Scottie Makes History: Wins the PGA Championship
After a hand injury in late 2024 and a slow start to 2025, the real question looming was if Scottie Scheffler had lost the fire that he had all of the previous year. That question was answered this weekend at Quail Hollow, however, as Scheffler would shoot 11 under through four rounds, winning the PGA Championship and the second major of the year by five strokes over a group of three, including Bryson DeChambeau. Scottie would play solidly through the first two days, but would start to take control of the tournament with back-to-back birdies at the end of the green mile during his third round to add to a near hole-out eagle on 14 to go into Sunday at 11 under. The fourth round for Scottie proved to be far from the easy win most people thought it would be, as Scottie would be tied for the lead with Jon Rahm during the tenth hole after a couple of bogeys and a streak of birdies from the Spaniard. Scheffler would stay on his game, however, birding holes 10,14, and 15, getting back to 12 under while watching the rest of the field crumble as he would cruise to the finish.
Speaking of Rahm, both he and Bryson would be leading this major at one point or another, but with both hitting it in the water on the long par-three 17, doing it in the final and their round, respectively. Both players came into today with good shots to challenge the number one player in the world, but with Bryson’s short game not up to par in the final round, as well as Rahm finding the water on 17 and 18, the championship was all but sealed for Scottie. With this win, Scottie captures his 15th win of his career, joining both Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus as the third player to win such many tournaments before the age of 29. The PGA provided great storylines for other players on tour as well, though. Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth, who came into this tournament with the most to gain, both disappointed with Jordan missing the plus-one cut while Rory would make the cut, but finish at three over par for his four rounds. Others like Alex Noren and Davis Riley also made headlines, finishing in the top 20 for their best major finishes in years.
Scheffler now goes into the rest of the 2025 season firmly being the number one player in the world with two wins in the past month, including this major and a 31-under-par finish at the Byron. With Scottie now capturing his first major outside of Augusta, he should be in great shape to compete at Oakmont for the U.S. Open, where Bryson will try to defend his title. Bryson, on the other hand, has now finished top ten in four of his last five major starts, including two second-place finishes at the PGA and a win last year at Pinehurst. Others like Rahm and Keegan Bradley also had their best major finish in a while, as Rahm was just a few shots from winning before his collapse on the final three holes. This tournament also was proven to be vital to the future of the US Ryder Cup team, as not only did Bryson and Keegan continue their bids for the team, but younger stars like Harris English showed why he should be looked at for a spot on the 12-man roster this fall. The next major will be hosted at Oakmont starting on June 12th, but with the Memorial in just a few weeks, the PGA tour is just hitting its stride, and off today shows anything, it’s that Scottie isn’t far away from giving us a repeat of 2024.
