Around two million people are in prison in the US, which is a staggering statistic, and many believe that the criminal justice system in the country simply doesn’t work. Which may seem like a strange way to begin an article about the US PGA Championship but bear with us!
Perhaps, in a roundabout way, Scottie Scheffler’s victory at Quail Hollow on Sunday the 18th of May was proof that maybe, just maybe, the system does work after all. Twelve months ago, as many will remember, the world number one was arrested ahead of his second round at Valhalla… and just now look at him! OK, we jest, but Scheffler wrongly being led away in handcuffs and having his mugshot taken in an orange jumpsuit and spending a little time in a jail cell all seems a long time ago now.
He recovered from the shock of that incident to shoot a 66 in the second round but a 73 in the third meant he could do no better than a tie for eighth, despite closing with a 65. He gave a comic nod to the surreal events of 2024 when he began his 2025 tournament wearing orange, but things went a whole lot smoother this year.
Strange Times
For all that Scheffler has seemed to serenely dominate the world of golf and perform at a level only ever really seen before by Tiger Woods, his arrest (and subsequent release without charge) was not he only strange thing to happen to him of late. On Christmas Day last year, he suffered a freak hand injury whilst rolling out pasta dough for ravioli using a wine glass!
Arrest and ravioli-based hospitalisation are perhaps things we wouldn’t be too surprised to hear about from a player like John Daly but for these surreal twists to happen to Scheffler made them all the more strange. He required surgery on his hand to remove shards of glass, and this meant he missed a number of tournaments at the start of 2025.
He was able to return for the AT&T at Pebble Beach, where he returned with an instant top-10 finish. He was then tied 25th at the Phoenix Open, had a top three at the Genesis but then tied for 11th and 20th at the Arnold Palmer and Players respectively. For most golfers on the planet these would be solid enough results but for the world number one they represented a marked drop in standards from the previous two years or so of magisterial golf.
But since then there have been signs that the US supremo has been getting back to his best. And having absolutely romped to victory at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson at the start of the month, where he won by a yawning eight shots shooting a record-breaking 31 under par, he landed his third major by winning the 2025 US PGA Championship by five shots.
Scheffler Shows Rory Still not Top Dog
Rory McIlroy has a career Grand Slam to his name and five majors in total, whereas Scottie has only landed two of the big four and three overall. But despite that, the American has produced a level of golf over the past three years or so that Rory has not been able to sustain for anything like the same period.
To some degree that is illustrated by the fact that Scheffler has spent longer at number one in the world rankings than his rival, despite being far younger. He has now enjoyed that position unbroken for over two years, having first ascended to the top of the pile in March 2022. That he was able to hold onto his position despite injury and subsequent comeback shows just how far ahead he was and based on recent performances Rory and the rest will struggle to reel him in.
The 100-week club. 🤝
There are only four players to spend more than 100 weeks at World No. 1.
Scottie Scheffler needs 14 more weeks to join them. pic.twitter.com/tn0DuHTV8r
— Golf Digest (@GolfDigest) March 8, 2024
Prior to victory at the Byron Nelson, Scheffler had finished T8, T4 (at the Masters) and T2, so the signs were certainly there. And at Quail Hollow, a course famously much loved by McIlroy, he showed that his incredible scoring at the Byron Nelson was not going to be a one-off. Of course, he didn’t shoot a crazy score in the US PGA Championship and nor did he win by as many as eight shots. What’s more, the eventual five-shot margin was far less comfortable than it looks.
But even so, Scheffler got the job done, and did so despite, like Rory, having to use a new driver after his original was deemed in breach of the regulations (not as big a deal as it might sound). He also won without really ever quite being at his best.
Eases to Victory
Scheffler was placed in a dream-team trio alongside McIlroy and defending champion Xander Schauffele for the first two rounds. That meant the top three in the world rankings would play their opening 36 holes together but in truth things were a little anticlimactic, at least on Thursday.
Rory began with a 74, Schauffele a 72, and Scheffler a 69, but none of them played particularly well. Scottie only dipped under par thanks to birdies on two of his last three holes. A 68 on Friday saw him move into contention though but on moving day, he made a real move, late on.
Making something of a mockery of the difficulty of the closing holes, including the famous “Green Mile”, he played the final five in five under. That included an eagle on the 14th and birdies on the incredibly testing 17th and 18th. His 65 saw him surge into the lead and he held a three-shot advantage over Swede Alex Noren. With Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau the only big guns among the chasing pack, and that pair five and six shots adrift respectively, it was hard to see past the leader closing things out.
However, Scheffler went to the turn in two over to give the field at least a little hope. Rahm had made steady progress, eight pars and a birdie getting him to the turn in 34, before birdies on 10 and 11 took him to nine under and level with the world’s best player. However, where Rahm imploded, Scottie did what Scottie does.
The LIV player contrived to shoot 5-5-6 on the Green Mile, playing the three final holes in five over. That would leave him down in eighth, despite being the only player who ever threatened Scheffler on the Sunday. As for the eventual champ, he birdied 14 and 15 to steady the ship and closed with par, par, bogey, which proved more than good enough. He now has top-10 finishes in 13 of his last 17 majors, with seven of those top fives. Onto the US Open we go!