The Open Championship: Dominant favourite Scottie Scheffler enjoys Royal Portrush procession

Open Championship report

Scottie Scheffler cruised to Open Championship glory at Royal Portrush, the world number one lifting the Claret Jug for the first time and taking his tally of Major victories to four.

Scheffler, who turned 29 a month ago, is just a US Open victory away from completing a career Grand Slam. Rory McIlroy was 35 when he joined the Slam club in April, while Ben Hogan was 40 when he did so in 1953, so Scheffler is on course to achieve greatness with remarkable speed.

The American superstar was a best-price 6-1 on Open eve, shortening to 5-2 after a first-round 68, then going 4-6 after a magnificent Saturday 64 rocketed him to the top of the leaderboard. No bigger than 2-9 was available after that lead was extended to four shots through three rounds and Scheffler never looked in danger of being caught in a Sunday Portrush procession.

A winning Open favourite is typically bad news for bookmakers, but Scheffler was not a popular market leader as he made his Portrush debut. His lack of familiarity with the course – and the vagaries of the British weather – meant most punters looked deeper in the outright betting for value.

Scheffler fell in love with Portrush though – renowned as one of the fairest layouts on the Open rota – and relatively benign weather meant he  never faced the threat of being derailed by strong winds or heavy rain. From Friday onwards, the 16-time PGA Tour winner made merry in kind conditions, dropping shots on just two of his final 54 holes.

Shane Lowry won the 2019 Open at Portrush with a 15-under-par total. Scheffler bettered that by two shots, leaving several of his compatriots chasing his shadow.

Harris English claimed the runner-up spotCredit: Getty Images

Runner-up honours went to pre-tournament 100-1 chance, Harris English, who finished four shots behind Scheffler. Another American, Chris Gotterup, finished third, building on his Scottish Open victory the previous week. He was available at 90-1 for the Open but has suddenly propelled himself into contention for the American Ryder Cup side.

Wyndham Clark and defending champion Xander Schauffele were other Americans to finish in the top ten. Matt Fitzpatrick finished as the leading European, tied for fourth place outright, with Rory McIlroy and Robert MacIntyre a shot behind the Englishman.

Scheffler, who won the US PGA in May by a five-shot margin, will not be seen in action again until next month's FedEx Cup playoffs, which start with the St Jude Championship in Memphis. The Tour Championship is at the end of August, then Scheffler will be a key member of the American Ryder Cup side a month later.

Scheffler is clear favourite for the next Major – the Masters in April – where he will be looking to triumph at Augusta for a third time. Scheffler, Masters champion in 2022 and 2024, is a best-price 9-2 for the 2026 Green Jacket.

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