Scottie Scheffler cruises to win at Open, captures third leg of Grand Slam

Scottie Scheffler completed another dominant week with a 3-under-par 68 to win his first Open Championship by four shots on Sunday in Portrush, Northern Ireland.

The best golfer in the world since 2022, Scheffler notched his 17th career PGA Tour victory and his fourth since May, a run that included the PGA Championship. Boosted by a 64 on Friday, Scheffler finished all four days in the 60s to post a 17-under 267.

Scheffler, 29, won his fourth major since the 2022 Masters and joined the likes of Jordan Spieth and Phil Mickelson as players one leg away from the career Grand Slam. Like Mickelson, Scheffler is only missing the U.S. Open.

Harris English won the race for second place, recording an eagle and back-to-back birdies over his last seven holes to shoot 66. Chris Gotterup — who won the Scottish Open last week just to get into the field at Royal Portrush — placed third at 12 under after a 67.

Wyndham Clark made eight birdies en route to a 65 to climb to 11 under, tied for fourth with England’s Matt Fitzpatrick (69) and China’s Haotong Li (70). Clark’s finish was similar to that of Bryson DeChambeau, whose bogey-free 64 early in the day boosted him to 9 under.

Rory McIlroy, meanwhile, saluted the Northern Ireland crowds singing his name as he walked down the 18th fairway. A double bogey at No. 10 stymied any chance he had of pursuing Scheffler, but McIlroy shot 69 and tied Xander Schauffele (68) and Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre (67) at 10 under.

Scheffler set the tone for the day at the first hole. He missed the fairway, continuing a mediocre week with his driver, but his approach from the rough caught a ridge on the green and trickled down to the cup for a 16-inch birdie tap.

Four holes into his round, Scheffler had grown the lead to an insurmountable seven strokes. Playing partner Li had birdied No. 1 but bogeyed Nos. 2 and 4 — he’d totaled just three bogeys Thursday through Saturday — while Scheffler birdied again and the rest of the field seemed stuck in neutral behind them.

Scheffler’s misfire at the par-4 eighth kept him from running away with the Claret Jug too soon. His first attempt to get out of a fairway bunker caught the top lip and stayed in. He needed four shots to reach the green and two-putted for double bogey, dropping to 15 under.

Around that time, Gotterup made his third birdie of the day to move to 11 under. But Scheffler immediately bounced back with a 5-foot birdie putt at No. 9.

The Texan added a birdie at No. 12 and parred everything the rest of the way, missing chances to extend the lead even further. It didn’t matter to Scheffler as he embraced caddie Ted Scott after tapping in his last par at No. 18, before raising both fists into the air and tossing his hat in celebration.

–Field Level Media