Scottie Scheffler secured a dominant four-shot victory at The 153rd Open Championship after shooting a final round 68 to finish the week at Royal Portrush on 17 under par.
The 29-year-old American secured his fourth major title in just 1,197 days – the exact same time that it took Tiger Woods to achieve the same feat. He now needs to win next year’s US Open to complete the grand slam on the day he celebrates his 30th birthday.
The victory at Portrush also marks the 10th consecutive time that Scheffler has converted a 54-hole lead into a win, with the world no.1 now having bagged 14 worldwide titles since his first, which came at the Phoenix Open in February 2022.
With comparisons with Woods’ early achievements already being made, Scheffler’s rivals were queuing up to heap praise on the new Champion Golfer of the Year, with Xander Schauffele, last year’s Open winner, saying: “I don’t think we thought the golfing world would see someone as dominant as Tiger come through so soon, and here’s Scottie sort of taking that throne of dominance. You can’t even say he’s on a run. He’s just been killing it for over two years now. He’s a tough man to beat, and when you see his name up on the leaderboard it sucks for us.”
Rory McIlroy, who finished seven shots behind Scheffler in a tie for seventh, added: “In a historical context, you could argue that there’s only maybe two or three players in the history of the game that have been on a run like the one that Scottie’s been on for the last 24 to 36 months. It’s incredibly impressive. He just goes about his business. Doesn’t do anything overly flamboyant, but he’s the best at executing in the game. All you can do is tip your cap and watch in admiration.”
Shane Lowry, the 2019 Open champion at Portrush, was also full of praise for the world no.1, having had a ringside seat on Thursday and Friday. “I played with Scottie the first two days and honestly, I thought he was going to birdie every hole. If his feet stayed stable and his swing looked like Adam Scott’s, we’d be talking about him in the same words as Tiger Woods. I just think because it doesn’t look so perfect, we don’t talk about him like that. I think he’s just incredible to watch. Even his bad shots are good – that’s when you know he’s really good.”
FINAL LEADERBOARD (TOP 10)
1. Scottie Scheffler -17
2. Harris English -13
3. Chris Gotterup -12
4= Wyndham Clark -11
4= Matt Fitzpatrick -11
4= Haotong Li -11
7= Robert MacIntyre -10
7= Xander Schauffele -10
7= Rory McIlroy -10
10= Bryson DeChambeau -9
10= Corey Conners -9
10= Brian Harman -9
10= Russell Henley -9
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER – WHAT’S IN THE BAG
Driver: TaylorMade Qi10 (8°) Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 7 X
Fairway Wood: TaylorMade Qi10 3 (15°) Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 8 X
Irons: Srixon ZU85 (3, 4), TaylorMade P7TW (5-PW) Shafts: Nippon N.S. Pro Modus 3 Hybrid Prototype 10 X (3), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 (4-PW)
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM8 (50-12F, 56-14F), Titleist Vokey Design WedgeWorks (60-06K) Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400
Putter: TaylorMade Spider Tour X
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet
Ball: Titleist Pro V1