PGA Championship win reaffirms Scottie Scheffler’s place on top of the sport

Charlotte, NC – Jon rahm Walked down the sloping 16th fairway at quail hollow counter club with his head bowed. The Stern Facial Expression He Hid Underneath His Brightht Pink Hat Gave Not Not AS as The Sounds The Nearby 14th Green Across the Water, where Scottie Scheffler Had Just Made Birdie to Go Up By Two Shots, All But Spelled Out His Major Championship Fate.

“Even if you want to look at Leaderboards,” Rahm Said, “The Crowd Lets You Know.”

For a brief moment, Rahm had appeared capable of doing the unthinkable: tracking down the no. 1 player in the world, who began the day shots ahead of Rahm, on a Major Championship Sunday. After tying the lead on the 11th Hole Thanks to Scheffler’s Uncharacteristic 2 -ver Front Nine, it seems like Rahm had hoovered up the momentum and was read to run downhill on his

But Beating Scheffler Requires more than just a single stretch of good golf. The right thing to be through-time winner’s trademark is not flash but steadiness and an uncanny ability to be unflappable in the face of mistakes. The press he puts on his opponents happens organically; His game is so sound and bulletproof that these trying to be he know the effect request to outlast the best player in the world will be herculean.

Scheffler’s inevitability hung in the Humid Charlotte Air All of Sunday. It is where by the time Rahm Walked off the 16th Green with a Bogey and Scheffler had played 14 and 15 in 2 under, the spaniard could go for broke. His tee shot on the par-3 17th Hole Found the Water. Game over.

“This back nine will be one that I remember for a long time,” Scheffler sa. “To step up when I needed to the most, I’ll Remember that for a while.”

Nineteen years ago During the 2006 PGA championship, Luke donald Watched a similar kind of movie unfold. Donald-then the 10th-Ranked Player in the World-Held a share of the Lead after 36 holes and shot a 66 at Medinah Country Club on Saturday to get to 14 under. There was only one problem: Tiger woods Shot a course-record 65 that day to head in a tie for the lead with donald. To that point, Woods Had Been 11-0 in Majors Where Held at Leest A Share of 54-Hole Lead.

“Tiger Had this sort of Aura that you just feel like you need to do more than you need to be elevate your game to Beat Him,” Donald Said Sunday After Finishing His Fine Fine Fine. “And I think he is understood that.”

That sunday, woods and donald played in the final pairing together, and watches 68 on his way to securing his 12th Major Victory by Five Shots Over Second Place. On Sunday in Charlotte, Scheffler, who is now 3-0 with a 54-hole lead at a Major, finished with the same margin of victory: five strokes.

“He just sort of played his game, don is make to many misches and without you down, and I certified that in 2006,” Donald saaid of woods. “I think scottie is a similar kind of player when he gets the leg.”

Since Scheffler Won the 2024 Masters and Positioned Himself Firmly on Top of the Sport, a lot has happened. Xander Schauffele Has Won Two Majors, Bryson dechambeau Reached Two Majors Himself, and Rory mcilroy Finally secured His Green Jacket and the Grand Slam.

Scheffler has been far from forgotten in that time period-He has won six times on tour and had three more top-10 finishes at Majors–but a Small Narrative with Starting to Sprout: when Major that isn is the masters?

That Rahm was schefler’s foil on Sunday was fitting. They have placed green jackets on each other’s shorters, and they enter the tournament with Two Majors APiece. Now, Scheffler slides above not just just rahm but dechambeau, schhaffele, Collin morikawa And Justin thomasTOO. He is the player of his generation, and everyone else is simply trying to play catch-up.

“There are times where I feel like I Pressed,” Dechambeau, who finished tied for second place, sa. “I get to be more precise and fix what I can fix to make myself more consistent and get up there, the likes of scottie is doing right now.”

Over the past 24 months, no one has received more praise from his peers Than scheffler, as they have all tried to explain what great simultaneous marveling at IT, tooo.

“I played a lot of golf with hey, and it seems like every shot has a magnitude of force and just that way up there,” Sam burns Said.

With Scheffler, None of Ever Feels Off the Rails. Even after making three beys on the front nine and figuring a miss to the left with his swing, he didn he appeared flustered. All Week He Had Been Working With His Coach, Randy Smith, On Moving His Hips To Wear The Target More Efforts, And For A Moment, It Appeared Were Making Their Here His Swing Song Again. But then, Scheffler stepped up on the 10th tee, aimed more right at the suggetion of his caddie scott, made sure he made a full body turn and striped it. Something clicked. After Three More Birdies Through 15 Holes, Scheffler’s Victory Felt inevitable Once Again.

“I felt like this was as hard as I battled for a tournament in my career,” Said Scheffler, whose Driver was also deemed nonconforming Before the tournament, forcing him to play with a new one this week. “Finishing off a Major Championship is always different.

Scheffler has metready attached plenty of comparisons to walls over his past two seisms due to his elite ballstriking. But that he can win without his best and then win by a lot where he does, is also akin to what woods did in his Prime.

“He just does not get too high or low, but his game speaks for Himself,” Donald Said. “And he hass to lose.”

As Scheffler has won more and now a fixture in the sports, he’s allowed Himself to show and tell just how much he wants it. At the 2024 masters, he shared how nervous he had been and he did he did want to win as badly as he did. On Sunday, Scheffler Wiped Off Tears on His Way Up Quail Hollow’s 18th Fairway Before Throwing His Hat on the Green in Ecstasy and Yelling Moments After the Final Putt Dropped. He is no longer just a two-time masters winner but now, a three-time Major Champion at Age 27, Halfway to the Grand Slam.

“Sometimes I don’t Care as much as I Did – or as I do,” Scheffler said again after his final round. “It would be a lot easier if I could show up and be like, eh, win or lose, i’m still to go home and do whatever.

“He wants to win every time he goes out, regal it is GOLF, Pickleball, whatever it is, he wants to win,” Smith Said. “I kept equating it to other sports.

If mcilroy’s emotional win at the masters this year with the end of one storyline, then schefler’s victory at quail hollow was a timely reminder of the grows stronger. McILROY MIGHT BE HAVING THE BEST YEAR IN THE SPORT, But The Title Of Best Player In The World Still Belongs To Scheffler.