Check in every week for the unfiltered opinions of our writers and editors as they break down the hottest topics in the sport, and join the conversation by tweeting us at @golf_com. This week, we discuss Scottie Scheffler’s dominant PGA Championship win, driver testing and more.
Scottie Scheffler cruised at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, shooting a final-round 71 to win the PGA Championship by five and claim his third major title and first non-Masters major. What was different about this one? And what did you learn about Scheffler this week?
Jack Hirsh, associate equipment editor (@JR_HIRSHey): It’s interesting because the winners of the first two majors of the year both won without the “A” games, which is really scary for the rest of professional golf. I feel like we’ve seen Scheffler win without his best stuff before, but not in major championships. This week, he really shown that clutch factor that has allowed him to stay perfect with 54-hole leads. I don’t think we talk enough about how outstanding his short game is and how he just doesn’t make mistakes when leading. He made every putt he needed to on 10, 14 and 16 when the tournament was still up for grabs. At some point, we have to acknowledge how simply inevitable he feels. That’s the kinda performance that really helps sell that he could end up as one of the greats.
Josh Sens, senior writer (@joshsens): Jack’s mention of “A” games seems apt, because Scheffler’s performance on Sunday called to mind a guy who used to use that term a lot. Whatever adjustment Scheffler made around the turn, after struggling on the front, it reminded me of Tiger Woods at the ‘97 Masters, when he struggled out of the gates and then shortened his swing, mid-round. Scheffler and Woods are different in all kinds of ways. But the mental toughness and talent it takes to make those kinds of adjustments on the fly–and to beat everyone when you’re not at your best–is a rare trait they share. This week at Quail Hollow hammered that point home.
Zephyr Melton, assistant editor (@zephyrmelton): Echoing my cohorts above, but this win felt gritty. His Masters wins were impressive because of how in control he looked. At Quail I was most impressed by his ability to manufacture low scores in spite of a swing that wasn’t quite cooperating. That’s what separates the good from the greats.
Josh Berhow, managing editor (@Josh_Berhow): This one wasn’t exactly that different from the other major wins since he was leading in all three, but it reiterated just how complete his game is. He has the talent to pull away and then also the mental game and steeliness to hang on to it and get it home. (Not counting that viral four-putt to win his first Masters.) He played the hardest three-hole stretch on the golf course perfectly despite not hitting some of his best shots. But that’s the key — he didn’t let it spiral. Short, safe shot out of the fairway bunker on 16. Putter from off the green. Safe shot right of the par-3 17th green. Approach away from water on 18. He’s now converted his last six 54-hole leads or co-leads. That’s not easy to do, even for someone with Scheffler’s talent.
Dylan Dethier, senior writer (@dylan_dethier): I guess what sticks out is that it felt pretty similar to a lot of his wins last year — it just came at a major championship. Scheffler’s ability to execute down the stretch every round on Quail Hollow’s “easy holes” at 14-15 and its brutal Green Mile finishing stretch meaningfully separated him from the field. He’s unbelievable.
Scheffler has now won his last two starts and joined Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus as the only players in the modern era to win 15 times on the PGA Tour before turning 29. Has he shown you enough to think his career trajectory can follow those two?
Hirsh: I said I think he could end up as one of the greats, but not quite at those guys’ levels. Woods was 24 when he won for the 15th time. Nicklaus was 25, while Scottie is three years older. Scheffler needs to win 56 of his next 110 starts to catch Woods’ win total by his 250th start. That’s not attainable. Now granted, Woods didn’t win nearly as much after he turned 34, but catching those guys just might be too hard when the parity in golf is so high right now. The last six majors have been won by the definitive four best players in the world. A lot of competition for those titles.
Sens: Comparing players and accomplishments from different eras is a slippery business. But I’m of the belief that it’s harder to win the big ones now. I don’t think Scheffler will match Jack’s major record, and he won’t be able to dominate as Tiger did—not with guys like Rory and Schauffele among others in the picture. But it seems pretty clear that he’ll be the next guy to win the career Grand Slam, and like Jack and Tiger before him, he stands to repeat that feat a couple of times. I don’t think we can say that about any other player of Scheffler’s generation, which is saying a lot.
Melton: He’s not going to ascend to that Tiger-Jack level (I think?) but he very well could be the most decorated player of his generation. I think another attainable summit will be taking the title of greatest Texan golfer of all time. He’s already surpassed Jordan Spieth, Tom Kite, Jackie Burke Sr. and Ben Crenshaw, but it’ll be fun to see if he can catch Ben Hogan, Byron Nelson and Lee Trevino by the end of his career.
Berhow: You could argue the stat mentioned in the question above is the exact evidence you need to prove he can follow their trajectory. Now, Tiger and Jack were a little younger when they hit that milestone, and I don’t see Scottie dominating as much as Tiger did year to year, but I can totally see him dominating more than any golfer we’ve seen since Tiger’s prime. He proved that last year winning nine times (seven officially), and now he’s got two in his last two starts. It’s going to be a fun summer.
Dethier: I’ll bail on the premise of the question here but it’s just fun to have another guy who has us asking those questions. As the saying goes, though: lot of golf left.
A much-discussed topic at the PGA was … driver testing? The USGA said it tested one-third of the field at the PGA Championship, and it was reported that Rory McIlroy’s driver failed the test. (McIlroy had a different head in play but didn’t speak to the media after any round; no governing body confirmed or denied the report that McIlroy’s driver failed the test.) McIlroy hit just 46.43 percent of his fairways this week. Scheffler, who said Sunday his driver failed before the tournament, said, “We need to be even more robust in the way we test them.” What do you make of the driver-testing storyline that dominated the week?
Hirsh: If everyone knows that they’re going to be tested, then bad-actors would just able to carry a head they want to test and then switch it for the event. Not saying anyone would do that, but the fact that they could makes it dicey. The thing that needs to change is the secrecy so that people better understand how often this happens (it happens a fair amount!). I’m sure the OEMs have a hand in making sure the USGA doesn’t release names of players who fail as, without the proper context of how often this happens with pro golfers given their precision and swing speed could damage their brand. Fine, but let’s at least release the results of the testing without names. That way people can see that a few drivers don’t pass muster each week, but no OEM gets unnecessary flack for having so many drivers not pass in a given week (which doesn’t mean anything anyway).
Sens: I understand that there are economic and political considerations, but why have a test if you’re not going to apply it equally across the board. If non-conforming equipment is a concern, then figure out a way to make sure no one’s using it. I’m not sure I understand completely why that’s so hard.
Melton: “Driver-gate” was a big ole nothing-burger propagated by a bunch of disingenuous social media accounts looking to discount Rory’s Masters win. These sorts of things happen all the time. I can get on board with a rule that requires every player to have their driver tested each week, but so far as Rory’s situation goes, it was nothing out of the ordinary, save for him skipping media after all four rounds. Not the best look there.
Berhow: Covered pretty thoroughly above. I think something that could have been diffused quite easily was given legs that lasted until Sunday night. Seems … unnecessary? And yes, testing 1/3 of the field seems off. I don’t understand all the logistics that go into it and maybe it’s time-consuming, but it seems like a logical decision to just test them all and not have to deal with this.
Dethier: To me the most interesting part of this story is whether McIlroy’s replacement head was to blame for his subpar driving the first couple rounds — and the fact that he was never a factor in this tournament. The rest? A lot of meh. More transparency, for sure.
Quail Hollow Club, the usual host of the Wells Fargo Championship (now Truist), hosted the PGA for the first time since Justin Thomas won it there in 2017. The Charlotte course also took its share of criticism prior to the tournament kicking off. Fair or foul? What do you think of Quail Hollow as a major test?
Hirsh: Very fair! Not only does this course host a PGA Tour event every year at the same time of year as this event, I also can’t describe any holes outside of the last five. It’s a good golf course that I would love to play, but I just don’t think it provided a true major championship test. Yea it was hard, but too many balls got caught up in rough around ponds. Not that I wanna see carnage in a PGA Championship like a U.S. Open, but I feel like the difference between a major and a Tour event is that you can’t get away with bad shots.
Sens: With very few exceptions–Pebble and Riviera come to mind–regular host courses of PGA Tour events don’t make the most compelling major championship venues. Quail Hollow is no exception. For all the reasons that players and online pundits have griped about this week.
Melton: Agree with all above. It sucks a bit of the juice out of the early week when we know exactly what to expect from the course heading in. It provides a fine “major test,” but the over-exposure from seeing it every May makes for a very lackluster PGA Championship host.
Berhow: I think Pebble Beach and probably even Riviera are outliers where they can host regular Tour stops and majors, but I like major venues to be unique and almost somewhat mysterious to give your average golf fan something to be excited about (i.e. Oakmont next month). It’s a great course, but I’d like to see majors find homes we see less often.
Dethier: Agreed on the Tour crossover being bad. Can I add a word of praise for Quail, though? The finishing stretch of two birdie holes and three brutes means a lot of variance and creates the potential for a dramatic conclusion — and good TV. Scottie’s finish on Saturday (spectacular) and Bryson’s Saturday finish plus Rahm’s Sunday finish (less than spectacular) were prime evidence, even if the final score was a massive blowout.
We’ve officially reached the midway point of the major season. Whose stock are you buying and whose are you selling for the U.S. Open and Open Championship?
Hirsh: Buying Scheffler, I don’t care how much it costs. He had a slow start to the year and I think his over/under for the season is now 4.5. He’s got two more venues coming up he won at last year and he’s finished in the top-3 at Colonial the last three years. Selling Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson and Cam Smith. Aside from Brooks at the ‘23 Masters and PGA, these guys have not been the same world beaters they were before.
Sens: Buying Scheffler for sure. And Xander Schauffele — he hasn’t been in top form since coming back from injury. And still holding Bryson, who now makes a habit of being in the mix. He hasn’t played up to his standards since coming back from injury, but there have been enough flashes to make me think it’s just a matter of time. I like him at a brute of a course like Oakmont, where patience will be so key. Selling Patrick Cantlay, whose performances in the majors are hard to figure.
Melton: Buying Scottie (duh), Bryson, Rahm, Rory, etc. Selling DJ, Phil, Spieth, Wyndham and maybe some others. This was a weird week pre-cut considering the mudballs, but some of these guys have been playing poorly in the majors well before, so it’s easier to judge.
Berhow: Buying J.T. Poston, who picked up his first major top 10 and has piled up a ton of really solid but not outstanding finishes this season. He’s close to winning more. Also buying Bryson. Selling Dustin Johnson and Michael Block.
Dethier: Buying Xander, as always — he’s back to underrated. Buying Rahm. And buying Davis Riley. Wondering what’s going on with JT at majors, though.
Who won the PGA Championship without winning the PGA Championship?
Hirsh: The Charlotte Police Department and Karma. The police for not arresting the World No. 1 this year. Karma for giving Scheffler what he probably would have won last year had the Louisville PD not intervened in 2024 and sent his adrenaline to the moon.
Sens: JT Poston and Davis Riley would like to have a word. I’d also throw in Keegan Bradley. If he didn’t make an unassailable case that he should be a player captain in the Ryder Cup, he didn’t take his name out of the running either.
Melton: Rahm’s late collapse notwithstanding, I gotta go with him. He’s struggled in the majors the last couple years, but it was fun to have him in the mix late on Sunday. Looking forward to (hopefully) seeing him in contention at the majors regularly again.
Berhow: Davis Riley made an 8 on a par-5 — which is kinda like making a 9 to these guys — and played the next 11 holes in three under without a bogey to snag his first major top 10. Also, Bennett Scheffler.
Dethier: Harris English played his way from nowhere to runner up on Sunday; other than Scottie, tough to think of anybody leaving property happier
