Never in doubt. Never remotely in doubt. It was Scottie Scheffler: why on earth would it be?<\/p>\n
Anybody hoping for a keenly contested Open Sunday was to be sorely disappointed. Make that 10 times Scheffler has held a 54-hole lead and 10 times he has converted.<\/p>\n
Scheffler tugged his opening tee shot into the rough, triggering some sharp intakes of breath. The new champion\u2019s next act was to fire an iron to within a foot of the cup. \u00adScheffler enjoyed a sun\u2011kissed procession on the Dunluce Links. Had the R&A been so minded, it could have broken with tradition and handed over the Claret\u00a0Jug on the 5th tee. By that point, he was seven strokes clear.<\/p>\n
Scheffler does not bother with major jousting. Direct combat? No thanks. He four-putted the 72nd green at Augusta National in 2022 and still won by three<\/a>. The 2024 Masters was claimed by four<\/a>, the 2025 US PGA Championship by five<\/a>.<\/p>\n This triumph was by a quartet of shots when in reality it felt like so much more. Late on Sunday afternoon, the Old Tom Morris record from 1862 \u2013 he saw off a distraught Willie Park by 13 shots at Prestwick \u2013 appeared to be under threat. Scheffler missed back-nine chance after back-nine chance when it barely mattered.<\/p>\n A 68, Scheffler\u2019s joint-highest score of the competition, meant 17 under par as an aggregate. His family surrounded him on the 18th green, in the latest reminder that the world No\u00a01 does not particularly prioritise golf.<\/p>\n His understated brilliance and shunning of the spotlight is intriguing. Scheffler recognises he is excellent at golf but he is unwilling to be defined by that.<\/p>\n Harris English finished second overall but was unable to offer a real challenge to Scottie Scheffler for the Open title. Photograph: Pedro Salado\/Getty Images<\/p>\n The record books will show Harris English finished second and he is due high praise. It is just that Scheffler\u2019s imperious frontrunning distorted the tournament. English never had any prospect of winning. Chris Gotterup was not in the Open when arriving in North Berwick for its Scottish equivalent. Gotterup duly won there<\/a> last Sunday and reached 12 under par to secure third in Northern Ireland. What a wonderful sporting fairytale.<\/p>\n Scheffler does not need help. He received some courtesy of the fact this was another benign Portrush occasion. With that, the capacity for huge errors was limited. Scoring was noticeably low across the field. \u00adScheffler played his first five in three under. He whacked a bunker shot at the 8th into the face of the sand trap; a double bogey there was partly repaired with a straightforward birdie at the 9th. Those beneath him were scaling an ice wall in slippers. The R&A\u2019s engraver could get to work long before Scheffler reached his 72nd hole. There was an inevitability about the outcome which could only raise parallels with peak Tiger Woods.<\/p>\n skip past newsletter promotion<\/a><\/p>\n The best of our sports journalism from the past seven days and a heads-up on the weekend\u2019s action<\/p>\n Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy<\/a>. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy<\/a> and Terms of Service<\/a> apply.<\/p>\n after newsletter promotion<\/p>\n What a weird week for Wyndham Clark. It began with Oakmont Country Club informing members that Clark had been banned<\/a> from the premises after he inflicted grievous bodily harm on some lockers at the US Open<\/a> last month. \u00adPresumably others were ducking for cover as Clark shot a 76 on Thursday. His response, however, was admirable; Clark signed off with a 65 for 11 under and a fourth\u2011placed finish. He had Matt \u00adFitzpatrick and Li\u00a0Haotong for scoreboard company.<\/p>\n