The Open: Scottie Scheffler cruises to major win a...

Scottie Scheffler claimed a fourth main title and accomplished a 3rd leg of the profession Grand Slam by cruising to a dominant four-shot victory at The Open.

The world No 1 took a four-shot lead into the ultimate day at Royal Portrush and shortly asserted additional management by making three birdies in his first 5 holes, with Scheffler reaching the flip 5 forward regardless of a double-bogey on the par-four eighth.

Scheffler added yet another birdie to shut out a three-under 68 and finish the week on 17 underneath, along with his victory – following his PGA Championship success in Could – now giving him the prospect to finish the profession Grand Slam subsequent June on the US Open.

The 29-year-old completed comfortably forward of Harris English, who carded his second main runner-up end of the season after a final-round 66, with final week’s Genesis Scottish Open winner Chris Gotterup an extra shot again in third.

Wyndham Clark shared fourth place alongside Matt Fitzpatrick and Haotong Li, as Rory McIlroy’s bid for a historic victory on residence soil led to a share of seventh with defending champion Xander Schauffele and Robert MacIntyre.

How Scheffler closed out one other dominant main victory

Scheffler fired his strategy from the left tough to tap-in vary and matched Li’s birdie on the par-four first, whereas a par on the par-five subsequent was sufficient to extend his result in 5 when his taking part in accomplice made bogey.

Li discovered a fairway bunker off the tee and bogeyed the par-four fourth, the place Scheffler transformed from seven toes to go seven clear, with each gamers choosing up a shot on the subsequent to place the chasing pack additional behind.

Scheffler holed a 15-foot birdie on the fifth and transformed from comparable distances for par over his subsequent two holes, retaining him six clear, solely to provide the sector a lifeline when he took two makes an attempt out of a fairway bunker on his method a double-bogey on the eighth.

It quickly minimize Scheffler’s result in 4 after Gotterup made three birdies on his solution to attain the flip in 33, however the world No 1 replied with a five-foot birdie on the ninth to achieve the flip with a five-stroke buffer.

That grew to become six when Li bogeyed the tenth, whereas Gotterup cancelled out a dropped shot on the eleventh with back-to-back birdies to reclaim solo second, as Scheffler responded to a missed birdie probability on the tenth by making an eight-foot birdie on the twelfth.

Scheffler squandered 10-foot birdie probabilities on the thirteenth and sixteenth but it surely made little impression on the consequence, even when English adopted a long-range eagle on the twelfth by birdieing two of his three holes and leaping to 13 underneath.

The pre-tournament favorite safely negotiated the ultimate two holes in pars to shut out one other thrilling victory, the place he grew to become the primary world No 1 to win The Open since Tiger Woods defended his title in 2006.

It’s the tenth consecutive that Scheffler has closed out a 54-hole lead and is his seventeenth PGA Tour title in simply over three and a half years, with Scheffler now having the prospect to finish the profession Grand Slam – on his thirtieth birthday – subsequent June on the US Open.

McIlroy – additionally chasing a second main win of the season – reached the flip in 34 however noticed his hopes derailed with a double-bogey on the par-four tenth, with the world No 2 including two birdies late in his spherical to finish the week seven pictures behind Scheffler.

Bryson DeChambeau carded a round-of-the-day 64 to share tenth spot with Corey Conners, Russell Henley and 2023 champion Brian Harman, whereas English quarter Tommy Fleetwood, John Parry, Justin Rose and Tyrrell Hatton have been a part of a share of sixteenth place on seven underneath.

McIlroy leads tributes to ‘totally different stage’ Scheffler

Scottie Scheffler (-17), talking to Sky Sports activities: “It [winning] is a reasonably particular feeling, it was a tricky week, I battled onerous. I performed some actually good golf and am lucky to be holding the trophy.

“I used to get up early to observe this match on TV, hoping and dreaming that I might get an opportunity to play in it. To be right here with the trophy, it’s onerous to place into phrases.”

Rory McIlroy (-10), talking to Sky Sports activities: “I am actually happy with my week. I want I had have been nearer to Scottie going into in the present day and been capable of make an actual push. However he is been on a distinct stage all week and he is been on a distinct stage for the final two years to the remainder of us.

He’s the bar that we’re all making an attempt to get to at this level, so hats off to him. He is an unbelievable participant, an unbelievable champion and an ideal individual too.”

Extra to observe..

What’s subsequent?

The PGA Tour heads to Minnesota for the 3M Open, beginning on Thursday at TPC Twin Cities, whereas the following DP World Tour occasion is the Nero Championship in Scotland from August 7-10.

The Senior Open begins on Thursday at Sunningdale, earlier than the ladies’s main season concludes with the AIG Ladies’s Open from July 31-August 3 at Royal Porthcawl. Stream the PGA Tour, majors and more top sport with no contract.

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