CHARLOTTE, N.C. – One year ago, Scottie Scheffler was stuffed in the back of a squad car, charged with multiples crimes and stretched for his second-round tee time at the PGA Championship in a jail cell. Along with a mug shot in an orange jumpsuit that became a popular Halloween costume, Scheffler has two Green Jackets and now owns the Green Mile at Quail Hollow Club.
One year later, Scheffler took no prisoners in closing in even-par 71 to win the 107th PGA Championship by five strokes over Bryson DeChambeau, Harris English and Davis Riley on Sunday and collect his third major championship.
The world No. 1 went from locked up to locked in and at the tender age of 28 he joined Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus as just the third player to win three career majors and 15 PGA Tour titles.
Scheffler built a three-stroke lead heading into the final round with a dazzling 65 on Saturday, including playing the last five holes in 5 under.
“He’s in a spot where it would be shocking if he didn’t win today,” the 2024 PGA champion Xander Schauffele said.
Jon Rahm made things interesting after tying for the lead
What seemed to be an inevitable coronation ceremony in the Queen City as Scheffler stretched his lead to five strokes on the front nine got interesting as Rahm birdied three holes in a five-hole stretch. With Scheffler fighting his swing, missing left off several tees, he made bogeys at Nos. 6 and 9 and Rahm caught him with a birdie at 11.
Scottie Scheffler is in full command.
A 4-shot lead as he faces the Green Mile.#PGAChamp pic.twitter.com/cWu3KaNP18
— PGA Championship (@PGAChampionship) May 18, 2025
But Scheffler straightened out his driver and converted birdies at Nos. 10, 14 and 15. He played the latter two holes in a combined 9 under for the week, four better than DeChambeau and six better than Rahm.
Rahm showed why the Green Mile, the nickname for the three finishing holes, is so feared. The two-time major winner made bogey at 16 and then rinsed his tee shot at 17. He finished with consecutive double bogeys, signing for 2-over 73. Suddenly Scheffler’s lead had grown to five.
Two weeks earlier Scheffler won the CJ Cup Byron Nelson by eight strokes for his first victory of the season. Consider that since 1970, only one player ever won consecutive Tour starts both by at least 5 strokes. Tiger Woods did that twice – at the 2000 Memorial Tournament (won by 5) and U.S. Open (won by 15) and the 2007 Tour Championship (won by 8) and 2008 Buick Invitational (won by 8).
“Sometimes he makes the competition look like he’s just playing around with us, you know what I mean, which isn’t easy to do,” said Jason Day, a former world No. 1.
English, who shot a final-round best of 65, tied for second with DeChambeau, who said falling short will only make the fire in his belly glow stronger. Scheffler finished with a 72-hole total of 11-under 273.
“Golf is kind of an endless pursuit of getting the best out of yourself,” he said on Wednesday.
Scheffler made birdie or eagle after a bogey or worse six out of 10 times this week, the best rate in the field, and that as much as anything is why his name now is etched on the Wanamaker Trophy.