Golf: Scottie Scheffler wins the PGA Championship, Matthieu Pavon tumbles

American world number one Scottie Scheffler won the PGA Championship, the second Major – the equivalent of the Grand Slam tournaments in tennis – of the year on Sunday, May 18, shooting a 71 in the ^fourth and final round of the event held in Charlotte (North Carolina, United States).

Scheffler, 28, finished five strokes ahead (-11) of three compatriots: Harris English, Davis Riley and Bryson DeChambeau, already second in 2024. This is his third Major after the 2022 and 2024 Masters.

After making three bogeys in his first half of the round, Scheffler was joined in the lead by Spaniard Jon Rahm and his three birdies (one shot less than par, the contract to be achieved on each hole) on holes 8, 10 and 11. The battle looked promising between the PGA Tour star and one of the stars of LIV Golf (the professional tour financed by Saudi Arabia), the Majors being the last tournaments where golfers from the two entities can compete.

The result went in favor of the former: the American birdied holes 10, 14, and 15 to finish with par, when Rahm finally collapsed at the end of the round, with a bogey and two double bogeys on his last three holes. The Spaniard thus returned a 73 on Sunday.

"I did a good job staying patient on the front nine. I didn't play my best ," Scheffler said after his victory. "I got ahead on the back nine and finished the job."

For his 15th career PGA Tour trophy, Scheffler earned $3.42 million (€3 million), out of a record $19 million prize fund. After injuring his right hand in December 2024, he won his first title of the season two weeks ago at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson.

Rahm, the 2021 US Open and 2023 Masters winner, finished first in LIV Golf's 2024 rankings but has yet to win a title this season on the Saudi-backed competitive tour. "This is the first time I've been this close to winning a major and not done it," he said.

Frenchman Matthieu Pavon, who had a brilliant second round (-6) and was in the top 10 after the third, suffered on this final day by returning a card of 78 (+7), notably weighed down by two double bogeys on holes 2 and 12. He tumbled down the rankings and finished ^41st (+2 in total). It was "a bit of a complicated day (...) , the game was a bit less good, the attitude too, the course harder too" , Pavon lamented on Canal+.