Scottie Scheffler’s Open concluded in disappointing fashion as he didn’t make it past the women’s tee on the final hole.
Scheffler, ranked number one in the world after a trophy-laden 2024, was in the hunt for his third major title heading into the last round at Royal Troon. He commenced the day two-under-par, merely two shots behind overnight leader Billy Horschel.
But the American struggled on Sunday, despite the poor weather conditions largely clearing. His solid performance across the initial eight holes was undone when he double-bogeyed the ninth, a hole he’d previously parred in the earlier rounds.
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Although he managed to find a birdie on the 16th, bringing his score back to three-under where it had started the day, by that point he was out of contention for the Claret Jug with others moving further ahead. On the 72nd hole, a visibly frustrated Scheffler ended his tournament with a whimper.
He only managed to top his tee shot 150 yards on the last hole. The PGA Tour star knew instantly he’d botched his strike, dropping his club in anger and scratching his back as he watched the ball fly flat and veer left.
The TV cameras initially struggled to locate the ball but eventually found it the moment it landed in the heavily overgrown grass near the women’s tee mark, having to zoom in painfully close to even spot where the ball had landed, reports the Mirror.
(Image: Sky Sports)
Scheffler’s blunder on the 18th ended with him getting a double bogey and a round over par, finishing just one-under overall. Had he managed even a bogey, he would have secured seventh place all to himself. Instead, he tied with Im Sung-jae and Jon Rahm.
The Masters champ didn’t face the media afterwards, dodging interviews in the mixed zone post-tournament. It was Xander Schauffele who emerged victorious, claiming his second major title to add to his PGA Championship triumph in May.
Basking in victory, Schauffele explained that staying cool under pressure has been his secret to such a successful year. “Sometimes things go your way, and sometimes they don’t. When you’re playing — today I felt like I really controlled a lot of it,” he said.
“I kind of grabbed onto it, and there was no chance I was going to let go of it. I was pretty aware of that and really wanted to make sure I did that.
“But for the most part, all those tough losses in the past or those moments where I let myself slip up and dream too early on that back nine, I was able to reel myself in today and make sure that didn’t happen.”