CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) 鈥 Everything Scottie Scheffler did Sunday was expected.
When the pressure was on, he hit the fairways he needed to hit. He landed the approach shots he needed to land. And, of course, he made clutch putts he needed to make.
It’s what everyone has come to depend on from the world’s No. 1 player, a fine-tuned, almost mechanical approach to the game.
It was all expected, even predictable 鈥 right up until the celebration.
That’s when Scheffler, in a , took off his hat and slammed it into the green on the 18th hole after by five shots over Bryson DeChambeau, Harry English and Davis Riley at Quail Hollow.
He followed with a hard slap of hands with his caddie and a quick hug, reminiscent of a defensive lineman celebrating a quarterback sack or a basketball player enjoying a high-flying dunk.
A short while later Scheffler was asked to hoist the 27-pound Wanamaker Trophy and he thrust it so hard in the air that the top started to fly off.
So much for Scottie Scheffler being a robot.
The raw emotion he displayed Sunday reflects the burning competitiveness that resides within his built-for-golf 6-foot-3, 200-pound frame.
When asked afterward if he views himself as having a competitive fire, Scheffler laughed and said, 鈥淵eah.鈥
The calm, even-keeled demeanor on the course has often overshadowed hidden that part of him, that burning fire within that has driven the Texan to greatness.
Scheffler has never been known as being intense, and he never seems to get too high or too low on the spectrum.
Even when he was falsely arrested at last year’s PGA Championship at Valhalla, he didn’t lash out at the police. He accepted what happened as a misunderstanding in the heat of a very confusing moment 鈥 in a situation in which other professional athletes might have fiercely sought to protect their image.
That’s why the ferocity with which he spiked his hat on 18, and the intense facial expressions in the moments afterward stood out. Maybe it was the culmination of battling back from while making ravioli last Christmas.
One thing is for sure, Sunday wasn’t par for the course for Scheffler.
鈥淛ust a lot of happiness,鈥 Scheffler said later of his reaction to the second straight victory. 鈥淚 think, you know, just maybe thankful as well. It was a long week. I felt like this was as hard as I battled for a tournament in my career. This was a pretty challenging week.鈥
Scheffler didn’t swing the club all that well for the first 2 1/2 days in Charlotte.
But he played the back nine on Saturday and Sunday just about as well as anyone has, with the possible exception of some of Rory McIlroy’s exploits here at the Wells Fargo Championship.
On Saturday, Scheffler went 5-under par on the final five holes to take control of the tournament and carried a three-shot lead into the final round.
Most probably thought it was over.
But Scheffler struggled with his swing and made three uncharacteristic bogeys on the front nine Sunday, allowing two-time major champion Jon Rahm to pull into a tie at 9 under.
It didn’t last long.
Scheffler ate a sandwich as he made the turn at 2-over-par for the day, then proceeded to drill his drive down the middle of the fairway on the par-5 10th hole. He followed it with a approach shot to within 40 feet of the cup. He two-putted from there for birdie and never trailed again.
Scheffler really didn’t need to do much after that point.
From there, it wasn’t a matter of Scheffler running away with the tournament as much as it was others running away from him. Rahm failed to make birdie putts on Nos. 14 and 15 and made a mess of the three closing holes known as the Green Mile to take himself out of contention. Scheffler methodically proceeded to secure the tournament with birdies on 14 and 15.
By the time he walked up the 18th fairway he was leading by six shots before close with a safe bogey on the 18th for the five-shot win.
鈥淭he last five holes (Saturday), that鈥檚 where I really kind of put myself ahead in the tournament,鈥 Scheffler said. 鈥淚 mean, the back nine today was pretty special as well. But (Saturday) the way I finished off that round, I think it was really important for me to have a lead to play with today.鈥
The two-time Masters champion joined Seve Ballesteros as the only players to win each of their first three majors by three or more strokes.
It was also his 15th career PGA Tour win, marking the shortest span between wins 1 and 15 by anyone not named Tiger Woods or Jack Nicklaus.
Scheffler is now halfway to the career Grand Slam with the two he still needs 鈥 the U.S. Open and British Open 鈥 still to come this year.
So what does Scheffler want to accomplish in his career?
He wouldn’t say specifically on Sunday.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 focus on that kind of stuff,鈥 he said. 鈥淚 love coming out here and trying to compete and win golf tournaments, and that鈥檚 what I鈥檓 focused on.”
But we learned a couple of things about Scheffler on Sunday.
He’s more human than maybe we thought, and there is something burning within. He may never reach the expressive level of Tiger Woods’ iconic fist pumps, but you can’t fake the type of emotion Scheffler displayed at Quail Hollow. And with that type of drive and that level of skill there’s no telling what Scheffler will accomplish.
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