Scheffler's iron shot. Yonhap News

World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler (USA) has triumphed in the final major championship of the season, The Open.

Scheffler shot a 3-under-par 68 in the final round at Royal Portrush Golf Club (par 71) in Portrush, Northern Ireland on the 21st (Korean time), to win with a total score of 17-under-par 267.

With a four-shot lead over Harris English (USA), Scheffler secured his second major championship trophy of the season, following his victory at the PGA Championship in May.

This marks Scheffler's fourth major championship win, adding to his victories at the Masters in 2022 and last year.

With this win at The Open, Scheffler will achieve a career grand slam, accomplished by only six players, if he goes on to win the U.S. Open.

Furthermore, Scheffler has finished in the top 10 in all four major championships this season.

He finished T4 at the Masters and T7 at the U.S. Open.

This marks Scheffler's first PGA Tour victory in about a month since winning the Memorial Tournament on the 2nd of last month, and his fourth of the season.

His PGA Tour career wins now stand at 17.

He has accumulated 11 wins in the last two years alone, including 7 wins last year and 4 wins this season, with 3 of those coming in major championships, once again proving he is the best player currently active.

Scheffler has finished in the top 10 in 13 of the 15 tournaments he has participated in this year, extending his streak of consecutive top-10 finishes to 11 tournaments.

He also achieved a rare feat by becoming the second player since Tiger Woods (USA) to win The Open as the world's No. 1 ranked player.

Scheffler, who received a winner's prize of $3.1 million, has now earned $19.2 million this season, setting him up to surpass $20 million in earnings for the third consecutive season.

He has also solidified his strong position in the Player of the Year race against world No. 2 Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland).

Scheffler approaches the green. Yonhap News

Scheffler, who had a 10-win streak in tournaments where he started the final round with the lead and had earned the reputation of being 'unbeatable in comebacks,' was expected to cruise to victory as he entered the final round with a four-shot lead.

Furthermore, Li Haotong (China), who was in second place after the third round, had won four times on the DP World Tour but had no PGA Tour victories, and his only notable performance in majors was a T3 at The Open in 2017.

The match proceeded as expected.

Scheffler gained momentum with a tap-in birdie on the first hole (par 4) and did not miss a birdie opportunity created by an exquisite second shot on the fourth hole (par 4), the second most difficult hole.

Li, who recorded bogeys on the 2nd (par 5) and 4th holes, dropped to a tie for second place, seven shots behind.

Scheffler further thwarted Li's challenge by making another birdie on the 5th hole (par 4), reducing the deficit by one stroke.

He maintained his par on the 6th hole (par 3) despite being 37 yards short of the green, and his defense was as solid as his offense, sinking a 4.5-meter par putt on the 7th hole (par 5).

As Scheffler pulled ahead early, the competition for second place became more captivating.

Li seemed more concerned about the chase from McIlroy, English, and Chris Gotterup (USA).

McIlroy, spurred on by the enthusiastic cheers of the home crowd, birdied up to the 7th hole to move into second place, but the gap between him and Scheffler widened rather than narrowed.

Scheffler faltered only once on the 8th hole (par 4).

He made a mistake, failing to get out of a fairway bunker in one shot, resulting in a double bogey.

However, he was still leading by four shots, and he showed remarkable resilience by making a birdie on the following 9th hole (par 4).

He added another rare record to his name, becoming the first player in 18 years since Pádraig Harrington (Ireland) in 2007 to win The Open after recording a double bogey in the final round.

Gotterup, who won the Genesis Scottish Open held just before this tournament, had made up four shots by the 13th hole, but the gap remained four shots.

Scheffler, who birdied the 12th hole (par 5) to extend his lead once again, did not score any more birdies but held off any serious challenge to secure the win.

English, who birdied the 12th hole for an eagle and then made consecutive birdies on holes 16 and 17, finishing with a strong 5-under-par 66 in the back nine, emerged victorious in the tight race for second place.

English, with five PGA Tour wins, had also finished second to Scheffler at the PGA Championship in May.

His caddie, who was unable to obtain a visa to enter the UK due to a drug conviction 30 years ago, was temporarily replaced by the caddie of Abraham Ancer (Mexico), who flew in from Spain, and he managed to achieve a runner-up finish at The Open.

Rory McIlroy in action. Yonhap News

Gotterup finished in third place (12-under-par 272) after carding four birdies, proving that his win at the Genesis Scottish Open was no fluke.

Wyndham Clark (USA), who shot a 6-under-par 65, and Matt Fitzpatrick (England), who shot a 2-under-par 69, tied for fourth place (11-under-par 273).

Li, who experienced the rare opportunity of playing in the final round of a major championship against the world No. 1 in a championship group for the first time, also shot a 1-under-par to tie for fourth place.

McIlroy, whose hopes of a comeback win were dashed by a double bogey on the 10th hole, finished with a 2-under-par 69, tying for seventh place (10-under-par 274).

Last year's Open champion, Xander Schauffele (USA), showed his prowess by shooting a 3-under-par to tie for seventh place.

Im Sung-jae, the only Korean player to make the cut and play in the final round, finished tied for 52nd place (even-par 284) after shooting a 4-over-par 75.

While Im finished T5 at the Masters, he missed the cut once in the other three majors and finished in the top 50 twice.

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