ESPN News Services
May 17, 2025, 08:04 PM ETOpen Extended Reactions
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — One swing was all Scottie Scheffler needed to send Quail Hollow into delirium Saturday, to briefly rattle Bryson DeChambeau, and to give this PGA Championship the star power it had been lacking.
Scheffler stood on the 14th tee, 304 yards from the hole, thinking his drive might come up a little short with the wind gusting right-to-left against his preferred fade. It was nearly perfect, the ball climbing onto the green and settling just inside 3 feet away.
The eagle put him atop the leaderboard for good and started a closing stretch that was nothing short of a clinic, 5 under over the last five holes. It sent him to a 6-under 65 and a three-shot lead as Scheffler closed in on a third major championship after winning the Masters twice.
“I executed the shot,” Scheffler said. “Did I execute it thinking I hit it 2 feet or whatever it was? I mean, there’s a little bit of luck involved in that when you’re at 300 yards. But overall, I executed how I wanted to.”
He did that a lot in the final hour and left so many