SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER picked up the gauntlet thrown down by Masters winner Rory McIlroy, with a USPGA triumph that re-established the American as golf’s dominant force.
Scheffler, 28, saw off a determined challenge from to romp home by five shots, and secure Major victory No 3, following his Masters triumphs in 2022 and 2024.
This win followed an eight-shot victory in his previous outing in Dallas, and the freak injury that prompted a slow start to 2025 – Scheffler sliced his hand open when a wine glass he was using to cut pasta shattered – is becoming a distant memory.
But at first it looked like Scheffler had picked up ’s dodgy driver instead, as a dreadful driving display on the front nine threatened to wreck the world No 1’s title bid.
He , with a fiery Rahm showing the talk of him going ‘soft’ since his £400 million was way off the mark.
But when Scheffler surged again, the Spaniard was forced to take a few risks – and after stumbling to his first bogey on 16 he found water on 17, and his double bogey allowed Scheffler to coast home.
But before that, former Masters and US Open champion Rahm had shown enough to suggest it should not be long before also bags a third Major.
Luke Donald said at the start of the week he had not given the Spaniard any guarantees that he would be in the team in September.
The European captain should pick up the phone this morning and end any doubt on that score.
Scheffler set out with a three-shot lead at 11 under par, aiming to pick up where he left off 24 hours earlier, when he played the final five holes in five under par.
It did not turn out that way, as he bogeyed the first hole despite smashing a drive down the fairway – the only time he found the short stuff on a ragged front nine.
But he made a 15-footer for birdie to get that shot back, and after a couple of gritty par saves he must have been shocked when he looked up at the scoreboard walking off the fifth green to see himself FIVE clear of the pack.
Playing partner Alex Noren dropped two shots in the first four holes, and with Major champions Rahm and unable to get anything going over the opening stretch, it looked like developing into a procession.
But Scheffler was missing everything to the left off the tee on the front nine.
It caught up with him as he bogeyed the sixth and ninth holes, and failed to take advantage of seven and eight, two of the easiest holes on the course.
Rahm opened with a run of seven pars, but the fact that he was actually gaining ground on the world No 1 seemed to ignite something.
He birdied three of the next four holes, and at nine under par he was suddenly sharing the lead.
The question now was whether the shaky Scheffler could regroup.
The Texan is rightly renowned for his resilience, and he got his nose back in front with a much-needed birdie at the par-five tenth. And further birdies followed at 14 and 15.
That shifted the pressure back onto Rahm, and it proved too much.
His late stumble handed second place to journeyman J.T. Poston.
But once again, Scheffler proved he is in a class of his own.
This year’s PGA Championship has an overall purse of $19million [£14.3m], a new record, while Scheffler will take home $3.42m [£2.5m].
