Scheffler completes dominant Open win at Portrush

Final leaderboard for the Open Championship

-17 Scheffler (US), -13 English (US), -12 Gotterup (US), -11 Clark (US), Fitzpatrick (Eng), -10 MacIntyre (Sco), Schauffele (US), McIlroy (NI)

Selected: -9 DeChambeau (US), -7 Rose (Eng), Hatton (Eng), -6 Aberg (Swe)

Scottie Scheffler had effectively won his first Open Championship title less than an hour after he teed off on Sunday afternoon.

The game was already underway, but the world number one was only stepping off the fourth green. At Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland, a field-to-field lead by four shots had grown to seven.

His dominance was further accentuated by a third birdie of the round on the fifth, which only left him with the option of a modern eight-shot win over Tiger Woods, which he did in 2000 at St Andrews.

The 29-year-old ultimately struggled, but a three-under par 68 won him on 17 under par, four shots clear of fellow American Harris English, who closed with a 66.

Regarding Rory McIlroy’s world number two playing in his native country, Scheffler said, “I know I wasn’t the fan favorite.”

After posting a 67, surprise Scottish Open winner Chris Gotterup of last week finished five shots clear of Scheffler, while England’s Matt Fitzpatrick, who had been dominating the leaderboard all week, birdied two of the final three to finish joint-second and follow Wyndham Clark (65) and Li Haotong (70), who were tied for fourth overall.

McIlroy appeared emotionless as the adoring crowd greeted him like the champion on the final green.

He was tapped in for a par and placed 10 under with Xander Schauffele, who had previously finished second, behind Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre.

Scheffler is the new year’s champion golfer, but Woods’ comparisons to him will only get worse as a result.

McIlroy told BBC Sport, “He is the bar that we’re all trying to get to.”

This statistic strengthens that perception. Between Woods’ first major success in 1997 and his fourth major victory (the 1997 Masters and 2000 Open), a total of 1, 197 days passed. Between Scheffler’s first major success and his fourth (the 2022 Masters and 2025 Open), a total of 1, 197 days have passed.

Before turning 30, he is also the only player to win the Masters, US PGA, and The Open, along with Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, and Woods.

Scheffler won his second major title of the year in addition to his two Masters, winning in particular at the US PGA Championship in May. He turns 30 when the final day of the Shinnecock Hills, New York, event in June, will be the only event required to complete the career Grand Slam. He will only need the US Open.

The American won his second medal at the Antrim coast in 2014, joining his former country for gold at the Paris, France, Olympics last year.

According to legend, McIlroy would provide the fairytale ending after enjoying what has been a week-long lap of honor in his native country.

McIlroy bounced along with a boisterous backing to post a 66 on Saturday, his first competitive performance since winning the Masters. He returned to his native Northern Ireland.

If he wanted to elude Scheffler’s six-back reeling in at the 2022 Tour Championship in Atlanta, he needed another quick start on Sunday.

His first five holes, which included two birdies and a bogey, were anything but. In addition, Scheffler managed three under par holes while completing the same challenge.

McIlroy’s welcome on the first tee suddenly lost its thunderous vibe.

Other places raised no issues.

Li Haotong, Scheffler’s playing partner, posted two bogeys in his first four holes, despite only having three in his first three rounds. On the front nine, Matt Fitzpatrick combined two birdies and three birdies.

then .

On the eighth hole, Scheffler stumbled into a fairway bunker and recorded a double bogey.

In addition, Gotterup was making a birdie putt to take the score to 11 under in the ninth inning. Four was suddenly the lead.

Scheffler then resumed “playing like Scottie,” as McIlroy put it on Saturday.

On the ninth, he hit a bounce-back birdie to four feet. The lead reverted to six with Gotterup and Li bogeys, who were also on par at the following. Game is undoubtedly over.

This would have been an Ageless Open without Scheffler.

In a battle for the minor spots, the leaderboard sounded. The Europeans were largely forgotten in the final global competition before the Ryder Cup in September, as American names emerged.

As the competition for one of the six automatic spots in each 12-strong team heats up, major victories earn big points.

Bryson DeChambeau, a two-time major champion, put the final 64 to reach nine under after a seven-over 78 on Thursday.

With a 66 to finish a shot better and put it even further up, Wyndham Clark hit a 65 to close with 11 under, Gotterup a 67 for 12 and English made it a 67 to tie it with a 66 to finish with a shot better than second. Xander Schauffele, the current champion, briefly held a tie for second place before posting a 10 under par par.

Fitzpatrick outscored MacIntyre with his late birdies to give a star-spangled leaderboard some European color, finishing with four birdies in his final seven holes to finish level with McIlroy.