf tournaments, and that's what I'm focused on. After this week, I'm going to go home and get ready for next week's tournament, and the show goes on. If I show up and miss the cut next week, I'm going to have to answer questions of what went wrong and just start over again on Thursday.

“That's one of the things that can be frustrating about our game, and it's also what's great about our game. If I had a tough day today and came in with a loss, I could step back up on the tee Thursday next week and have another chance to win a tournament. It's an endless pursuit, and it's a lot of fun. It's definitely one of the great joys of my life to be able to compete out here.

Wanamaker Trophy will go in ‘room full of golf junk’

The Wanamaker Trophy is one of the biggest in the game and Scheffler was asked where it would be going in his house after once joking that his wife, Meredith, had said she’d smack him on the head if he ever tried to bring trophies into the family home.

“I have a room in my house called ‘The Golf Room’ and that's where all my crap goes, literally. It's just a room full of all my golf junk. I've got some trophies in there as well, and that's probably where this one will go,” he said with a smile.

It was no laughing matter, of course, when he was arrested for traffic offences on the way to Valhalla for the second round of this event 12 months ago and he was asked if now being the PGA champion was even sweeter on the back of that extraordinary episode.

“I definitely have a few jokes that I want to say that I'm probably going to keep to myself,” he said, laughing. “Last year sometimes, it still doesn't almost feel real. It really doesn't. It's just one of those deals that I really don't know how to describe it. But I can tell you it's very sweet sitting here with the trophy this year.”