Scheffler Completes Major Double with Open Title at Royal Portrush

PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland — Not long ago, after Rory McIlroy won the Masters, I was saying he had a great chance to win two more Slams, at Quail Holl

PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland — Not long ago, after Rory McIlroy won the Masters, I was saying he had a great chance to win two more Slams, at Quail Hollow, the PGA Championship and Royal Portrush, the Open. On both courses, Rory McIlroy had moments of greatness, winning three times at Quail Hollow and posting a 61 at Royal Portrush as a 16-year-old amateur.

As it turned out, it was Scottie Scheffler who won at Royal Portrush, just as he did at Quail Hollow earlier in the season. The No. 1 golfer in the world solidified his place in history with a wonderful performance. The last No. 1 to win the Open was Tiger Woods, and just as it was for Woods, it took 1,197 days between the first major and the fourth for Scheffler.

The list of players who have won the Open and another major in the same year is a string of golf’s who’s who. Scheffler now joins this exclusive club, which includes:

1924 – Walter Hagen
1926 – Bobby Jones
1930 – Bobby Jones
1932 – Gene Sarazen
1953 – Ben Hogan
1962 – Arnold Palmer
1966 – Jack Nicklaus
1971 – Lee Trevino
1974 – Gary Player
1977 – Tom Watson
1982 – Tom Watson
1990 – Nick Faldo
1994 – Nick Price
1998 – Mark O’Meara
2000 – Tiger Woods
2005 – Tiger Woods
2006 – Tiger Woods
2008 – Padraig Harrington
2014 – Rory McIlroy
2024 – Xander Schauffele
2025 – Scottie Scheffler

Northern Ireland, where Royal Portrush is located, has no greater sportsman than Rory McIlroy, and that’s why the 153rd Open shattered all attendance records. McIlroy’s play on Saturday made the legions of fans hopeful he might contend for a win on Sunday. However, the level of play from Scheffler did not give anyone a chance to even come close to winning, his lead going as big as eight shots on Sunday. A double-bogey on the eighth hole reduced his lead to four shots, which he held until the very end.

The walk on hole 18 said everything about the quality of this win for Scheffler. The crowd may have wanted somebody else to win, but they understood greatness and applauded him as he walked with the tournament in hand on the last hole.

While Scheffler’s biggest priorities in life are his family and faith, he is grateful for moments like this.

“At the end of the day, I have a tremendous amount of gratitude towards moments like these,” he said. “I literally worked my entire life to become good at this game and play this game for a living. It’s one of my greatest joys of my life to compete out here. To be able to win The Open here at Portrush is a feeling that’s really hard to describe. I don’t know why I’m so lucky that I get to live out my dreams, but it’s something I’m very grateful for.”

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