Scottie Scheffler briefly toyed with the field Sunday at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, but there was little doubt who would win the PGA Championship. It was just a matter if any golfer could mount a final challenge.
No one could.
By late afternoon, the world’s top golfer had lapped the field and won by five shots for his third major championship.
Scheffler struggled on the front nine, shooting a 2-over 37, and Jon Rahm had pulled within a stroke with a birdie on No. 11. It was a threat that really wasn’t a threat.
Scheffler birdied Nos. 10, 14 and 15 while Rahm finished bogey, double bogey, double bogey and finished tied for eighth.
Scheffler was up by 6 strokes heading to No. 18 and no one cared that he finished with a bogey.
Scheffler was tied for 20th after the first round, moved into a contention with a 68 in the second round and led by 3 after the third round. He just needed a par-71 Sunday to win it with an 11-under 273 total.
Harris English, who shot a final round-best 65, Bryson DeChambeau and Davis Riley tied for second at 278.
Scheffler never has won the U.S. Open. He will get that chance in mid-June at Oakmont Country Club in Pennsylvania. Don’t be surprised if he takes another step toward a career grand slam.
• The Carolina Hurricanes will play the Florida Panthers for the National Hockey League’s Eastern Conference championship.
I’ll be inside Lenovo Center in Raleigh on Tuesday and Thursday in Section 304, Row C, Seats 15-16. Go Canes! Here’s my view.
Since winning the Stanley Cup in 2006, the Hurricanes have reached the Eastern Conference finals three times and are an inglorious 0-12, having been swept each time. The last time came in 2023 against the Panthers in a series that included a four-overtime loss when we got back to Clarkton at 5:30 a.m. We were 15 seconds away from going to a fifth overtime. Yes, I would have stayed.
POTATO’S PICKS TO WATCH MONDAY
• Find the greatest sports movie of all time, “Caddyshack,” on demand and enjoy. The pickings are extremely slim to start the week unless the Cincinnati Reds at Pittsburgh Pirates on FS1 floats your boat. Is there a “Naked and Afraid” marathon on?
Sonny Jones can be reached at wibbyj@gmail.com
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