One year ago, during last year’s PGA Championship, Scottie Scheffler found himself in the back of a police car. This year, Scottie found himself in the winners circle, from jail to winning at Quail.
Scottie Scheffler clinched his third major victory at the 2025 PGA Championship, held at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, North Carolina. With a commanding performance all week that led to some deeming a Scottie win as “inevitable”, Scheffler finished at 11-under 273, securing a five-stroke lead over Bryson DeChambeau, Harris English, and Davis Riley.
This victory not only marked his third major trophy but also placed him among golf's elite, joining Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods as the only golfers since 1950 to win at least 15 PGA Tour tournaments before the age of 29.
“I felt like this was as hard as I battled for a tournament in my career,” said Scheffler. “I can tell you it's very sweet sitting here with the trophy this year.”
Masters winner and presumptive favorite coming into the week, Rory McIlroy's tournament was marred by equipment issues and missed fairways. His primary driver, the TaylorMade Qi10, was ruled non-conforming after failing USGA tests, forcing him to switch to a backup model. Despite expressing confidence in his driving performance leading up to the event, McIlroy struggled throughout the tournament, finishing at 3-over par and outside the top 40.
Additionally, he declined to speak to the media for the fourth consecutive day, a decision that drew criticism from CBS reporter Amanda Balionis, who praised Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau for their willingness to engage with the press after narrowly losing to Scheffler.
Jon Rahm, representing LIV Golf, began the final round five strokes off the lead and made a strong charge early on Sunday. However, his momentum faltered on the back nine with multiple bogey holes after tying Scheffler at 9 under, leading to a significant drop in the standings. Rahm's performance has been a topic of discussion, with some attributing his decline to adjustments in his swing rather than the transition to LIV Golf.
Scheffler's dominant performance at Quail Hollow has solidified his position as the leading figure in modern golf. As he continues to build on this success, the rivalry between Scheffler and Rahm, despite their limited head-to-head encounters due to the PGA Tour and LIV Golf divide, remains a compelling storyline for the rest of the year with the Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black looming later this summer.
