It seems almost too easy. Playing The Open in Northern Ireland for the third time in 75 years, Scottie Scheffler’s third round lead proved insurmountable, as the American romped to his fourth major championship, and second of this year.
“Being able to walk up 18 with the tournament in hand is a really tough thing to describe,” Scheffler said after his round. “It’s a really cool feeling. It’s taken a lot of work — not only a lot of work, but it takes a lot of patience. It’s a high level of focus over 72 holes of a tournament. This was, I felt like, one of my best performances mentally.”
Scheffler was never really challenged on the final day at Royal Portrush, located on the Northern Ireland coast, with the exception of a double bogey on the 8th. However, he finished at 3-under on the day and 17-under for the tournament, four shots clear of Harris English.
“At the end of the day, I have a tremendous amount of gratitude towards moment like these,” Scheffler said. “I literally worked my entire life to become good at this game and play this game for a living. It’s one of my greatest joys of my life to compete out here. To be able to win The Open Championship here at Portrush is a feeling that’s really hard to describe.”
By the numbers
The win is Scheffler’s fourth major, and second this year after the PGA Championship. What’s even more impressive is it was Scheffler’s 11th-consecutive Top 10 finish. Scheffler has also converted 10-straight 54-hole leads since 2023. Tiger-like, anyone? Kind of. Tiger Woods converted 36 straight 54 hole leads during the peak of his career.
McIlroy’s homecoming
Coming into the final round with a four-shot lead, Scheffler was always going to be tough to chase down. However, the Irish golf fans where decidedly behind Rory McIlroy, who started the final round in a tie for fourth, six shots behind Scheffler. Even a decent round of 2-under saw McIlroy drop into a tie for seventh.
“I’m really pleased with my week,” McIlroy said. “I wish I had have been closer to Scottie going into today and been able to make a real push. But he’s been on a different level all week and he’s been on a different level for the last two years to the rest of us. He is the bar that we’re all trying to get to at this point, so hats off to him. He’s an unbelievable player, an incredible champion and a great person too.”
Canadian Connection
Four Canadians started the week, but only one—top-ranked Cory Conners—found his way to the weekend. After stumbling with a 74 in the first round, Conners got better throughout the rest of the tournament, culminating in consecutive 5-under 66 scores on the weekend. Conners vaulted up the leaderboard into a tie for 10th, his third Top 10 in a major this year. He missed making it four after an injury at the U.S. Open forced him to withdraw.