Portrush, Northern Ireland – Scotty Schaeffler may not be able to find a true sense of fulfillment in his life in victory, but that is not going to prevent him from continuing it at the greatest stages of the sport.
Schaeffler always won 68 worldwide to celebrate his latest major title and won a four-stroke victory in the Open Championship at the Royal Portrush.
The results were unquestionable on Sunday as the first-place golfer finished 17 under 267, earning his second major of the year and providing yet another dominant performance to grab the third leg of a career grand slam.
Schaeffler tapped for par on the final hole, making everything look very routine. But then, Schaeffler saw his family, his wife Meredith, his 15-month-old son Bennett and his parents, thrust his arms into the air, pumping them up and threw his hat into the air. That was everything for a 29-year-old from Texas.
“He’s the bar we’re all trying to reach,” said Masters champion Rory McIlroy. “In historical context, it can be argued that in the history of the game, Scotty has only had two or three players running with the players who have been here for the past 24-36 months. It’s incredibly impressive.”
American Harris English, who arrived in the UK without a caddy two weeks ago, and Chris Gottap, who flew without a ticket to an Irish plane, came in second and third, respectively.
Schaeffler became the fourth player in Open Championship history, earning over 68 in all four rounds, joining Colin Morikawa (2021), Henrik Tensson (2016) and Jesper Panebiek (1994).
“Being able to walk 18 with a tournament in hand is really hard to explain. That’s a really cool feeling,” Schaeffler said. “I am grateful to be able to achieve this.
“It did a lot of work — not just a lot of work, it requires a lot of patience. It’s a higher level of focus than the 72 holes in the tournament. This made one of my best performances felt mentally.”
Schaeffler’s final round began was ideal. From the first cut of Ruff, Schaeffler hit a green right-hand approach on the slope. The ball drips backwards and tumbles down 10 inches from the cup, giving a tap-in birdie.
Schaeffler won the PGA Championship this year with five shots. He won the Masters last year in 2022 with 4 shots, 3 shots. Before Sunday, he never won more than three shots each of his first four major titles.
He also became the third golfer to win multiple majors with four or more strokes in a year, joining Ben Hogan (opened in 1953 and opened) and Tiger Woods (opened in 2000).
Schaeffler has won 20 titles worldwide since February 2022, the 11th time he turned a 54-hole lead into a victory.
“I don’t think the world of golf is seeing as much of a dominant as Tiger comes right away. It’s like Scotty has taken that throne,” said Xander Schaufele.
“I can’t even say he’s running. He’s been killing it for over two years now. He’s a guy that’s hard to beat, and when you see his name on the leaderboard, it’s awful for us.”
Schaeffler arrived in Northern Ireland and shared extraordinary insights for the minutes that followed, although not continuing to celebrate the tournament victory. He said he loves the best work and the work that thrives in competition, but from a fulfillment perspective he said he questioned why he wanted to win so badly when the thrill of victory is fleeting.
There was only one wobble on Sunday. On a par 4, Schaeffler’s tee shot found a bunker and he was too offensive, and the next shot hit the top of the judges and returned to the bunker.
He safely put the next one on the fairway, slamming the wedge down to 18 feet and taking two putts for two bogeys.
Schaeffler then dug out the drive on No. 9, slammed the wedge five feet for a birdie and then returned to the horse. He played back nine with eight pars and birdies. No one could catch him.
“I played the first two days with him and honestly, I thought he would go birdie every hole. It was incredible to watch,” Shane Lowry said. “If Scotty’s feet remained stable and his swing looked like Adam Scott, we’d be talking about him in the same words as Tiger Woods. … His bad shots are really good. That’s when he knows he’s really good.”
The only other stumbling from Schaeffler came from my 15 month old son. He tried to walk the slope to the 18th green towards his father and claret jug.
“I don’t think he’s ever climbed a big hill before,” Scheffler said with a laugh.
It was an extraordinary test for Schaeffler, not for cheers, but for cheers. McIlroy played in front of the crowds of Northern Ireland’s houses, and received pure praise. He started round six shots and needed the biggest deadline round with Schaeffler’s major and help, but McIlroy rolled up seven times with his seventh tie.
“I wish I could get closer to Scotty today and make a real push,” said McIlroy, who became the sixth player to win a career slam earlier this year. “But he’s been on a different level all week and he’s on a different level for the remaining two years of ours, the last two years.”
English won a 5-under 66 on Sunday to secure the second runner-up to Schaeffler in the majors this year after the PGA Championship in May. One of the best years of his career can still include appearing in the Ryder Cup in New York in September.
The last two weeks on the Gotterup link were life-changing. As World No. 158, he won the Scotland Open last week, winning the late qualifying berth of the Open Championship, finishing third in his major debut, filming the weekend round at 68 and 67.
Over the course of eight days, Gotterup won around $2.7 million. His career earnings are twice as high. Ah, that was his 26th birthday on Sunday.
“I don’t know what’s going on here,” said Gotterup, whose family’s roots are Danish.
English ended at 13 under 20 years ago despite the absence of longtime caddy Eric Larson, who failed to obtain a UK travel visa due to prison time. Instead, his short game coach, Ramon Beskansa, was in his bag.
“Ramon and I did an amazing job of coming up with strategies,” said English, No. 19. “He knows how I work.”
English is currently just outside the automatic qualifying position for the American Rider Cup team
“Hopefully I can reach that top six and lock up the spot,” he said.
China’s Haotong Li (70), Matt Fitzpatrick (69) and Wyndham Clark (65) were tied fourth. It will enter Li as Master next year.
The Associated Press and ESPN research contributed to this report.