The leaderboard at the 2025 PGA Championship may not have been stacked with stars early on, but by Sunday afternoon, the biggest names in the game were trading haymakers.
In the end, it was Scottie Scheffler who landed the final blows.
The World No. 1 shot a final-round 71 to win the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, N.C., by five. It’s his third major title and first non-Masters major win.
Scheffler, the 54-hole leader, made the turn at Quail Hollow during the final round still atop the leaderboard, but for the first time all day, he was not alone. With three birdies over a four-hole stretch in the middle of the round, Jon Rahm tied the lead.
These two titans were far from the only big names in contention. Major winners Bryson DeChambeau, Matthew Fitzpatrick and Keegan Bradley all made their presence known at various points throughout the final round, while the likes of Harris English, J.T. Poston and Davis Riley made charges for the first major titles of their own.
Although despite the lopsided margin of victory, the win was anything but easy.
With a consistent left miss off the tee plaguing him for the entirety of the front nine, Scheffler carded three bogeys and just one birdie as he posted two over at the halfway point. Meanwhile, Rahm made birdies at Nos. 8, 10 and 11 to reach nine under and tie for the lead.
“I just kept hitting it left,” Scheffler said. “I knew it was going to be a challenging day. Finishing off a major championship is always difficult.”
What once looked like a coronation for Scheffler was all of the sudden a dog fight. But as he has done so many times before, the Texan made key adjustments on the back nine and took control of the championship.
Scheffler righted the ship with a birdie on the par-5 10th and then began leaning on what he does best: hitting fairways and greens. He continued his steady play over the next three holes, making comfortable pars on each, and then added birdies at Nos. 14 and 15 to reach 12 under and pull away from the field for good.
“I didn’t have my best stuff, but I kept myself in it,” he said. “I stepped up on the back nine and had a really good nine holes.”
Simultaneously, those ahead of him were given fits by the difficult closing stretch known as the Green Mile.
Rahm, who at one point was tied for the lead, imploded over the final trio of holes, playing them in five-over par, while DeChambeau was one over. And with the rest of the contenders stuck in neutral, Scheffler’s lead stretched to six. By the time he reached the 18th tee, the engraving of the Wannamaker trophy could officially begin.
With his victory at Quail Hollow, Scheffler becomes just the third player since World War II to win three majors and 15 Tour titles by the age of 29, joining Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus. Additionally, Scheffler joined Woods and Nicklaus as just the third player to win multiple Players Championships, the Masters and the PGA.
“It was a real team effort this week,” Scheffler said. “I’m proud of the whole squad and I’m looking forward to celebrating this one.”
