It’s up for interpretation. Did Scottie Scheffler survive a final day charge or did Jon Rahm collapse? Either way it’s the American who celebrates a third major title at the PGA Championship.
Scheffler, usually a bastion of ruthless excellence, wobbled early on in his final round, finding two fairways on his front nine as a two-over 37 opened the door for a challenger at Quail Hollow.
And up stepped Rahm, albeit briefly.
The Spaniard though, came unstuck and dropped five shots over the green mile on top of not birdieing the driveable par-4 14th and par-5 15th.
Scheffler put one hand on the Wanamaker Trophy with birdies at the 14th and 15th as Rahm fell away with a bogey on 16 and watery graves on 17 and 18 for a double, double finish.
There was a 45-minute period where the 107th PGA Championship went from the worst major in recent memory to a potential all timer but Rahm’s late collapse coupled with a steady Scheffler saw the world number one afforded the chance to bogey the last and shoot a level par 71 to claim a five-shot win over Harris English (65), Bryson DeChambeau (70) and Davis Riley (72) on 11 under par.
Scheffler left the door ajar heading into the back nine but shut it just as quickly with a closing stretch of 33.
“This is a special tournament. Any time you can win a major championship is pretty cool, and I’m proud of how I did this week just staying in it mentally and hitting the shots when I needed to.
“This back nine will be one that I remember for a long time. It was a grind out there. I think at one point on the front I maybe had a four- or five-shot lead, and making the turn, I think I was tied for the lead.
“So to step up when I needed to the most, I’ll remember that for a while.”
When the gauntlet was laid down to Scheffler by Rahm, whose challenge was lost by pars on 14 and 15, Scheffler made birdie on both those holes to take control once again.
In truth, an eagle, birdie stretch on those two holes on Saturday is what won Scheffler this major, but he stepped up again when called upon and could even afford a bogey on 18 such was his advantage.
Scottie started the day on eleven and even dropped to nine but nobody from the chasing pack could reach double figures.
“I always try to lean as much as I can on my mind. I think that’s probably my greatest strength. You know, like today and this week I really just feel like I did just such a good job of staying patient when I wasn’t swinging it my best but I hit the shots when I needed to.
“I hit the important shots well this week, and that’s why I’m walking away with the trophy. The shots on the golf course that are most important, those are the ones I feel like I did my best at this week and maybe at times out there, some of the easier ones maybe I lost a bit of focus or something but overall when I needed to, I feel like I hit the shots.”
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