ESPN News Services
Jul 20, 2025, 01:42 PM ET
PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland -- Scottie Scheffler may not find his life's true fulfillment in winning, but that's not going to keep him from continuing to do it on the sport's biggest stages.
Scheffler had all the time in the world to celebrate his latest major title, carding a 68 on Sunday to cruise to a four-stroke victory in the Open Championship at Royal Portrush.
The outcome was never in doubt Sunday, as golf's No. 1 player delivered another dominant performance to win his second major this year and grab the third leg of the career Grand Slam.
He tapped in for par on the final hole, making it all look so routine. But then Scheffler saw his family, thrust both arms into the air, pumped both arms and tossed his cap in the air. That's what it was all about for the 29-year-old from Texas, who gets to keep the silver Claret Jug for a year.
Scheffler became just the fourth player in Open Championship history to shoot 68 or better in all four rounds, joining Collin Morikawa (2021), Henrik Stenson (2016) and Jesper Parnevik (1994).
The start of Scheffler's final round was ideal. From the first cut of rough, Scheffler hit his approach to the right side of the green on the slope. The ball trickled back and then rolled down to 10 inches from the cup for a tap-in birdie.
Scheffler already won the PGA Championship by five shots this year. He won the Masters last year by four shots and the Masters in 2022 by three shots. Before Sunday, no one had ever won each of their first four major titles by three shots or more.
He also became just the third golfer to win multiple majors by four or more strokes in a single year, joining Ben Hogan (Masters, U.S. Open, The Open in 1953) and Tiger Woods (U.S. Open, The Open in 2000).
Scheffler arrived in Northern Ireland and shared some extraordinary insight when he said celebrating tournament wins doesn't last but for a few minutes before it was on to the next one. He said he loves the work required to be the best and that he thrives on competition, but in terms of fulfillment, he said he often questions why he wants to win so badly when the thrill of winning is fleeting.
This was also an extraordinary test for Scheffler because of the cheers, not all of them for him. There was pure adulation for Rory McIlroy playing before a home crowd in Northern Ireland. He started the round six shots behind, needing his greatest closing round in a major and help from Scheffler, but McIlroy wound up seven back in a tie for seventh.
McIlroy, the Masters champion, became just the sixth player to win the career slam earlier this year.
The Associated Press and ESPN Research contributed to this report.
