I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

With gratitude for Mr. Robert Frost and his well-known stanza, I must travel both roads now, but I promise to not dally on the first. The grand slam of men’s golf currently consists of four tournaments. Before the advent of the Masters, the Western Open was held in the same regard. Sadly, golfers from a different era were not given credit for Western Open triumphs as major titles. Since 2016, I’ve stumped for the Olympic gold medal to be given major title status. It doesn’t need to diminish the work of Sarazen, Hogan, Player, Nicklaus, Woods, and McIlroy, the six men that have held all four major trophies at one point in their careers. Instead, it’s a springboard to define Scottie Scheffler and the impact that his career will have on golf history. When he wins a US Open title, Scheffler will become the first man to hold all five major trophies. This is the road less traveled by.

On to the road more frequented. Scottie Scheffler held off the field at Royal Portrush, to claim a first Open Championship this week. His opening 68 positioned him well, and his day-two 64 brought him to the top of the board. He would not leave it for the remainder of the week. Scheffler seemed to face a different, principal challenger each day, and he dispatched them all with poise. Scheffler was one of two golfers to post four rounds in the 60s. The other, Nicolai Hojgaard, finished in a tie for 14th place, but his feat may have exceed all others for randomness. Hojgaard turned in four identical scores of 69, to earn an imaginary medal of some distinction.

Similar to Hojgaard, Wyndham Clark followed an opening 76 with a trio of 66s to close the week. Clark finished six shots behind the champion golfer of the year, his best major finish since his 2023 US Open victory. Royal Portrush is that sort of links. It has the potential, as do they all, to be an absolute monstrosity, if the weather conspires against the golfers. For this week, the Dunluce course showed a kinder face, and the world’s best showed off their skills. Eagles were made on par four and five holes, aces fell on par threes, greens were driven on par-four holes, and par-five putting surfaces were summitted in two mighty strikes. Putts were made from distances outside 50, 60, even 70 feet, all the way turning, twisting, in serpentine fashion, toward the hole.

Scottie Scheffler was the best man at these nuptials. Over 72 holes, Scheffler made a mere three bogeys and one double bogey. Two of the bogeys came on Thursday, another on Friday, and the double arrive mid-day Sunday, when the Texan was making an effort to run away with winner’s jug. Four undesirable holes out of 72; that’s 6% of holes played. Unless a golfer went on a Faldo-esque run of 18 pars, the other 68 holes would certainly surrender a healthy store of birdies and eagles. Scheffler made one eagle and 21 birdies on the week, eclipsing the efforts of Harris English by four shots. Chris Gotterup place third, a shot behind English.

Scheffler was able to rebound from bad shots or fortune, better than all others this week. On Sunday, three under par for the day and set to run away with the tournament, the Texan found a fairway bunker and failed to extract his ball on his first swing. He pitched the ball out with his third, played his fourth to the putting surface, and took two putts for a double bogey. Lesser golfers have crumbled in that moment. Scheffler simply reclaimed one of the two shots lost at the ninth. He collected the other at the 12th, and moved inexorably toward a third traditional major title.

Scheffler will now square on his shoulders the burden that Rory McIlroy carried from 2014 to 2025. It is the same burden that Palmer, Trevino, Floyd, Watson, Mickelson, Snead, and Nelson were never able to relinquish. Scheffler finds himself one major title away from a career grand slam. It is the same US Open that haunted Snead and Mickelson. It’s odd, because Scheffler’s favored fade, from left to right, is the favored shot at US Open courses. It seems inevitable that he will claim one. He has finished in the top tne at that event, four of the last five years. Shinnecock Hills in 2026, Pinehurst #2 in 2027, and Winged Foot West in 2028, all favor the left to right slider.

When Scheffler does finally hoist the silver chalice, he will have accomplished something that no other male golfer has ever achieved. He will own five major titles, with Olympic gold accompanying those four traditional grand slam competitions. Xander Schauffele and Justin Rose are the other, modern-day gold medalists. Do you think Rory will take dead aim at Riviera Country Club in 2028? Absolutely. By then, Scheffler should be finished with his Scottie Slam.

For now, let’s leave the 2025 major championship season for the men in the rearview mirror, and treasure the results for the exquisite displays of skill and fortitude that they were. We are fortunate to be alive, in this time and place, and to have chosen golf as our passion. Cheers to the champion golfer of the year for 2025, Scott Alexander Scheffler, and cheers to Royal Portrush and all that it offers. May we return soon.