Scottie Scheffler reveals he fell foul of driver rules before powering to PGA Championship triumph

Scottie Scheffler hailed his mentality as his greatest strength after overcoming the challenge of Jon Rahm and having to change a non-conforming driver to win the 107th PGA Championship.

Rahm wiped out a five-shot overnight deficit to claim a share of the lead with seven holes remaining at Quail Hollow, only to collapse down the closing stretch and finish in a tie for eighth.

Scheffler responded to being caught with three birdies in the next six holes to ultimately cruise to a five-shot victory and third major title following his Masters victories in 2022 and 2024.

“This is a special tournament,” Scheffler said.

“Any time you can win a major championship is pretty cool and I’m proud of how I did this week just staying in it mentally and hitting the shots when I needed to.

“This back nine will be one that I remember for a long time. It was a grind out there. I think at one point on the front, I maybe had a four or five-shot lead, and making the turn I think I was tied for the lead.

“So to step up when I needed to the most, I’ll remember that for a while.

“I always try to lean as much as I can on my mind. I think that’s probably my greatest strength.

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“Today and this week I really just feel like I did just such a good job of staying patient when I wasn’t swinging it my best but I hit the shots when I needed to.

“I hit the important shots well this week, and that’s why I’m walking away with the trophy.”

Masters champion Rory McIlroy had to use a substitute driver at Quail Hollow after his club was found to be non-conforming in pre-tournament testing, and Scheffler revealed that he had also fallen foul of the regulations.

“My driver did fail me this week,” he added.

“We had a feeling that it was going to be coming because I’ve used that driver for over a year. I was kind of fortunate for it to last that long, I felt like.”

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Around a third of the 156-man field had their equipment tested at random and Scheffler added: “I would argue that if we’re going to test the drivers, we need to be even more robust in the way we test them.

“That was a conversation I had with one of the rules officials; if it’s something we’re going to take seriously, I feel like we’re almost going halfway with it right now.

“It’s a newer rule that we haven’t quite gotten right yet. I think we have some stuff to figure out. I think, if we’re going to do it, we might as well do it right, get more robust and get even more strict.

“You can test guys every week, if you want. I mean, there’s no reason why we shouldn’t.”

PA