Scottie Scheffler Looked Human For A Bit At The PGA Championship, But The Golf Robot Ultimately Got It Done

Entering the final round, the world's # 1 golfer Scottie Scheffler had a three-shot lead over the field and appeared poised to cruise to his third major victory. Except, Jon Rahm had other ideas. 

Rahm came into the final round five shots behind Scheffler, but the fellow two-time major champion started to come alive towards the end of his front nine – at the same time, Scheffler started to show signs of being a human being rather than a golfing robot. 

Rahm made all pars through his first seven holes before making birdie on 8, 10 and 11. Scheffler looked shaky early and ended up two-over on his first nine holes. Just like that, Rahm had come roaring back from five shots down to tie the world's best golfer at the top of the leaderboard. No other player made a serious charge in the final round. 

But the tie didn't last long. Scheffler came back with a birdie on 10 to wrestle the lead back from Rahm, who missed golden opportunities to make birdie on 12, 13, 14 and 15 – instead making all pars. On 13, Rahm had a brutal lip-out on what looked like a fantastic putt. On 14, he got one of the worst bounces you'll ever see. 

But everyone knows that tournaments at Quail Hollow – the site of this year's PGA Championship – are decided on the final three holes, which are known as "The Green Mile." 

Rahm headed to the final stretch at 9-under, one shot back of Scheffler. But the Spaniard hooked his tee shot into the left rough and hit his approach into a greenside bunker just as Scheffler was sinking a birdie putt on the 14th hole to increase his lead back to two. 

Rahm ultimately made bogey on 16 and the only thing left that could stop Scottie Scheffler from winning the PGA Championship would be Scottie Scheffler. He didn't become the world's #1 golfer by beating himself very often, and he certainly wasn't going to start on Sunday. 

Scottie Scheffler survived a tough stretch during the final round of the PGA Championship to win his third career major and now has his sights set on the career Grand Slam.

( Aaron Doster/Imagn Images)

It also didn't hurt that Rahm completely melted down with a double-bogey on the 17th hole, pretty much ending any hope that anyone had not named Scottie Scheffler. 

Scottie Scheffler is now a three-time major champion, finally winning a major that wasn't The Masters. The former Texas Longhorn won the green jacket at Augusta in both 2022 and 2024, but had come up just short at the other majors prior to this weekend. He previously had runner-up finishes at both the PGA (2022) and the U.S. Open (2023). 

Rory McIlroy finally got the monkey off his back, completing the career Grand Slam with a win at The Masters last month. Scheffler is now halfway there, and it's possible for him to complete it this year. He would have to win both the U.S. Open and The Open later this summer, but don't count out the best player in the world.