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Peter ScrivenerBBC Sport senior journalist at Royal Portrush4 hours ago842 CommentsThe Open Championship, final leaderboard-17 Scheffler (US); -13 English (US); -12 Gotterup (US); -11 Li (Chn), Clark (US), Fitzpatrick (Eng); -10 MacIntyre (Sco), Schauffele (US), McIlroy (NI)Selected: -9 DeChambeau (US); -7 Rose (Eng), Hatton (Eng); -6 Aberg (Swe)Full leaderboardLess than one hour after he teed off on Sunday afternoon, Scottie Scheffler had effectively won his first Open Championship title.The world number one was only walking off the fourth green but the game was already up. A starting four-shot advantage over the field had grown to seven at a sun-kissed Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland.A third birdie of the round, on the fifth, further underlined his dominance and the only question left remaining was whether he would surpass Tiger Woods’ modern record of an eight-shot win, achieved in 2000 at St Andrews.In the end, the 29-year-old fell short of that but a three-under 68 meant he won on 17 under par — four shots clear of fellow American Harris English, who closed with a 66.»I know I wasn’t the fan favourite so I appreciate you guys coming out to support,» said Scheffler, referring to world number two Rory McIlroy playing in his homeland.»Overall it was a really fun week to be able to play in front of such a great crowd.»Last week’s surprise Scottish Open winner Chris Gotterup finished five shots behind Scheffler after a 67 while England’s Matt Fitzpatrick, who hovered around the top of the leaderboard all week, birdied two of the last three to join Wyndham Clark (65) and Li Haotong (70) in joint fourth on 11 under.McIlroy looked emotional as he was welcomed on to the final green like the champion by thousands of adoring fans.He tapped in for a par that meant he finished alongside Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre and last year’s winner Xander Schauffele on 10 under.The new champion golfer of the year though is Scheffler and given his recent dominance the comparisons with Woods are only going to grow stronger.»He is the bar that we’re all trying to get to,» McIlroy told BBC Sport.This stat adds to that feeling. A total of 1,197 days elapsed between Woods’ first major victory and his fourth (the 1997 Masters and 2000 Open). A total of 1,197 days have elapsed between Scheffler’s first major victory and his fourth (the 2022 Masters and 2025 Open).He is also only the fourth player, after Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Woods, to win the Masters, US PGA and The Open before he turns 30.It is a second major title of the year for Scheffler, after winning May’s US PGA Championship, and a fourth in total, adding to his two Masters. He now only needs the US Open to become the seventh player to complete the career Grand Slam and he turns 30 on the final day of next June’s event at Shinnecock Hills, New York.Victory on the Antrim coast is the American’s second title outside of his home country, after also claiming gold at last year’s Olympics in Paris, France.It is not bad for a man who spoke at the start of the week about how professional golf was «not a fulfilling life» and questioned «the point» of pursuing victories with such zeal.How the final round unfoldedThere had been fanciful ideas that McIlroy, enjoying what has been a week-long lap of honour in his home country, would provide the fairytale ending.Back competing in his native Northern Ireland for the first time since winning the Masters to complete the career Grand Slam, McIlroy bounced along with a boisterous backing as he posted a 66 on Saturday.He needed another fast start on Sunday if he was to emulate his reeling in of Scheffler from six back at the 2022 Tour Championship in Atlanta.Two birdies and a bogey in his opening five holes was anything but. Scheffler meanwhile covered the same holes in three under par.The thunderous atmosphere that had welcomed McIlroy on to the first tee suddenly fell flat.There was little challenge from elsewhere.Scheffler’s playing partner Li Haotong, who had just three bogeys in his first three rounds, posted two in his opening four holes. Matt Fitzpatrick mixed two bogeys with three birdies on the front nine.And then.Out of nowhere, Scheffler took two swipes to escape from a fairway bunker on the eighth and recorded a double bogey. His first dropped shots in 32 holes.Meanwhile, up on the ninth, Gotterup was knocking in a birdie putt to get to 11 under. The lead was suddenly four.But Scheffler returned to, as McIlroy put it on Saturday, «playing like Scottie».He fired to four feet for a bounceback birdie on the ninth. A par at the next, coupled with Gotterup and Li bogeys saw the lead return to six. Game definitely over.Without Scheffler this would have been an Open for the ages.The leaderboard pulsed in the jostle for the minor places. American names came to the fore as the Europeans largely failed to shine in the last global event before September’s Ryder Cup.High finishes at majors earn big points as the race for one of the six automatic places in each 12-strong team heats up.Two-time major winner Bryson DeChambeau closed with a 64 to reach nine under — although he must have been stewing over his opening seven-over 78 on Thursday.Wyndham Clark hit a 65 to close on 11 under, Gotterup a 67 for -12 and English split the difference with a 66 to finish a shot better still in outright second. Defending champion Xander Schauffele was briefly in a tie for second before finishing on 10 underMacIntyre, who didn’t get the fast start he needed, finished supremely well, with four birdies in his final seven holes to finish level with McIlroy, while Fitzpatrick catapulted above them both with his late birdies to add some European colour to a star-spangled leaderboard.Of others likely to be in Europe’s team at Bethpage in New York, Tyrrell Hatton holed nothing as he finished back on seven under. That was the same score as his fellow Englishman Justin Rose. Sweden’s Ludvig Aberg had a ruinous eight on the par-four 11th among seven birdies in a closing 70 that saw him finish on six under.What was it like to follow Scheffler?Jonathan BradleyBBC Sport NI senior journalist at Royal PortrushThat there was not the usual energy surrounding the final pairing was a testament to how unwaveringly consistent Scheffler has been through this week.Few, you sensed, expected any Sunday dramatics.With McIlroy a group ahead, again leading the crowd along the links like the Pied Piper with a seven iron, that the atmosphere dulled rather than lifted when the leaders took to the first tee only heightened the odd sense of occasion.Scheffler hitting his approach to within two feet soon after quickly killed off any lingering notion that he had any intention of allowing tension to seep into the round.A day prior, Scheffler could hear the charging McIlroy. On Sunday, there were times he could see him, such as on the second when he watched the world number two’s birdie putt before hitting his own shot into the green.And while Scheffler’s shots still drew appropriate applause and cheers, the frequent shouts of «Rory’s coming» as he walked towards his ball were regular reminders of the strangeness of the situation.Playing «the spoiler» as Scheffler would later describe it hardly changed his demeanour on the course though, a fist pump after another par putt on six the most demonstrative show of emotion in another methodical round.The walk up the 18th with a four-shot lead allowed him to soak up the applause of a victory long since in hand, but the broadest smile of his day came not with the winning putt but when picking out his watching family at the side of the green.Related topicsGolfAdblock test (Why?)