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Why the claret jug is the fourth major trophy for Scheffler

Published

11 months ago

Jul 20, 2025

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

With gratitude for Mr. Robert Frost and his well-known stanza, I must travel both roads now, but I promise to not dally on the first. The grand slam of men’s golf currently consists of four tournaments. Before the advent of the Masters, the Western Open was held in the same regard. Sadly, golfers from a different era were not given credit for Western Open triumphs as major titles. Since 2016, I’ve stumped for the Olympic gold medal to be given major title status. It doesn’t need to diminish the work of Sarazen, Hogan, Player, Nicklaus, Woods, and McIlroy, the six men that have held all four major trophies at one point in their careers. Instead, it’s a springboard to define Scottie Scheffler and the impact that his career will have on golf history. When he wins a US Open title, Scheffler will become the first man to hold all five major trophies. This is the road less traveled by.

On to the road more frequented. Scottie Scheffler held off the field at Royal Portrush, to claim a first Open Championship this week. His opening 68 positioned him well, and his day-two 64 brought him to the top of the board. He would not leave it for the remainder of the week. Scheffler seemed to face a different, principal challenger each day, and he dispatched them all with poise. Scheffler was one of two golfers to post four rounds in the 60s. The other, Nicolai Hojgaard, finished in a tie for 14th place, but his feat may have exceed all others for randomness. Hojgaard turned in four identical scores of 69, to earn an imaginary medal of some distinction.

Similar to Hojgaard, Wyndham Clark followed an opening 76 with a trio of 66s to close the week. Clark finished six shots behind the champion golfer of the year, his best major finish since his 2023 US Open victory. Royal Portrush is that sort of links. It has the potential, as do they all, to be an absolute monstrosity, if the weather conspires against the golfers. For this week, the Dunluce course showed a kinder face, and the world’s best showed off their skills. Eagles were made on par four and five holes, aces fell on par threes, greens were driven on par-four holes, and par-five putting surfaces were summitted in two mighty strikes. Putts were made from distances outside 50, 60, even 70 feet, all the way turning, twisting, in serpentine fashion, toward the hole.

Scottie Scheffler was the best man at these nuptials. Over 72 holes, Scheffler made a mere three bogeys and one double bogey. Two of the bogeys came on Thursday, another on Friday, and the double arrive mid-day Sunday, when the Texan was making an effort to run away with winner’s jug. Four undesirable holes out of 72; that’s 6% of holes played. Unless a golfer went on a Faldo-esque run of 18 pars, the other 68 holes would certainly surrender a healthy store of birdies and eagles. Scheffler made one eagle and 21 birdies on the week, eclipsing the efforts of Harris English by four shots. Chris Gotterup place third, a shot behind English.

Scheffler was able to rebound from bad shots or fortune, better than all others this week. On Sunday, three under par for the day and set to run away with the tournament, the Texan found a fairway bunker and failed to extract his ball on his first swing. He pitched the ball out with his third, played his fourth to the putting surface, and took two putts for a double bogey. Lesser golfers have crumbled in that moment. Scheffler simply reclaimed one of the two shots lost at the ninth. He collected the other at the 12th, and moved inexorably toward a third traditional major title.

Scheffler will now square on his shoulders the burden that Rory McIlroy carried from 2014 to 2025. It is the same burden that Palmer, Trevino, Floyd, Watson, Mickelson, Snead, and Nelson were never able to relinquish. Scheffler finds himself one major title away from a career grand slam. It is the same US Open that haunted Snead and Mickelson. It’s odd, because Scheffler’s favored fade, from left to right, is the favored shot at US Open courses. It seems inevitable that he will claim one. He has finished in the top tne at that event, four of the last five years. Shinnecock Hills in 2026, Pinehurst #2 in 2027, and Winged Foot West in 2028, all favor the left to right slider.

When Scheffler does finally hoist the silver chalice, he will have accomplished something that no other male golfer has ever achieved. He will own five major titles, with Olympic gold accompanying those four traditional grand slam competitions. Xander Schauffele and Justin Rose are the other, modern-day gold medalists. Do you think Rory will take dead aim at Riviera Country Club in 2028? Absolutely. By then, Scheffler should be finished with his Scottie Slam.

For now, let’s leave the 2025 major championship season for the men in the rearview mirror, and treasure the results for the exquisite displays of skill and fortitude that they were. We are fortunate to be alive, in this time and place, and to have chosen golf as our passion. Cheers to the champion golfer of the year for 2025, Scott Alexander Scheffler, and cheers to Royal Portrush and all that it offers. May we return soon.

Tour Photo Galleries

Photos from the 2026 U.S. Women’s Open

Published

8 hours ago

Jun 3, 2026

GolfWRX Staff

GolfWRX Tour Photographer made the trip from the Memorial Tournament across the country to the U.S. Women’s Open at Riviera. Check out links to all the photos below!

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Tour Photo Galleries

Photos from the 2026 Memorial Tournament

Published

2 days ago

Jun 1, 2026

GolfWRX Staff

GolfWRX is on site this week at the Memorial Tournament, with both Alistair Cameron and Tour Photographer Greg Moore on the ground in Dublin, Ohio, where a strong field is assembled to pay homage to the Golden Bear.

In addition to WITB galleries, we’ve already been treated to an in-hand look at Tommy Fleetwood’s new TaylorMade Spider putters.

Check out links to all our photos below.

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News

Tour Tech Rundown: Heroic Henley

Published

3 days ago

Jun 1, 2026

Ronald Montesano

Around the world, the golf wheel spun this final week in May of 2026. From New Jersey to Austria, with stops in Korea, Texas, and North Carolina (don’t let me route your next trip) the world’s finest put their golf games on display. There were three playoffs, some known commodities and some new talent. It was the sort of week that we hope to have at this point in the seasons. June and July afford double-digit major events, and perhaps, one of this week’s champions will use this success as a springboard to new heights. Time to run it all down, tech style, in this week’s Tour Tech Rundown.

Thanks to WITBHub, Today’s Golfer, GolfWRX, and Inside Tour Golf for initial research into equipment.

PGA Tour @ Charles Schwab Challenge: Heroic Henley denies Cole

Eric Cole did nearly everything that a fellow can do, to secure a first PGA Tour title. He stayed one shot clear of Ryder Cup player Ben Griffin. He kept US Open champion Gary Woodland and wunderkind Michael Brennan two shots distant. He posted 70 on day four to reach twelve under par. And then, Russell Henley revealed his Dr. Strange cloak. Henley made 47 feet of birdie putts on holes 16, 17, and 18, to jump from minus-nine to twelve-deep, and secured a spot in a playoff with Cole. The duo returned to the final tee, and put on a stripe show.

Both golfers found the fairway off the tee, and Henley improved on his regulation play with an approach to four feet. Cole did himself proud, tucking an iron to a dozen feet, but he was unable to convert the putt for three. Henley is one of the best putters on tour, and he proved it once more by draining a putt for a fourth consecutive birdie, and a sixth PGA Tour title. For Eric Cole, that first victory should come, and soon. He has done everything necessary to earn the chalice lift.

Henley’s Suitcase

Driver: Titleist TSi3 at 10 degrees. Shaft: Project X HZRDUS Smoke Black 70g 6.5 TX
Metal: Titleist TS3 at 16.5 degrees. Shaft: Project X HZRDUS Smoke Black 80 TX
Hybrid: Titleist TSi2 at 21 degrees. Shaft: Mitsubishi MMT hybrid 100 TX
Iron: Titleist T250 4-iron. Shaft: True Temper Dynamic Golf AMT Tour White X100
Irons: Titleist T100 5-6 irons. Shaft: True Temper Dynamic Golf AMT Tour White X100
Irons: Titleist T100 7-9 irons. Shaft: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM11 at 48 and 50 degrees. Shaft: True Temper Dynamic Golf Tour Issue X100
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM11 at 54 and 60 degrees. Shaft: rue Temper Dynamic Golf Tour Issue S400
Putter: Titleist Scotty Cameron T5 Tour Prototype

LPGA @ Shoprite LPGA: Welcome back, Celine!

Soo Bin Joo had her eyes on a maiden LPGA title. She held the lead after two rounds, then hit a red light at the intersection of can-I and how-To. Joo posted plus-two on day three in New Jersey, and dropped to a T4 finish, which was still a career-best for the young Korean golfer. Instead of a new face, a familiar face returned to the top of the podium.

Celine Boutier was the It Girl in 2023. She collected four victories, including a major title at Evian. Boutier reached world number one status, then simply faded into the background. No wins came her way over the next 30 months. On Sunday, she collected LPGA victory number seven, at the same trace as LPGA victory number two.

Day three saw Boutier manage the windswept Seaview Bay course with six birdies and a bogey. She was challenged in the end by Thailand’s Arpichaya Yubol, who signed for a 66 of her own. Yubol came up one shot shy of the top ladder rung. Finishing in third place at -7, two back of the winner, was Ireland’s Lauren Walsh.

Celine’s Suitcase

Driver: PXG 0311 Black Ops Tour-1 at 9 degrees. Shaft: Graphite Design AD IZ-5
Hybrid: PXG 0311 Black Ops at 19 and 22 degrees. Shaft: KBS Hybrid Prototype
Hybrid: PXG 0311 Gen5.
Iron: PXG 0311 P Gen 4 5-9 irons
Wedge: PXG 0311 T Gen 4 PW
Wedges: PXG 0311 Sugar Daddy II at 50, 54, 58 degrees
Putter: Bettinardi Studio Stock 3 DASS

DP World Tour @ Austrian Alpine: KK? KK!

Kota Kaneko has a rhythmic name. It has strong vowels and a run of voiceless stops in its crunchy K sounds. On Sunday in Austria, Kaneko put a stop to a challenge from Portugal’s Ricardo Gouveia and everyone else, and claimed a first-ever title on the DP World Tour. Gouveia did well to reach 16-under par over four days, but Kaneko held firm, two shots in the clear.

Davis Bryant of the USA also forged a strong challenge for the win. He ended in a tie with Gouveia for second place. Kaneko began and finished his final round in a bit of a malaise, but he caught fire midway through. Birdies at 10, 12, and 13 provided the necessary cushion to cruise to the finish line without breaking a serious sweat.

Kaneko’s Suitcase

Driver: Ping Max G440
Metals: TaylorMade Qi4D at 15, 16.5, 21, and 24 degrees
Irons: TaylorMade P760 5 and 6 irons
Irons: TaylorMade P7TW 7-9 irons
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design at 46, 52, 56, and 60 degrees
Putter: Odyssey Ai-One Cruiser Arm Lock #7

Korn Ferry Tour @ UNC Health Championship: Improbably Alvaro

Alvaro Ortiz may have had a bit of scare on the outward nine on Sunday, but he came through in clutch fashion in the end. Ortiz began the day bogey-double, and added another double bogey at the 11th hole. He was mired in a downward trend, spiraling away from the top of the leader’s board. Ortiz found hope at the 14th, where his first birdie of the day tumbled home. Inspired, he closed with birdies and 17 and 18 to catch Ross Steelman at 10-under par, and the duo returned to the 18th deck for overtime.

The extra session concluded in brief time. Ortiz, buoyed by his newly-retrieved confidence, hit the fairway with driver, then approached to six feet and drained the putt. Gobsmacked, Steelman could do little more than smile and applaud, as his run at the top came to a close. The victory was the first for Ortiz on the KFT, and will implant him squarely in the chase for a PGA Tour promotion.

Alvaro’s Suitcase

Driver: Ping G430 MAX driver at 9 degrees loft
Metal: Ping G430 MAX 3W
Iron: Ping iDi Driving Iron
Irons: Ping Blueprint S irons
Wedges
Putter: Scottsdale TR Piper C

A party on the green!

Alvaro’s time comes in Raleigh with his first win @UNCHealthChamp ? pic.twitter.com/2dmtZdbSzk

— Korn Ferry Tour (@KornFerryTour) May 31, 2026

LIV @ Korea: Me llamo Joaquin

Chile’s Joaquin Niemann had been away from the LIV winner’s circle throughout all of 2026. This week in Korea, he reminded us that he is still a force to consider. Niemann chased down Taylor Gooch over the closing holes at Asiad Country Club, then claimed victory with a hole-one birdie in extra time. Bryson DeChambeau claimed solo third, one shot in arrears at minus-eleven. Dustin Johnson finished on fourth, one putt farther back.

Niemann’s Suitcase