World No 1 Scottie Scheffler captured his third major title on Sunday, outdueling Jon Rahm down the back nine in the final round at Quail Hollow to win the PGA Championship by five strokes.
Scheffler, the 2022 and 2024 Masters champion, became the 10th consecutive American to win the PGA Championship, firing a level-par 71 to finish on 11-under and defeat countrymen Harris English, Davis Riley and Bryson DeChambeau, tied for second on six under.
Rahm, who at one point had a share of the lead at nine under, stumbled to a 73 to share eighth after a bogey at 16 and double bogeys at 17 and 18 left him four under for the tournament.
Scheffler, 28, took home a $3.42 million top prize from a record $19 million purse.
He also matched Spanish legend Seve Ballesteros as the only players in the past century to win their first three majors by at least three shots.
Scheffler squandered a five-stroke edge, Rahm briefly tying him for the lead, but a birdie at the par-five 10th lifted Scheffler back in front to stay.
The Texan took control with birdies at 14 and 15 while Rahm's closing woes secured the Wanamaker Trophy, his first major win outside of Augusta National.
"I did a good job staying patient on the front nine. I didn't have my best stuff," Scheffler said. "I stepped up on the back nine and got it done."
He added: “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.”
After suffering a right hand injury last December, Scheffler only won his first title of the year two weeks ago at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson.
The major victory was Scheffler's 15th career PGA Tour triumph, all in a span of three years and 94 days, with Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods the only players to hit the mark faster.
Scheffler, whose nine titles in 2024 included Paris Olympic gold, converted his eighth consecutive 54-hole lead into a victory.
He began the day with a three-stroke lead over Sweden's Alex Noren, who quickly fell back with bogeys, and stretched the margin as high as five. But Scheffler struggled with tee shots fading left as Rahm made his charge.
"I just kept hitting it left," Scheffler said. "It was a battle out there."
At the first, Scheffler found a greenside bunker and missed a six-foot par putt. Scheffler curled in a 14-foot birdie putt at the second, but he missed a 10-foot par putt at the sixth while Rahm birdied the eighth from four feet and added a tap-in birdie at the par-five 10th.
When Scheffler made bogey at nine, Rahm followed with a 15-foot birdie putt at 11 to share the lead.
Scheffler reclaimed the lead with a nine-foot birdie putt at the 10th while Rahm missed a 14-foot birdie putt at 12 and a seven-footer for birdie at 14.
Rahm missed a 36-foot eagle putt at the par-five 15th from just off the green, then missed a 12-foot birdie putt coming back.
Scheffler found a greenside bunker at 14 but blasted out to seven feet and made the birdie putt for a two-stroke edge. At 16, Rahm found a bunker and blasted to 14 feet but missed his par putt for a bogey to fall three adrift and a late fade ensured Scheffler's victory.
Rahm 'embarrassed' by finish
Spaniard Rahm started the final round of the PGA Championship five strokes behind Scheffler and finished it seven shots adrift of the champion.
The two-time major champion had a horrendous stretch along the Green Mile – dropping five shots in the tough closing three holes, including a tee shot into the water at the 17th – to finish on 2-over 73 to tie for eighth at 4-under par.
“Am I embarrassed a little bit about how I finished today? Yeah,” Rahm said. “But I just need to get over it, get over myself. It’s not the end of the world. It’s not like I’m a doctor or a first responder, where somebody if they have a bad day, truly bad things happen. I’ll get over it. I’ll move on."
Rahm, the 2021 US Open and 2023 Masters champion, captured the 2024 season crown in the LIV Golf League, but has not won a title this season in the Saudi-backed series.
Majors remain the only place where top PGA Tour and LIV stars compete.
As much as Rahm enjoyed contending in another major, he was bitterly disappointed with the way he finished, calling it a tough pill to swallow.
"Pretty fresh wound right now," Rahm said. "But there's been a lot of good happening this week and a lot of positive feelings to take for the rest of the year."
Rahm said he felt the Wanamaker Trophy slipping from his grasp when he failed to birdie either of the relatively easy 14th or 15th holes.
"I think it was a bit of nerves," he said.
McIlroy fails driver test ... Scheffler too
Rory McIlroy left the PGA Championship without a single word to the media on Sunday, leaving the golf world none the wiser as to the details of the reported failure of his driver to pass a conforming test earlier in the week.
SiriusXM PGA Tour Radio first reported on Friday that McIlroy had been forced to switch to a different driver after his favorite TaylorMade weapon was deemed non-conforming in a test conducted on Tuesday.
For all the attention the Northern Irishman received for his driver failing to pass inspection, Scheffler added a surprising wrinkle after he won. His driver failed the test, too.
It added to context badly missing in the original report. The PGA of America said it routinely and randomly asks the USGA to test driver heads to make sure the constant shots have not made the faces too thin to exceed limits of a trampoline effect.
The PGA of America said one-third of the 156-man field had their drivers test. That included the eventual winner, Scheffler, who wasn't surprised by the result of the test.
“My driver did fail me this week. 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,” Scheffler said.
Random testing occurs routinely on the PGA Tour and the majors.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Greatest Royal Rumble results
John Cena pinned Triple H in a singles match
Cedric Alexander retained the WWE Cruiserweight title against Kalisto
Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt win the Raw Tag Team titles against Cesaro and Sheamus
Jeff Hardy retained the United States title against Jinder Mahal
Bludgeon Brothers retain the SmackDown Tag Team titles against the Usos
Seth Rollins retains the Intercontinental title against The Miz, Finn Balor and Samoa Joe
AJ Styles remains WWE World Heavyweight champion after he and Shinsuke Nakamura are both counted out
The Undertaker beats Rusev in a casket match
Brock Lesnar retains the WWE Universal title against Roman Reigns in a steel cage match
Braun Strowman won the 50-man Royal Rumble by eliminating Big Cass last
Classification of skills
A worker is categorised as skilled by the MOHRE based on nine levels given in the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) issued by the International Labour Organisation.
A skilled worker would be someone at a professional level (levels 1 – 5) which includes managers, professionals, technicians and associate professionals, clerical support workers, and service and sales workers.
The worker must also have an attested educational certificate higher than secondary or an equivalent certification, and earn a monthly salary of at least Dh4,000.
RACECARD
4.30pm Jebel Jais – Maiden (PA) Dh60,000 (Turf) 1,000m
5pm: Jabel Faya – Maiden (PA) Dh60,000 (T) 1,000m
5.30pm: Al Wathba Stallions Cup – Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 2,200m
6pm: The President’s Cup Prep – Conditions (PA) Dh100,000 (T) 2,200m
6.30pm: Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club – Prestige (PA) Dh125,000 (T) 1,600m
7pm: Al Ruwais – Group 3 (PA) Dh300,000 (T) 1,200m
7.30pm: Jebel Hafeet – Maiden (TB) Dh80,000 (T) 1,400m
The specs: 2018 Volkswagen Teramont
Price, base / as tested Dh137,000 / Dh189,950
Engine 3.6-litre V6
Gearbox Eight-speed automatic
Power 280hp @ 6,200rpm
Torque 360Nm @ 2,750rpm
Fuel economy, combined 11.7L / 100km
How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
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Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
Napoleon
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The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
UK’s AI plan
- AI ambassadors such as MIT economist Simon Johnson, Monzo cofounder Tom Blomfield and Google DeepMind’s Raia Hadsell
- £10bn AI growth zone in South Wales to create 5,000 jobs
- £100m of government support for startups building AI hardware products
- £250m to train new AI models
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Britain's travel restrictions
- A negative test 2 days before flying
- Complete passenger locator form
- Book a post-arrival PCR test
- Double-vaccinated must self-isolate
- 11 countries on red list quarantine
New UK refugee system
- A new “core protection” for refugees moving from permanent to a more basic, temporary protection
- Shortened leave to remain - refugees will receive 30 months instead of five years
- A longer path to settlement with no indefinite settled status until a refugee has spent 20 years in Britain
- To encourage refugees to integrate the government will encourage them to out of the core protection route wherever possible.
- Under core protection there will be no automatic right to family reunion
- Refugees will have a reduced right to public funds
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LIVERPOOL SQUAD
Alisson Becker, Virgil van Dijk, Georginio Wijnaldum, James Milner, Naby Keita, Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah, Joe Gomez, Adrian, Jordan Henderson, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Adam Lallana, Andy Lonergan, Xherdan Shaqiri, Andy Robertson, Divock Origi, Curtis Jones, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Neco Williams
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Lampedusa: Gateway to Europe
Pietro Bartolo and Lidia Tilotta
Quercus
