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. 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 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.

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

World No 1 finished on 11-under to defeat countrymen Harris English, Davis Riley and Bryson DeChambeau, tied for second on six under