Telfer's Thoughts

Fairly or unfairly there are many in the golfing world who feel the USPGA Championship is very much the ‘poor cousin’ of the four Majors. It doesn’t, they say, have the history, tradition or the majestic tapestry that drapes the other three. And yes there is an element of truth to those claims but just don’t mention them to Scottie Scheffler. This most mild-mannered and unemotional of golfers broke into a maelstrom of unbridled joy after he tapped in on the 72nd hole to grab his 3rd Major Championship. Never before had we witnessed such scenes from Scheffler, grabbing his cap and tossing it into the ground with an almost violent, or should I say passionate, motion. As he hugged his wife and 1 year old baby deeply, one commentator thought he saw tears from the world’s Number One golfer.

Remember this is a guy who had already won two Majors, so this wasn’t exactly a brand new experience, especially as he began the day with a three-shot lead. You would have had a hard job finding a bookie anywhere who would have given you odds on Scheffler not winning this thing. His final winning margin of 5 strokes over his nearest rivals rather reinforced his pre-round favouritism.

However he was very quick to point out in his post-match media chat that it was an emotionally draining round of golf and it required mustering all of his technical and mental skills to overcome a very poor and indifferent front nine. At the halfway stage his 3-shot lead had disappeared and he now found himself in a share of the lead at 9 under alongside John Rahm, whose putter was running red hot, so much so that one television expert commentator said Rahm is now the favourite to win.

That mini implosion of Scheffler’s game clearly prompted a re-think and some swing changes, particularly around his grip. Whatever he did, it worked. No longer was he tugging his drives to the left and missing fairways. Three birdies on 10, 14 and 15 saw off Rahm, who crashed and burned over his last 3 holes, with two double bogeys and a bogey. From a share of the lead after nine, the Spaniard finished in a tie for 8th place and a whopping 7 shots adrift of a triumphant Scheffler.

This was for sure a Major championship that produced as tense and electrifying a back nine as any major championship finale in recent times.

With his win Scheffler became only the 3rd player, alongside Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods, to have won their first three Majors by a margin of 3 strokes or more.

The day wasn’t such a happy one for Ryan Fox who slipped 9 places down the leaderboard from 17th overnight to a tie for 28th place. Nonetheless he can be well leased with his effort. To complete 4 rounds of Major Championship golf under par as Foxy did is something he should be well pleased with. Conditions were particularly tough on this last day at Quail Hollow. A strong wind blew throughout the afternoon and the greens were so slick that trying to hold the ball on the green was nearly impossible at times. Foxy’s 1 over par 73 was only 1 shot worse than Scheffler’s 72, to give context to Foxy’s effort. His world ranking should improve slightly as has his FedEx Cup standing. All in all it caps off the most successful two weeks in Ryan’s career. He must be totally exhausted, mentally and physically. He’ll have a much-deserved break this coming week, then another first and another biggie, into his first foray at a Signature event, the Memorial Tournament. In short, a small field of just 70 starters and US$20 million in prize money.

Meanwhile in Alabama, Argentinian golfer Angel Cabrera, who served 30 months in prison for domestic violence before being released on parole in 2023, won his second Champion’s Tour title Major when he took out the Regions Tradition in Birmingham. Steve Alker came up 3 shots short and had to settle for 4th place. However, he retains the Number Two spot in the Charles Schwab Cup race and clearly has his game in good shape ahead of the Champions Tour’s first Major, the Senior