Scottie Scheffler joins elite company with hard-fought PGA Championship win

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Scottie Scheffler is a quiet man whose results and game do plenty of talking. That’s what happens when you’re No. 1 in the world. The body of work over the last 18 months or so? More impressive than anyone in the game. 

So, when Scheffler, the reigning PGA Tour Player of the Year, slammed his white Nike hat on the 18th green after winning the 2025 PGA Championship at Quail Hollow Club, it really — really — showed how much this win meant to him. 

“I felt like this was as hard as I battled for a tournament in my career,” Scheffler said. 

Scheffler shot an even-par 71 Sunday to win the Wanamaker Trophy by five shots over a trio of golfers, including Bryson DeChambeau, Harris English and Davis Riley. He came into the week having set the PGA Tour scoring record at his last event, an incredible 31-under four-round effort, and is just the second golfer in 40 years to win back-to-back titles by at least five shots. 

It was an uncharacteristic start for Scheffler, who bogeyed three of his first nine holes and made the turn tied for the lead with Jon Rahm. Although he was first in strokes gained: tee to green overall, he was 34th in that stat on Sunday — by far his single worst ball-striking effort for the week. But a little self-talk and some serious bounce-back on the second nine and Scheffler was, well, Scheffler again. 

He became just the second golfer in history over the last century to win each of his first three majors by three or more strokes. 

The bounce-back statistic was key for Scheffler through the week, as 10 times at the 2025 PGA Championship, he made a bogey or worse, but 60 per cent of the time, he made a birdie on the very next hole. The field average in bounce-back was only 17 per cent. 

“I always try to lean as much as I can on my mind. I think that's probably my greatest strength,” Scheffler said. “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.”

With that PGA Championship trophy now added to his major shelf, he is only the second golfer in history — after Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus — to now own two Masters, two Players Championships, and a PGA. 

Scheffler also joins Woods (24) and Nicklaus (25) as the youngest trio to win three majors and 15 PGA Tour events since World War II. He doesn’t look it, but Scheffler is just 28. 

“If you just watched him from a distance and how he handles himself and how he works, he works very diligently. He separates himself from the outcome. The way he plays is a by-product of a lot of other things that people don’t see,” said Sam Burns, who is Scheffler’s best friend. “His practice and how good shape he is in — that flies under the radar a little bit. When it’s time to go play, he can go play freely and he’s ready to go.” 

The key stretch through Sunday afternoon came on Nos. 14-15. Scheffler made birdie on both, but Rahm — who was 3 under through 11 — lipped out a birdie try from seven feet on 14 and from 12 feet on 15. He then had a horrific close on the three most difficult holes on the course, going bogey-double-double on Nos. 16-18. 

Rahm was tied for the lead after his birdie on 11 but finished seven back. 

“It was really close. God, it's been a while since I had that much fun on a golf course, 15 holes,” Rahm said. “If there's ever a time where it felt like it was slipping away to an extent, it was not birdieing 14 and 15; that was definitely the mistake, before, obviously, finishing poorly.”

DeChambeau was also in the mix after making the turn and missed a few key putts down the stretch. He made birdie on Nos. 14 and 15, but it was too little, too late. He bogeyed No. 18 to fall into that tie for second. 

First-round leader Jhonattan Vegas was a shot further back at 5 under alongside North Carolina native J.T. Poston and Canadian Taylor Pendrith, who notched his best-career result at a major. It was the first time in 20 years (Mike Weir at the Masters in 2005) that a Canadian finished in the top 5 at a men’s major. 

Although the winner Sunday night was not all that surprising, this PGA Championship did feel a little different from the jump. 

The golf course was deemed by the best in the world as everything from one-dimensional to boring. It’s an annual stop on the PGA Tour, so there wasn’t much majesty to it, either. Then it was soaked through after wet weather early in the week. Then six of the world’s top-10 golfers missed the cut, with defending champion Xander Schauffele and Masters winner Rory McIlroy making it on the number. 

And then it was reported McIlroy’s driver failed standardized testing done by the United States Golf Association at every PGA Tour event and he had to bag a last-minute replacement. McIlroy is the best driver in the game, but hit less than 50 per cent of his fairways for the week. He did not speak to media after any round this week. 

Quail Hollow did, however, identify the best in the world as its champion — and there’s not much more you can ask for. 

This year, of course, marked the one-year anniversary from when Scheffler was arrested on his way into the PGA Championship in Louisville. Charges were dropped and Scheffler would go on to finish tied for eighth. Perhaps this year, there was some divine intervention. The golf gods are not known to owe anyone anything — but maybe they made an exception for Scottie Scheffler. 

“Last year, sometimes, it still doesn't almost feel real. It really doesn't. It's just one of those deals that I really don't know how to describe it,” Scheffler said. “But I can tell you it's very sweet sitting here with the trophy this year.”