Ewan Murray was at Quail Hollow, and his verdict is in. Here it is. Congratulations to Scottie Scheffler, commiserations to Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau, and thanks to you for reading this hole-by-hole blog. See you again next month for the US Open at Oakmont? Hope so!
-11: Scottie Scheffler
-6: Harris English, Bryson DeChambeau, Davis Riley
-5: Taylor Pendrith, Jhonattan Vegas, JT Poston
-4: Joaquin Niemann, Ben Griffin, Denny McCarthy, Ryan Gerard, Joe Highsmith, Matt Fitzpatrick, Keegan Bradley, Jon Rahm, Kim Si-woo
-3: Matt Wallace, Alex Noren
The 2025 PGA champion Scottie Scheffler lifts the Wanamaker Trophy. Quail Hollow gives him the warm applause he’s earned. A roar. A chant of Scottie! Scottie! “I just kept hitting it left! … I knew it would be challenging … stay patient … I didn’t have my best stuff but kept myself in it … I stepped up on the back nine … I’m just proud of the way we fought … I was battling my swing the first couple of days … I’m looking forward to celebrating this one!”
He lifts the trophy again, and like Collin Morikawa before him, the lid comes flying off in the comic-book style. All good knockabout laughter, and then a few seconds after, the realisation of his achievement kicks in, and tears fill his eyes. A thumbs up. They’re the happiest tears. And it’s not long before he’s laughing again. No wonder: he’s now halfway to the career slam, and if he keeps going like this, it might not take him too long to complete the set.
Just before he enters the scoring tent, he’s congratulated by the US Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley, who finished in the top ten at -4. Then Bryson DeChambeau, disappointed on major-championship Sunday for the second time in five weeks. He deserves the plaudits. He didn’t have his A-game all week, but battled hard when he needed to, especially when the walls threatened to close in on him on the front nine today, his exceptional short game coming to the rescue more than once. But there was also that closing stretch yesterday: eagle, birdie, par, birdie, birdie. So much for the Green Mile! A burst of carpe-diem brilliance, during which he picked up five strokes in as many holes. It proved the winning margin in the end. It took a while this week, but the cream rose to the top.
“Hello buddy!” Scottie gathers up his son Bennett, and embraces his wife Meredith. The Scheffler family share a quick moment, before the new PGA Championship winner makes his way to the scoring tent. Scottie looks half-delighted, half-exhausted. And no wonder: the chasing pack, and especially Jon Rahm, gave him a proper examination. For a while, it looked like all those shots leaking left would cost him a victory that, at the beginning of the day, looked a formality. But he steadied himself, and pulled away from the field again over the back nine. In the end, it wasn’t Scottie who crumbled under all of the intense, unexpected pressure; it was the pack. What a performance.
Scottie Scheffler wins the 2025 PGA Championship!
Scottie can’t make the par putt, but who cares?! It’s his third major, and he’s going to lift the Wanamaker Trophy for the first time! A placid reaction for a few seconds … until he hollers and slams his cap onto the floor in delight! The world number one has shown his class, talent, moxie and fight today … because if you’re just logging onto this report, believe it or not, for a while this was close!
-11: Scheffler (F)
-6: English (F), DeChambeau (F), Riley (F)
Updated
Bogey for Alex Noren, who wasn’t on his game at all today. A 76 and he clatters down the standings to -3. He’d have taken this at the start of the week, you can be sure of that.
Scottie shows a little bit of moist-eyed emotion as his caddie throws an arm around him. And no wonder. He had to battle for the right to turn this into a procession. Plus, the PGA Championship has owed him one. He spent a couple of hours in the clink this time last year!
Scottie needs a birdie if he’s to post four rounds in the 60s. But he’s not in the mood to showboat. He takes his medicine out of the rough, chipping back out to the fairway. Then from 137 yards he sends his third over the flag, screeching his ball to a halt, eight yards past. It’s not a gimme, but does he care?! The gallery go wild, giving him the ovation he deserves, and he walks up to the green in full knowledge that he’s about to lift the Wanamaker Trophy!
Up on the green, JT Poston is unable to get up and down from the apron at the front. But Davis Riley wedges to six feet and makes his par to secure a share of second. If only he hadn’t carelessly dunked his wedge at 7 into the drink, huh.
-12: Scheffler (17)
-6: English (F), DeChambeau (F), Riley (F)
Scheffler spent the front nine sending all of his drives left. He then steadied the ship with some pearlers down the middle. So of course on the final hole he carves one right. The ball disappears into thick rough, but does he look worried? Of course he doesn’t.
How big would a share of second place – or second place solo – be for either JT Poston or Davis Riley? They both split the fairway at 18, which is a good start. Poston comes up short with his second, while Riley’s ball disappears into the thick stuff at the back of the green. Which is not so good. Back on 17, Scottie Scheffler gets up and down for par yet again, this time from the depression to the front-right of the green, and the world number one is 504 yards away from his third major title!
Jon Rahm whips up from the back of 18 to 15 feet. He can’t make the bogey putt, and what a painful end to a round that, at one stage, teased the possibility of a third major. But he finished 5-5-5-6 and signs for a 73 that will sting for a while. He should be proud of the fight he took to Scottie Scheffler, though. Another day. The small margins in golf sometimes end up looking much bigger than they were. He ends the week at -4.
JT Poston sends his tee shot wide right of 17, and he can’t get up and down from the bottom of the bank. Bogey. Birdie meanwhile for Davis Riley, and having come from different directions, the pair meet at -6.
-12: Scheffler (16)
-6: English (F), DeChambeau (F), Rahm (17), Poston (17), Riley (17)
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Scottie Scheffler gets up and down for his par on 16. Up on 18, Jon Rahm takes his penalty drop, then hacks his third over the back of the green. He just wants to go home. Such a shame: he was blemish-free until the 16th today, having suffered a triptych of unfortunate breaks on 13, 14 and 15. But ultimately the pressure of chasing Scheffler was too much. The leader gave the pack a sniff of a chance. A big sniff. But ultimately not enough of a sniff. The big tease.
Bryson DeChambeau talks to Sky Sports. “It was a good test of golf … I wish there were a couple of things that went my way a little bit more … there’s a fire in my stomach … I’ll play harder … I had this one again … it sucks … Scottie is playing incredible golf … I’ve got to figure out how to get up to his level … I executed a lot of shots very close to my lines … there was never really a shot where I thought ‘oh my gosh’ … I’m a little down and frustrated … Oakmont is a bombers paradise so I’m looking forward to getting there!”
Scottie Scheffler isn’t taking any chances. He’s got shots to play with, so takes the water on the left of 16 out of play by taking a short iron from the fairway bunker and laying up. But on 18, Jon Rahm finds more of the wet stuff, pumping his drive into the creek on the left. He’s gone 5-5-5 as his bid has unravelled. He’ll be running hot right now, but when it all comes down, he’ll be pleased with the way he’s trending in the majors. It all augurs well for the US Open at Oakmont next month.
Scottie Scheffler’s drive at 16 finds sand down the right. But it really doesn’t matter. Jon Rahm ends up with a double-bogey five on 17 after finding the water, and the Green Mile has taken a big chunk out of the big man.
-12: Scheffler (15)
-7: Poston (16)
-6: English (F), DeChambeau (F), Rahm (17)
Scottie Scheffler tidies up for his birdie. What a response to his struggles on the front nine, and the pressure put on him by the chasing pack. It’s the chasing pack who have ended up crumbling. Bryson DeChambeau can’t get up and down from the front of 18, and that’s a 70. He ends the week at -6, currently sharing the clubhouse lead, but it won’t be for too long. Another major-championship near miss, his second in five weeks. Poor Bryson.
-12: Scheffler (15)
-8: Rahm (16)
-7: Poston (15)
-6: English (F), DeChambeau (F)
Jon Rahm selects 6-iron on 17. It’s too much club. His high draw lands practically pin high, takes a hot bounce on the green, kinks left, and trampolines into the drink. Back on 15, Scottie Scheffler takes his Texas Wedge and putts up the bank to three feet. And up on 18, Bryson DeChambeau, with an awkward stance by the creek, comes up short with his wedge. Unless JT Poston has a big surprise in store for us all, this is all pointing to a Scheffler win.
Scottie Scheffler’s second into the par-five is almost a carbon copy of Jon Rahm’s effort 20 minutes ago. He’s unlucky too, as a pearler bounds past the flag and down the swale. Rahm couldn’t get up and down for his birdie. If Scottie is able to manage it, this will be all over ... unless the golfing gods have some payback stored up for yesterday’s sensational play along the Green Mile.
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Bogey for Matt Fitzpatrick on 18, and he finishes the week at -4. Back up on the tee, Bryson DeChambeau flirts with the creek down the left but the ball snags in the semi-rough and he’ll just need a wedge to get on. And Jon Rahm can’t get up and down from the sand at 16 to save his par. His knees buckle in frustration. He’s going to need some help from Scottie now.
-11: Scheffler (14)
-8: Rahm (16)
-7: DeChambeau (17), Poston (15)
-6: English (F)
Jon Rahm’s ball is buried in thick rough on the bank to the left of 16. It’s well above his feet. He scythes a 7-iron through the filth, and powers his ball greenward … but it disappears into a bunker front-right. Once he’s moved up the hole, back on the tee Scottie Scheffler hits his driver, and sends it straight if not particularly long by his own standards. The momentum is firmly with the world number one now.
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Scottie bashes out of the sand at 14, making light of the awkward lie. His ball rolls eight feet past, and he’ll have a good look at birdie coming back up the slope. Meanwhile on 17, Bryson isn’t going to die wondering, and makes sure his 40-foot putt doesn’t, like Frank Costanza, stop short. But it’s always missing high on the right. Par … and it’s beginning to look like a second near miss in the majors in little over a month, because back on 14, Scheffler rolls in his birdie putt, and the world number one has rediscovered his mojo since the turn. It could be enough for his third major title.
-11: Scheffler (14)
-9: Rahm (15)
-7: DeChambeau (17), Poston (14)
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Rahm sends his tee shot at 16 down a bank to the left of the fairway. He effs and jeffs, as is his occasional wont. That’s not ideal either.
Bryson sends an 8-iron into the front of the par-three 17th … but it’s way short of the flag. He wears the solemn look of a man who knows that, if he doesn’t drain the long birdie putt he’s left himself with, the jig is up. Meanwhile back on 14, Scottie Scheffler finds the bunker front right of the green. He’ll have a downhill lie, which isn’t ideal.
Jon Rahm’s birdie putt on 15 is always staying high on the left. That’s another poor putt. He’s had a couple of unlucky bounces on the last couple of holes – and that lip-out just before – but the flat stick has let him down twice in short order. Meanwhile par for Bryson DeChambeau at 16, and bogey for Matt Fitzpatrick at 17. The benefits of Fitzpatrick’s eagle at 14 have been snatched back with haste; he’s -5 and out of it for sure.
-10: Scheffler (13)
-9: Rahm (15)
-7: DeChambeau (16), Poston (14)
Jon Rahm skelps his second at the long par-five 15th towards the flag, tucked back-right. More bad luck, as his ball topples off the edge and down a swale. He gets the Texas Wedge out, and nearly holes it … but he’s given it too much and he’s left with a ten-footer coming back for birdie. Meanwhile a two-putt par for Scottie Scheffler at 13.
Scottie Scheffler lands his tee shot at the par-three 13th on the top tier of the green. He’s not particularly close – 25 feet perhaps – but that tier’s where the flag is. Jon Rahm launches his drive successfully down the par-five 15th. Meanwhile how’s this from the 2011 champ Keegan Bradley? Birdie at 13, birdie at 14, eagle at 15! He’s a bit too far behind at -5, but that’s catapulted him up the standings. Back in a rich vein of form, will he have to relinquish his US Ryder Cup captaincy in order to play? He might have to, you know.
Scottie Scheffler isn’t in gung-ho mode right now. He aims for the heart of the 12th green, declining to chase the pin, and lags his 20-foot birdie effort short. He tidies up for par, and he’s one hole closer to glory. He’s also one hole closer to the Green Mile, so you can spin this situation both ways.
-10: Scheffler (12)
-9: Rahm (14)
-7: DeChambeau (15), Poston (13)
-6: English (F), Fitzpatrick (16)
“Oh Rahmbo! Wide right!” A member of the gallery explains what happens after Jon Rahm splashes out of the bunker at 14 to six feet. Big chance turned down and he remains one off the lead. Meanwhile up on 16, Matt Fitzpatrick comes up too quickly from a short putt and that’s an unnecessary bogey that drops him back to -6.
-10: Scheffler (11)
-9: Rahm (14)
-7: Fitzpatrick (15), DeChambeau (15), Poston (13)
Scottie Scheffler has missed a lot of shots to the left today. We’ve belaboured this point, to be fair. But it looks like he’s finally got the ship steadied, because at 12 he splits a third fairway in a row. Just as well he’s fixed the issue, given how much trouble is down the left along the Green Mile. Meanwhile up on 15, Bryson DeChambeau sends his approach up a vegetation-strewn bank at the back of the green … but whips an elegant chip to kick-in distance for a birdie that brings him back into view as well. This is bubbling up deliciously!
-10: Scheffler (11)
-9: Rahm (13)
-7: Fitzpatrick (15), DeChambeau (15), Poston (12)
Scottie prowls around the putt awhile. This could be huge. He gives it the legs, but not enough to the right of the cup. It dies to the left on its final turn. Par. Alex Noren bogeys again and at -5 his race is run. Up on 14, another unlucky break for Jon Rahm after that lip-out, as his tee shot into the driveable green takes a wicked bounce right into a bunker. Meanwhile on 12, JT Poston rakes in a long birdie putt to get himself back into the picture. Again.
-10: Scheffler (11)
-9: Rahm (13)
-7: Fitzpatrick (15), Poston (12)
-6: English (F), DeChambeau (14)
… and he makes it … hold on … no he doesn’t, it lips out. Oh my. Jon Rahm gives his big left-to-right curler everything. It looks on a fine line. It looks perfectly paced. It looks in. It dips. But somehow it refuses to drop, pops back up, and horseshoes around the lip, left to right. How did that not go in?! Just a par, and here’s how thin the margins are: Scottie Scheffler caresses an 8-iron pin high from 170 yards on 11, and it’s now his turn to have a run at birdie, from 13 feet.
That Scottie Scheffler birdie must have calmed a few jangling nerves. Because now he crashes a drive down the middle of 11. That’s two fairways found in succession, which was pretty much a give for him yesterday, when he hit 13 of 14, but was far from the case on the front nine this afternoon. But Jon Rahm remains in buoyant mood, and clips his tee shot at the par-three 13th pin high. He’ll have a look at birdie from 20 feet to draw level at the top again.
Scottie Scheffler finally regains some forward momentum! He splashes out of the bunker at 10 to ten feet, then steers in the right-to-left curler. Bogey for Alex Noren, however, having carelessly sent his third into sand. On 11, JT Poston hands back the shot he’s just picked up after chunking a chip. Meanwhile on 12, Jon Rahm wedges to ten feet but can’t make the birdie effort. All change at the top, again, with Bryson mopping up for birdie on 14.
-10: Scheffler (10)
-9: Rahm (12)
-7: Fitzpatrick (14)
-6: English (F), DeChambeau (14), Poston (11), Noren (10)
Scottie Scheffler creams his second at the monster par-five 10th greenward … but again there’s a little more draw than he’d fancy, and the ball takes a kick off to the left and into a bunker. Meanwhile up on 14, Bryson DeChambeau sends his tee shot up the Adam Scott bank … but unlike the Aussie, he manages to gently lob onto the fringe and slowly release his ball to a couple of feet. That could have been disastrous; it should lead to a birdie that brings him immediately back into contention.
Local lad JT Poston joins the party at -7 with birdie at 10. A reminder that he’s already got one North Carolinian victory on his resumé, having won the 2019 Greater Greensboro Open (now known as the Wyndham, but c’mon). Another incoming?
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Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. If Jon Rahm wins this, he’ll have the chance to join Rory McIlroy and his pals in the Career Slam club at Portrush in July. Just saying.
… but Bryson DeChambeau is going the wrong way. From the back of 13, he leaves a short chip seven feet short, then sends the next one four feet past. He does well in the circumstances to steady himself and make the one coming back, but that’s a bogey to follow a short birdie miss at the previous hole. And made the wrong time. He’s -5.
Jon Rahm teases his downhill 15-foot right-to-left slider at 11 into the cup for a third birdie in four holes! He’s now the co-leader! Scottie Scheffler needs a response, and gets one on 10, striping his drive down the par-five. What he’d give for a momentum-shifting birdie here. And speaking of a momentum shifter, here comes Matt Fitzpatrick, chipping out of the thick rough behind the short par-four 14th … and in for eagle! He’s back in the race!
-9: Rahm (11), Scheffler (9)
-7: Fitzpatrick (14), Noren (9)
Updated
While Scottie Scheffler leaves the door creaking invitingly ajar, folk further up the track are making mistakes as well. Bryson DeChambeau chips up to six feet on 12, only to stab miserably at his birdie chance. He remains at -6. Adam Scott, meanwhile, sails his tee shot at the driveable par-four 14th onto the bank to the right of the green. Short-sided, and worried about the water on the other side of a downward sloping green, he fluffs his chip into a bunker. He can’t scramble for a sandy par, and moves back to -5.
Scottie Scheffler, with two huge lumps of mud on his ball, manages to guide his 27-foot putt from the fringe to the lip. He tidies up for a bogey that, all told, could have been a whole lot worse. But he’s taken 37 on the front nine, while Jon Rahm continues on his blemish-free way, and he’s on the 11th in regulation, with a 15-footer for birdie. It’s possible – and this seemed so improbable just an hour ago – that there will soon be a tie at the top!
-9: Scheffler (9)
-8: Rahm (10)
-7: Noren (9)
In the rough – deep, not semi - down the left of 9, Scottie Scheffler finds himself snookered by a couple of trees, 200 yards out. Even a man of his talent and power can only swipe his ball 50 yards short of the green. Then his wedge in bounds past the flag and nearly off the back. His ball nestles up against the collar, and has a spot of mud on it as well. That won’t improve his mood. Trouble here.
Jon Rahm makes his birdie putt on 10. This … this is major-championship Sunday. This is on.
-10: Scheffler (8)
-8: Rahm (10)
-7: Noren (8)
-6: English (F), Scott (13), DeChambeau (11), Vegas (10), Poston (9)
Scottie Scheffler keeps pulling his tee shots. He’s missed left at 2, 5, 7, 8 and now 9. This latest one not dramatically so – he’s in the semi-rough – but factor in pulled approaches at 1 and 3, and this is a problem he’ll need to solve quicksmart. Not least because Jon Rahm has just clipped a wedge at 10 to three feet, and has a huge chance of a birdie that would reduce Scheffler’s lead to two.
Scottie Scheffler chips down from the bank. It’s decent, but not out of his top drawer. He leaves himself a 12-footer and doesn’t give the putt enough on the high side. It breaks apologetically to the left. Another par. Alex Noren has a birdie chance from eight feet, but misreads and lets a huge chance to further close the gap at the top go by. Scottie breathes again. They’re -10 and -7 respectively. Meanwhile Matt Fitzpatrick flays his drive into deep trouble down the left of 12, and barely manages to get out of it with his second, but eventually does well to limit the damage on 12 to bogey, getting up and down from an unpromising position off the back of the green. However he slips back to -5.
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Scottie Scheffler is definitely feeling the pressure now. He whistles his tee shot at the driveable par-four 8th into the gallery atop a bank to the left of the green. Meanwhile Jon Rahm batters his drive at the par-five 10th down the middle. To repeat: Rahm would love to be in the same match as Scheffler now, engaging in hot mano-a-mano action. Given the current momentum and mood, Rahmbo would be in his element.
Alex Noren isn’t finished yet, and he gets up and down from greenside sand for birdie at 7 to grab himself a share of second. Meanwhile back-to-back birdies for JT Poston at 7 and 8, while Jon Rahm makes a staunch 12-footer for par at 9 to turn in 34. This felt over 40 minutes ago. It doesn’t feel that way so much now.
-10: Scheffler (7)
-7: Rahm (8), Noren (7)
-6: English (F), Scott (12), Fitzpatrick (11), DeChambeau (10), Vegas (9), Poston (8)
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Two putts for Scottie Scheffler on 7, and that’s a par. Not the worst result given the direction of his drive. Meanwhile Tony Finau is always out of position on 10, going from bunker to rough and bunker again, and that’s a careless bogey on a hole that’s averaged 4.7 shots this week. Plenty given up to the field, there. That also explains why Bryson isn’t happy with his par, but at least unlike his playing partner, he’s still at -6.
… meanwhile Jon Rahm is the first to move in a more positive direction! He lashes his tee shot at the short par-four 8th pin high, but just off the green to the right. He chips up to three feet, and tidies up for birdie. Meanwhile back on 7, Scottie’s a bit sloppie again, his tee shot far enough to the left that branches force him to lay up, and then with nerves jangling, he plays his approach safe, aiming for the centre of the green rather than the pin. Par is likely, and it’ll steady a ship that isn’t yet listing wildly, but perhaps rocking gently like Val Doonican. A reference for the pop kids, there.
-10: Scheffler (6)
-7: Rahm (8)
The first big mistake from the chasing pack arrives courtesy of Davis Riley. His wedge into the par-five 7th plops into the water guarding the front right of the green. That wholly unnecessary mistake is compounded by a three-putt from six feet, and leads to a triple-bogey eight. He moves down the rankings to -3, and his race is surely run.
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Scottie Scheffler can’t save himself this time. It looks like he’s made a fairly straight uphill ten-footer, but it kinks off to the left just before reaching the cup. He’s surprised. But as Dame Laura Davies says on Sky: you can’t hole them all. Birdies meanwhile for Matt Fitzpatrick at 9 and 10, and Jhonattan Vegas at 7 and 8 … and what about this?! If Scottie starts to feel the heat, this is so on.
-10: Scheffler (5)
-6: English (F), Scott (10), Fitzpatrick (10), DeChambeau (9), Finau (9), Vegas (8), Rahm (7), Riley (6), Noren (6)
Scheffler wedges over the bunker to ten feet, but he’s got another testing par putt coming up. Meanwhile up on 9, Bryson rakes in a long birdie putt to join the club at -6. As does his playing partner Tony Finau, who cards his third birdie in a row. If Scottie does make a mess of this, there are plenty of folk waiting to pounce.
Scottie Scheffler misses another green. This time he pulls his tee shot at 6 so far wide it misses the bunker on that side of the dancefloor. But will it matter? On the evidence so far, almost certainly no. Though is it possible for anyone to keep successfully scrambling like this? Logic also suggests no. Something’s got to give. Meanwhile should Scheffler stumble, the 2013 Masters champion Adam Scott might be poised to take advantage. Birdie at 10, his third of the day, moves the ever-cheerful Aussie into a share of second at -6.
That par save was so important for Scheffler. For a moment, it looked like his lead, which had been five shots a few minutes ago, was about to be trimmed to three. But he made the putt, while up on the par-three 6th, Davis Riley was failing to get up and down from a bunker, handing his slam-dunk shot straight back. And suddenly the lead is five again!
-11: Scheffler (5)
-6: English (F), Rahm (6), Riley (6), Noren (5)
Now then, maybe that claim was a bit bold. Scottie Scheffler almost whiffs his wedge out of the gnarly rough at the back, and though the ball makes it onto the green, he leaves his chip 18 feet short. This is probably a shot gone. But hold on … let me go back and score out that opening statement … he calmly steers in a gentle left-to-right slider for another outrageous par save. This street-fighting, grimly determined nonsense is, in its own way, as impressive as the world-class display he put on over the closing holes last night. It’s just another facet of golf that he’s the best in the world at!
Scottie Scheffler sends his drive at 5 into the fairway bunker down the left. He then air-mails the green with a gap wedge. A tricky up and down from thick rough at the back awaits, though if any man can solve the problem, Scottie can.
Bryson DeChambeau certainly won’t be letting this lie. At 7, he’s faced with a long bunker shot, the green sloping down towards the water, the flag way down near the briny. He splashes out softly, from 35 yards to seven feet, and makes the birdie putt. He’s -5.
… so having said that, Davis Riley slam-dunks a lob, Mark-Calcavecchia-at-the-1989-Open style, from thick rough to the right of 5! He was short-sided in thick oomska, swished hard, and had that not disappeared into the hole, his ball could have ended up in South Carolina. But with a swish and a slam and dunk and a huge wedge of luck, he’s suddenly got second place all to himself!
-11: Scheffler (4)
-7: Riley (5)
OK, Scottie’s not perfect, he leaves his 35-foot birdie putt at 4 five feet short. But he tidies up without any fuss to save his par. Meanwhile Alex Noren sends a hot bunker shot towards the fringe at the back of the green. He’s never making the 25-foot putt he leaves himself, and in fact does well to make the four footer that follows. But there’s a pained look in his eye, a bead of nervous sweat on his brow. This is already threatening to turn into a procession, and it’s only taken four holes.
-11: Scheffler (4)
-6: English (F), Rahm (5), Riley (4), Noren (4)
Scottie Scheffler hasn’t quite got his irons under control yet. He only just makes it over the bunker and onto the green at the 192-yard par-three 4th. But it’s on, and then Alex Noren dunks his tee shot into that very trap. The weird thing about Scottie’s week so far is that, the obvious (and admittedly significant) caveat of yesterday’s other-worldly closing stretch aside, the world number one hasn’t been totally on top of his game. Quite a few wild drives, plenty of erratic approaches. But his short game is galaxy-level good. And he’s simply unflappable. And he’s still laying waste to the strongest field in golf! We’re witnessing greatness, aren’t we?
For the second time today – and the sample size of three holes is not exactly huge – Scottie Scheffler pulls his approach from the centre of the fairway miles left. The unforced error finds sand. No bother! Facing a 70-foot splash, he elegantly whips his ball along what looks like an inexorable journey into the cup. You couldn’t hit a putt more smoothly. But it stops one dimple short of dropping. So close to another outrageous birdie. But par keeps him -11, four clear of his playing partner Alex Noren, who also pars.
Joaquin Niemann is making an entertaining fist of moving up the leaderboard. He splashes out of sand at 14, hits the flagstick, and nearly holes out for eagle. Just a birdie … though it’s immediately followed up by another at 15, where again eagle proves an elusive inch away, as he nearly slam dunks from 100 yards. The Chilean is now -5; it could so easily be -7 and a share of second with Alex Noren. But here we are.
English shoots 65
Harris English could have that elusive Top-Ten Finish In A Major That Isn’t The US Open (damn right that’s a thing) after all! He drains a long birdie putt across 18 for his fifth birdie on the back nine! Back in 31, and he’s signing for a best-of-day (so far) 65. He’s the early clubhouse leader at -6.
-11: Scheffler (2)
-7: Noren (2)
-6: English (F), Rahm (3), Riley (2), Poston (2)
-5: McCarthy (9), Wallace (7), Scott (7), Vegas (5)
-4: Niemann (14), Griffin (11), Greyserman (10), Gerard (9), Davis (9), Fitzpatrick (6), DeChambeau (5), Kim (4)
Meanwhile on 5, Bryson DeChambeau pays the price for an overly aggressive putt from the fringe. He leaves himself too much to do with the one coming back, and the three-putt bogey drops him to -4. He cocks his head back, a Pez dispenser of misery, and surely knows his race is run.
Scottie Scheffler makes the 15-foot left-to-right curler that remains on 2, and that’s an absurd birdie given the nature of his drive. But when opportunity knocks, you’ve got to answer the door. He’s back to -11, the damage of the opening hole repaired in a stroke! You have to hand it to him: there’s never any panic when he finds himself out of position. He’s pulled off this trick once or twice around Augusta, too.
Scottie Scheffler had a huge break on 8 yesterday, when a tee shot that looked like disappearing forever into the trees pinged back into play. He even nearly made birdie. And once again he benefits from the generosity of the golfing gods, as he bags a decent lie on pine straw and a route to the green. He’s not one for examining the mouths of gift horses too closely, and finds the centre of the putting surface with his wedge. The sort of luck you need if you’re to win a major. Even world-number-one geniuses need it sometimes.
Denny McCarthy arrives on the fringes of the action with birdie at 9. It’s his fourth of the day – half of that good work has been negated by bogeys at 1 and 4 – and the 32-year-old from Maryland moves to -5. Meanwhile yet a third par out of three for Jon Rahm, who must wish he was in the same group as Scottie Scheffler, and able to exert a little bit of matchplay-style pressure.
Hmm II. Scottie Scheffler hooks wildly into the trees down the left of 2 … and Alex Noren follows him into bother. Some nervous energy in this final group. Meanwhile the Ben Griffin dream begins to sour with bogey at 9. Still, he’s out in 32, and he’d have taken that on the 1st tee. He’s -5.
Hmm, everyone at the top moving backwards at the moment. From the centre of the 1st fairway, Scottie Scheffler pulls his approach into a bunker on the left, while Alex Noren sends his into a trap on the right. Neither can get up and down, and that’s a pair of opening bogeys in the final match. Jon Rahm pars 2, though, so at least somebody’s holding their position.
-10: Scheffler (1)
-7: Noren (1)
-6: Rahm (2), Riley (1), Poston (1)
Updated
Davis Riley is looking to follow up his tie for 21st at Augusta with another high finish at a major. But the 28-year-old from Mississippi hasn’t started well. An opening bogey. He slips to -6, as does his playing partner JT Poston, who pays the price for failing to get up and down from the bank at the front of the green. Poston is another local hero, from Hickory, a mere 60 miles from Quail Hollow. He’s already won one big prize in his home state of North Carolina, the 2019 Wyndham Championship Greater Greensboro Open (deletion made for the benefit of purists). This isn’t an ideal start in his pursuit of home-state prize number two.
Noren only has two top-ten finishes at the majors in his entire career. Both of them came at the Open, in 2012 and 2017. But he’s won ten times on the European Tour, securing some big titles as well, including the Scottish Open, French Open, and the biggest of the lot, the BMW PGA Championship. So the hard-working Swede – check those famously calloused hands – has both moxie and game to add the US version of the PGA to his CV.
The leader Scottie Scheffler tees it up. If he’s feeling nerves, they’re not betraying him on his face. A huge roar from the gallery for the big man from Texas. He gracefully larrups a gentle fade around the trees down the right and he’s in position A on the fairway. He’s going round with Alex Noren today. No nerves evident from the Swedish veteran, either, as he splits the fairway. A quiet start meanwhile for Bryson DeChambeau: par-par-par. The high-point so far a whip over a huge tree to get himself back into position on 3. He remains at -5.
Matt Fitzpatrick might have rendered himself realistically done and dusted. But that’s not going to stop him battling for every shot and a high finish. He’s responded to that bogey-bogey start by raking in long birdie putts on the next two holes to return to his starting point. Meanwhile Jon Rahm’s quest to “play well” begins with par; his playing partner Kim Si-woo drops a stroke, though. So this is where we are now, with the last match preparing to tee off.
-11: Scheffler
-8: Noren
-7: Riley, Poston
-6: Griffin (8), Rahm (1)
-5: English (15), Scott (4), Fitzpatrick (4), Finau (2), DeChambeau (2), Vegas (1), Kim (1)
Updated
Harris English is another who could sell his round to the chasing pack for decent coin. The 35-year-old Georgian has just put together a run of four birdies in five holes – at 11, 12, 14 and 15 – to rise to -5. He’s got three top-ten major-championship finishes on his resumé, all at the US Open. As things stand, he’s set for a fourth … but here comes that Green Mile.
Matthieu Pavon followed up his short birdie miss at 1 by sending his tee shot at 2 into the trees. That led to a double bogey, and dreams of becoming only the second male French player in history to win a major, after 1907 Open champion Arnaud Massey, are dust. He’s -3. Also going the wrong way: the 2011 winner Keegan Bradley and his playing partner Jhonattan Vegas, who both bogey 1. They’re -4 and -5 respectively.
Another birdie for Ben Griffin, this time at 7. He’s four under for his round, and -6 overall for the championship. He could sell this start to those starting their round further up the leaderboard for a good chunk of change. Keeping it up will be the problem: the aforementioned Sam Burns was five under through his first eight holes today, only to play the remainder in one-over par. But whatever happens now to Griffin, the local lad from the renowned university town of Chapel Hill, will be posting his highest finish at a major. This is the first time he’s made the cut at one. It could be a top-ten finish, you never know.
So much was expected from Rory McIlroy this week. So much for the concept of Rory McIlroy Country Club (© Jordan Spieth, all rights reserved). His bid was pretty much scuppered from the get-go, with that opening round of 74, and he only really brought anything like his good stuff on Friday, with a 69. He’s just followed up yesterday’s 72 with the same score, and finishes the week +3. Ah well, he’ll always have Augusta. As he loads his clubs into the back of the car to go home, he runs into Jon Rahm, who is only just off to work, and slaps his European Ryder Cup buddy on the back, sending him off with a cheery “play well!” Sad to see the newest member of the career-slam club leave the course so early, but that’s golf for you.
The 2023 US Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick’s slim hopes seem pretty much extinguished already. A miss to the left on 1 costs him a shot; a miss to the right on 2 costs him another. He’s back to -3 and only has pounds, points and position to play for now.
A fast start is essential if anyone from the chasing pack is to apply pressure on Scottie Scheffler. Ben Griffin started too far back to be a contender, but he’s currently showing what can be done, with birdies at 2, 3 and 5. He’s -3. Matthieu Pavon however is within swinging distance going into the final round, and it looks like he’s made the perfect start by clipping his approach at 1 from 180 yards to six feet. But he prods meekly at the birdie putt, and remains at -5.
Here we are at the business end of the 107th PGA Championship, then. Somebody will most likely have to go low if they’re to catch Scottie Scheffler. So is it possible on the early evidence? Nobody’s gone super-low as of yet: Sam Burns has been the best of the morning starters, back in the hutch with a 67, while Xander Schauffele signed off the defence of his title with a 68. They finish the week -2 and -1 respectively. But most of the pins are accessible, so while the greens are firming up, and the wind is picking up, nothing is off the table.
Preamble
This is Scottie’s to lose. But anything can happen on any given major-championship Sunday – it’s only three years since Justin Thomas won from a record-equalling seven back, after all – and there are plenty of big names lurking should the world number one somehow misplace his mojo. Thing is, it was Mito Pereira who led going into that historic day in 2022; today it’s Scheffler, the world number one, who yesterday evening laid waste both the field and Quail Hollow’s notorious closing stretch with some out-of-this-world, carpe-diem golf (beginning here). Still, you never know. Here’s how the top of the leaderboard looked at the end of the third round …
-11: Scottie Scheffler
-8: Alex Noren
-7: Davis Riley, JT Poston
-6: Jon Rahm, Kim Si-woo, Jhonattan Vegas
-5: Keegan Bradley, Tony Finau, Bryson DeChambeau, Matthieu Pavon, Matt Fitzpatrick
… and here are the tee times (all BST). It’s on!
13.10 Chris Kirk (US), Sergio Garcia (Spa)
13.20 Bud Cauley (US), Byeong Hun An (Kor)
13.30 Brian Campbell (US), Elvis Smylie (Aus)
13.40 Austin Eckroat (US), Brian Harman (US)
13.50 Tom Kim (Kor), Michael Kim (US)
14.00 Nicolai Højgaard (Den), Stephan Jaeger (Ger)
14.10 Justin Lower (US), Kevin Yu (Tai)
14.20 Daniel Berger (US), Rasmus Højgaard (Den)
14.30 Tommy Fleetwood (Eng), Collin Morikawa (US)
14.40 Xander Schauffele (US), Sam Burns (US)
14.50 Christiaan Bezuidenhout (SA), Rory McIlroy (NI)
15.10 Richard Bland (Eng), Sam Stevens (US)
15.20 Tom McKibbin (NI), Corey Conners (Can)
15.30 Luke Donald (Eng), Thorbjørn Olesen (Den)
15.40 Marco Penge (Eng), Beau Hossler (US)
15.50 Max Homa (US), Wyndham Clark (US)
16.00 Harris English (US), Aaron Rai (Eng)
16.10 Eric Cole (US), Nico Echavarria (Col)
16.20 Rafael Campos (Pur), Cameron Young (US)
16.30 Michael Thorbjornsen (US), Tyrrell Hatton (Eng)
16.40 Harry Hall (Eng), Taylor Moore (US)
16.50 Joaquin Niemann (Chi), Viktor Hovland (Nor)
17.10 Robert MacIntyre (Sco), David Puig (Spa)
17.20 JJ Spaun (US), Alex Smalley (US)
17.30 Taylor Pendrith (Can), Maverick McNealy (US)
17.40 Ben Griffin (US), Ryo Hisatsune (Jpn)
17.50 Ryan Fox (NZ), Max Greyserman (US)
18.00 Denny McCarthy (US), Ryan Gerard (US)
18.10 Lucas Glover (US), Cam Davis (Aus)
18.20 Joe Highsmith (US), Garrick Higgo (SA)
18.30 Matt Wallace (Eng), Adam Scott (Aus)
18.40 Matthieu Pavon (Fra), Matt Fitzpatrick (Eng)
19.00 Tony Finau (US), Bryson DeChambeau (US)
19.10 Jhonattan Vegas (Ven), Keegan Bradley (US)
19.20 Jon Rahm (Spa), Kim Si-woo (Kor)
19.30 Davis Riley (US), JT Poston (US)
19.40 Scottie Scheffler (US), Alex Noren (Swe)
