Scottie Scheffler earned a huge confidence bump ahead of his Masters title defence by triumphing at The Players Championship on Sunday.
The American went on a run of five birdies around the turn at Sawgrass, picking up shots at each hole from eight to 12, on the way to a 69 that took him to 17 under, enough for a five-shot victory.
Scheffler, 26, hops up one spot and returns to number one in the world rankings thanks to this big win. He has won all six of his PGA Tour titles since the beginning of last year, with a hot streak leading up to Augusta last year followed in 2023 by a Phoenix Open victory and now this commanding success.
He was two clear of nearest rival Min Woo Lee coming into the final round, but as the Australian's challenge fell away, Scheffler pulled further clear of the field. He broke 70 in all four of his rounds.
Tyrrell Hatton matched the back-nine course record on his way to second place outright, with the Englishman coming home in 29 for a seven-under-par 65 to finish at 12 under.
Hatton made birdies at 10, 12 and then at every hole from the 14th onwards, producing what he described as a "pretty mad" final flourish to scorch to 12 under.
Viktor Hovland had a closing 68 to finish in a tie for third with Tom Hoge, whose 70 on Sunday was the final act in a dramatic week that began for him with a 78. Hoge narrowly made the cut after a 68 in round two, before shooting a course-record 62 on Saturday.
He cancelled flights home on Friday, when bad weather caused a delay to the second round, and again on Saturday, after making it through on the cut line, with Hoge reaping the rewards of his persistence.
American Alex Smalley had a hole-in-one at the 17th, the famous par-three island hole, early on Sunday, but windy conditions later on made it treacherous and a host of players sent balls into the water. Scheffler reached that penultimate hole with a five-shot lead and an excellent tee shot meant he had cleared the last real obstacle in his path.
Hideki Matsuyama was in with a shout at one stage after reaching 12 under with five holes to play, but the 2021 Masters champion played those holes in three over par, signing for a 68 and sliding to fifth place.
Scheffler's playing partner Lee was one of seven players tied for sixth after having two sevens on his card. Lee finished with a miserable 76 that a brilliant birdie at 17 could not salvage, albeit he revelled in the moment after hitting his tee shot to just five feet from the pin. A bogey at the last summed up his rotten day.
Taylor Montgomery went from 10 under after 14 holes to three under three holes later, twice finding water at the 17th, going 5-7-7 in that stretch to tumble off the leaderboard and into the ranks of the also-rans. He parred the last for a 76 and a tie for 44th place, having been firmly in contention for top three just an hour earlier.
Scheffler avoid any such chaos, and after an emotional celebration with family he told the Golf Channel: "It's a lot of fun. A long day, a tough day. I knew the conditions were going to get really hard late, and I did a really good job of staying patient and not trying to force things. I got hot in the middle of the round and tried to put things away as quickly as I could."
His game is in great shape ahead of his Augusta title defence next month, and Scheffler said: "I'm just hoping to improve. I'm just trying to get a little bit better, not over-think things. I'm so fortunate to be able to see some results and enjoy some wins and I'm very thankful."
PGA Championship: Scheffler unsure if arrest a factor after 'hectic' weekend
Scottie Scheffler is unsure whether his arrest on Friday was a factor after a disappointing Saturday led to him finishing tied for eighth at a "hectic" PGA Championship.
On Friday, world number one Scheffler was arrested outside Valhalla Golf Club ahead of his second round.
It subsequently emerged that he faces charges of second-degree assault of a police officer, third-degree criminal mischief, reckless driving, and disregarding traffic signals from an officer directing traffic.
Scheffler shot a five-under 66 in the delayed second round, one stroke better than his first round, but a two-over 73 on Saturday all but ended his hopes of back-to-back major wins.
Xander Schauffele ultimately claimed his first major title at 21 under, eight shots ahead of Scheffler.
Speaking after Sunday's final round, in which a run of seven birdies in 10 holes helped him card a 65, Scheffler said he was proud of the way he finished the event.
"I think 'hectic' would probably be a good description," Scheffler said. "I'm fairly tired, definitely a lot more tired than I have been finishing some other tournaments.
"I'm proud of today how we went out there and fought. I got off to a slow start and I was able to get some momentum and post a good round.
"Yesterday obviously was quite frustrating and a bit of a different day, but overall proud of how I fought this week. Was fortunate to be out here competing, doing what I love."
Asked whether his arrest had an impact on his performance, Scheffler said: "It's hard to tell. I think I would attribute it mostly to a bad day.
"I think when you come out here to compete, you're doing what you can throughout the course of the round to post a score and I wasn't able to get that done yesterday.
"Did I feel like myself? Absolutely not. Was my warm-up the way it usually is and the distractions the way they normally are? Absolutely not.
"I got arrested Friday morning and I showed up here and played a good round of golf. So I've been good throughout my career at leaving the off-course distractions at home and keeping a pretty quiet personal life.
"I'm not going to sit here and say that I played poorly yesterday because of what happened on Friday. I just had a bad day out on the course and was proud of how I came out here and bounced back today."
PGA Championship: McIlroy 'feeling good' about game despite wait for elusive fifth major
Rory McIlroy feels positive about his game despite a continued wait to win an elusive fifth major championship.
Xander Schauffele secured a maiden major victory by winning the PGA Championship at Valhalla, which was the venue for McIlroy's last major triumph in 2014.
McIlroy finished in a tie for 12th place and has often come close, recording 20 top-10 finishes in majors since winning his last, which is more than any other player during that span.
He had won the Zurich Classic of New Orleans and the Wells Fargo Championship coming into the second major of 2024 and, despite falling short, still feels things are trending in the right direction with the U.S. Open and The Open Championship to come this year.
Asked about the state of his game, McIlroy said: "I'm feeling good about that.
"I have been on a big stretch of golf here. I think this was my sixth event in seven weeks. I've got a week off and then I'm playing another four in a row.
"I'm feeling good about my game. I feel like things are sort of clicking more, especially after the win in New Orleans.
"Obviously played well last week in Charlotte. Have a week here to sort of reset and try to get going again."
McIlroy was in contention for glory after carding a five-under 66 on the first day at Valhalla.
But he ultimately finished nine strokes behind Schauffele, as a difficult 71 on day two was followed up with creditable scores of 68 and 67 over the weekend’s play.
McIlroy looked poised for another top-10 finish before finding the water twice on Sunday, but still emerged at four under for the day with seven birdies and three bogeys in an up-and-down final round.
He continued: "Obviously I started the week well, and then I've obviously played decent over the weekend.
"That six-hole stretch on the back nine [on Saturday], not being able to hole any putts, I'll probably rue that.
"Then the 71 on Friday, as well, was obviously not what I was looking for. Obviously put myself too far back.
"Overall I am playing solid, game is in good shape, and I've got a week off and then another busy stretch coming up."
PGA Championship: Schauffele 'captured the moment' with maiden major victory
Xander Schauffele says that he captured the moment during his PGA Championship win after handling the big moments better than he had in the past.
Schauffele won his maiden major victory with a dramatic one-shot win at Valhalla, Kentucky on Sunday, making history as he finished 21 under, the lowest 72-hole score in men’s major history.
He held off late challenges from Bryson DeChambeau and Viktor Hovland to secure the Wanamaker Trophy after carding a 65 on the final day.
"It feels amazing," Schauffele told reporters after his win.
"Winning, I said it earlier, is a result. This is awesome, it's super sweet, but when I break it down, I'm really proud of how I handled certain moments on the course today, different from the past."
"I was pretty nervous. I don't really remember it [the birdie putt] lipping in, I just heard everyone roaring and I looked up to the sky in relief.
"I really did not want to go into a play-off with Bryson. Going up 18 with his length, it's not something that I was going to have a whole lot of fun with.
"I was able to capture that moment there... I just kept telling myself I need to earn this, earn this and be in the moment, and I was able to do that."
Despite lifting the trophy, Schauffele believes that he still has work to do to reach Scottie Scheffler.
The world number one had a turbulent week, which saw him arrested ahead of the second round on Friday, and he finished joint-eighth.
"All of us are climbing this massive mountain and at the top of the mountain is Scottie Scheffler," Schauffele added. "I won this today, but I'm still not that close to Scottie Scheffler in the big scheme of things.
"I got one good hook up there in the mountain up on that cliff, and I'm still climbing. I might have a beer up there on that side of the hill there and enjoy this, but it's not that hard to chase when someone is so far ahead of you."
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