PGA Championship talking points: Scheffler wins third major, Rahm fades away and McIlroy fails driver test

World No 1 Scottie Scheffler captured his third major title on Sunday, outdueling Jon Rahm down the back nine in the final round at Quail Hollow to win the PGA Championship by five strokes.

Scheffler, the 2022 and 2024 Masters champion, became the 10th consecutive American to win the PGA Championship, firing a level-par 71 to finish on 11-under and defeat countrymen Harris English, Davis Riley and Bryson DeChambeau, tied for second on six under.

Rahm, who at one point had a share of the lead at nine under, stumbled to a 73 to share eighth after a bogey at 16 and double bogeys at 17 and 18 left him four under for the tournament.

Scheffler, 28, took home a $3.42 million top prize from a record $19 million purse.

He also matched Spanish legend Seve Ballesteros as the only players in the past century to win their first three majors by at least three shots.

Scheffler squandered a five-stroke edge, Rahm briefly tying him for the lead, but a birdie at the par-five 10th lifted Scheffler back in front to stay.

The Texan took control with birdies at 14 and 15 while Rahm's closing woes secured the Wanamaker Trophy, his first major win outside of Augusta National.

"I did a good job staying patient on the front nine. I didn't have my best stuff," Scheffler said. "I stepped up on the back nine and got it done."

He added: “This back nine will be one that I remember for a long time. It was a grind out there. I think at one point on the front I maybe had a four or five-shot lead, and making the turn, I think I was tied for the lead.

“So to step up when I needed to the most, I’ll remember that for a while.”

After suffering a right hand injury last December, Scheffler only won his first title of the year two weeks ago at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson.

The major victory was Scheffler's 15th career PGA Tour triumph, all in a span of three years and 94 days, with Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods the only players to hit the mark faster.

Scheffler, whose nine titles in 2024 included Paris Olympic gold, converted his eighth consecutive 54-hole lead into a victory.

He began the day with a three-stroke lead over Sweden's Alex Noren, who quickly fell back with bogeys, and stretched the margin as high as five. But Scheffler struggled with tee shots fading left as Rahm made his charge.

"I just kept hitting it left," Scheffler said. "It was a battle out there."

At the first, Scheffler found a greenside bunker and missed a six-foot par putt. Scheffler curled in a 14-foot birdie putt at the second, but he missed a 10-foot par putt at the sixth while Rahm birdied the eighth from four feet and added a tap-in birdie at the par-five 10th.

When Scheffler made bogey at nine, Rahm followed with a 15-foot birdie putt at 11 to share the lead.

Scheffler reclaimed the lead with a nine-foot birdie putt at the 10th while Rahm missed a 14-foot birdie putt at 12 and a seven-footer for birdie at 14.

Rahm missed a 36-foot eagle putt at the par-five 15th from just off the green, then missed a 12-foot birdie putt coming back.

Scheffler found a greenside bunker at 14 but blasted out to seven feet and made the birdie putt for a two-stroke edge. At 16, Rahm found a bunker and blasted to 14 feet but missed his par putt for a bogey to fall three adrift and a late fade ensured Scheffler's victory.

Jon Rahm walks off the 18th green after coming up short down the back nine at Quail Hollow. AFP

Rahm 'embarrassed' by finish

Spaniard Rahm started the final round of the PGA Championship five strokes behind Scheffler and finished it seven shots adrift of the champion.

The two-time major champion had a horrendous stretch along the Green Mile – dropping five shots in the tough closing three holes, including a tee shot into the water at the 17th – to finish on 2-over 73 to tie for eighth at 4-under par.

“Am I embarrassed a little bit about how I finished today? Yeah,” Rahm said. “But I just need to get over it, get over myself. It’s not the end of the world. It’s not like I’m a doctor or a first responder, where somebody if they have a bad day, truly bad things happen. I’ll get over it. I’ll move on."

Rahm, the 2021 US Open and 2023 Masters champion, captured the 2024 season crown in the LIV Golf League, but has not won a title this season in the Saudi-backed series.

Majors remain the only place where top PGA Tour and LIV stars compete.

As much as Rahm enjoyed contending in another major, he was bitterly disappointed with the way he finished, calling it a tough pill to swallow.

"Pretty fresh wound right now," Rahm said. "But there's been a lot of good happening this week and a lot of positive feelings to take for the rest of the year."

Rahm said he felt the Wanamaker Trophy slipping from his grasp when he failed to birdie either of the relatively easy 14th or 15th holes.

"I think it was a bit of nerves," he said.

Rory McIlroy left North Carolina without speaking to reporters. AFP

McIlroy fails driver test ... Scheffler too

Rory McIlroy left the PGA Championship without a single word to the media on Sunday, leaving the golf world none the wiser as to the details of the reported failure of his driver to pass a conforming test earlier in the week.

SiriusXM PGA Tour Radio first reported on Friday that McIlroy had been forced to switch to a different driver after his favorite TaylorMade weapon was deemed non-conforming in a test conducted on Tuesday.

For all the attention the Northern Irishman received for his driver failing to pass inspection, Scheffler added a surprising wrinkle after he won. His driver failed the test, too.

It added to context badly missing in the original report. The PGA of America said it routinely and randomly asks the USGA to test driver heads to make sure the constant shots have not made the faces too thin to exceed limits of a trampoline effect.

The PGA of America said one-third of the 156-man field had their drivers test. That included the eventual winner, Scheffler, who wasn't surprised by the result of the test.

“My driver did fail me this week. We had a feeling that it was going to be coming because I’ve used that driver for over a year. I was kind of fortunate for it to last that long,” Scheffler said.

Random testing occurs routinely on the PGA Tour and the majors.

UAE currency

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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets

Profile of Udrive

Date started: March 2016

Founder: Hasib Khan

Based: Dubai

Employees: 40

Amount raised (to date): $3.25m – $750,000 seed funding in 2017 and a Seed round of $2.5m last year. Raised $1.3m from Eureeca investors in January 2021 as part of a Series A round with a $5m target.

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Results

Stage Two:

1. Mark Cavendish (GBR) QuickStep-AlphaVinyl 04:20:45

2. Jasper Philipsen (BEL) Alpecin-Fenix

3. Pascal Ackermann (GER) UAE Team Emirates

4. Olav Kooij (NED) Jumbo-Visma

5. Arnaud Demare (FRA) Groupama-FDJ

General Classification:

1. Jasper Philipsen (BEL) Alpecin-Fenix 09:03:03

2. Dmitry Strakhov (RUS) Gazprom-Rusvelo 00:00:04

3. Mark Cavendish (GBR) QuickStep-AlphaVinyl 00:00:06

4. Sam Bennett (IRL) Bora-Hansgrohe 00:00:10

5. Pascal Ackermann (GER) UAE Team Emirates 00:00:12

In-demand jobs and monthly salaries

Technology expert in robotics and automation: Dh20,000 to Dh40,000
Energy engineer: Dh25,000 to Dh30,000
Production engineer: Dh30,000 to Dh40,000
Data-driven supply chain management professional: Dh30,000 to Dh50,000
HR leader: Dh40,000 to Dh60,000
Engineering leader: Dh30,000 to Dh55,000
Project manager: Dh55,000 to Dh65,000
Senior reservoir engineer: Dh40,000 to Dh55,000
Senior drilling engineer: Dh38,000 to Dh46,000
Senior process engineer: Dh28,000 to Dh38,000
Senior maintenance engineer: Dh22,000 to Dh34,000
Field engineer: Dh6,500 to Dh7,500
Field supervisor: Dh9,000 to Dh12,000
Field operator: Dh5,000 to Dh7,000

The biog

Name: Capt Shadia Khasif

Position: Head of the Criminal Registration Department at Hatta police

Family: Five sons and three daughters

The first female investigator in Hatta.

Role Model: Father

She believes that there is a solution to every problem

Full Party in the Park line-up

2pm – Andreah

3pm – Supernovas

4.30pm – The Boxtones

5.30pm – Lighthouse Family

7pm – Step On DJs

8pm – Richard Ashcroft

9.30pm – Chris Wright

10pm – Fatboy Slim

11pm – Hollaphonic

The Greatest Royal Rumble card as it stands

50-man Royal Rumble - names entered so far include Braun Strowman, Daniel Bryan, Kurt Angle, Big Show, Kane, Chris Jericho, The New Day and Elias

Universal Championship Brock Lesnar (champion) v Roman Reigns in a steel cage match

WWE World Heavyweight Championship AJ Styles (champion) v Shinsuke Nakamura

Intercontinental Championship Seth Rollins (champion) v The Miz v Finn Balor v Samoa Joe

United States Championship Jeff Hardy (champion) v Jinder Mahal

SmackDown Tag Team Championship The Bludgeon Brothers (champions) v The Usos

Raw Tag Team Championship (currently vacant) Cesaro and Sheamus v Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt

Casket match The Undertaker v Chris Jericho

Singles match John Cena v Triple H

Cruiserweight Championship Cedric Alexander v tba

Race%20card

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Tips for job-seekers

Do not submit your application through the Easy Apply button on LinkedIn. Employers receive between 600 and 800 replies for each job advert on the platform. If you are the right fit for a job, connect to a relevant person in the company on LinkedIn and send them a direct message.
Make sure you are an exact fit for the job advertised. If you are an HR manager with five years’ experience in retail and the job requires a similar candidate with five years’ experience in consumer, you should apply. But if you have no experience in HR, do not apply for the job.

David Mackenzie, founder of recruitment agency Mackenzie Jones Middle East

COMPANY PROFILE

Name: Kumulus Water

Started: 2021

Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid

Based: Tunisia

Sector: Water technology

Number of staff: 22

Investment raised: $4 million

How to wear a kandura

Dos

Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester

Don’ts

Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying

The Sand Castle

Director: Matty Brown

Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea

Rating: 2.5/5

What the law says

Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.

“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.

“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”

If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.

The specs

AT4 Ultimate, as tested

Engine: 6.2-litre V8

Power: 420hp

Torque: 623Nm

Transmission: 10-speed automatic

Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)

On sale: Now

Nick's journey in numbers

Countries so far: 85

Flights: 149

Steps: 3.78 million

Calories: 220,000

Floors climbed: 2,000

Donations: GPB37,300

Prostate checks: 5

Blisters: 15

Bumps on the head: 2

Dog bites: 1

How the UAE gratuity payment is calculated now

Employees leaving an organisation are entitled to an end-of-service gratuity after completing at least one year of service.

The tenure is calculated on the number of days worked and does not include lengthy leave periods, such as a sabbatical. If you have worked for a company between one and five years, you are paid 21 days of pay based on your final basic salary. After five years, however, you are entitled to 30 days of pay. The total lump sum you receive is based on the duration of your employment.

1. For those who have worked between one and five years, on a basic salary of Dh10,000 (calculation based on 30 days):

a. Dh10,000 ÷ 30 = Dh333.33. Your daily wage is Dh333.33

b. Dh333.33 x 21 = Dh7,000. So 21 days salary equates to Dh7,000 in gratuity entitlement for each year of service. Multiply this figure for every year of service up to five years.

2. For those who have worked more than five years

c. 333.33 x 30 = Dh10,000. So 30 days’ salary is Dh10,000 in gratuity entitlement for each year of service.

Note: The maximum figure cannot exceed two years total salary figure.

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BIGGEST CYBER SECURITY INCIDENTS IN RECENT TIMES

SolarWinds supply chain attack: Came to light in December 2020 but had taken root for several months, compromising major tech companies, governments and its entities

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Kaseya attack: July 2021; ransomware hit perpetrated REvil, resulting in severe downtime for more than 1,000 companies

Log4j breach: December 2021; attackers exploited the Java-written code to inflitrate businesses and governments

Sheer grandeur

The Owo building is 14 storeys high, seven of which are below ground, with the 30,000 square feet of amenities located subterranean, including a 16-seat private cinema, seven lounges, a gym, games room, treatment suites and bicycle storage.

A clear distinction between the residences and the Raffles hotel with the amenities operated separately.