Newtown Square, Pa. – Air in Aronimink Golf Club it was hot and muggy outside philadelphia on sunday. As the sun baked Donald Ross’ design, fans filed in, hoping to see a chaotic final round of the PGA Championship end with something memorable – something to remember the week for long after the construction has been removed and the pegs have been placed back in member friendly locations.
Energy built as the afternoon kicked off, the heat increased and the possibilities became clear. Fans were out on the course watching Kurt Kitayama, Matt Fitzpatrick and Justin Thomas sits down. The anticipation grew. In the short game area, a man stood in a bunker with a bucket of balls, playing different types of shots to the corners of the green. Chop and run here, spray there, then jump long and put on the brakes.
Only a few fans saw Scottie Scheffler preparing for his final round at the PGA Championship. Everyone was already waiting for him to begin what they hoped would be a day etched in golf history. A day when Scheffler scripted his next defining moment — when their golf course and one of the all-time greats could become synonymous.
Scheffler shared the lead after Round 1. He survived tough conditions and treacherous pin locations on Friday to enter the weekend two behind the lead, but with the tournament in the palm of your hand. An uncooperative shooter caused a setback on Saturday, but it didn’t put him out of the race.
“The golf course is just challenging,” Scheffler said late Saturday night before a long practice session.
It was a tough test of patience. One Scheffler had responded better than most. He was in the top five in hitting, driving and approach game. Tee on the green, he had done what Aronimink asked. The greens had been his kryptonite, but he had a chance, and that might be enough.
As the late-arriving fans trickled in, they spotted Scheffler finishing his brief game prep and swarmed the fence. He was hitting 40-yard field goals with coach Randy Smith watching. His third attempt landed two steps short of the flag, bounced once and stopped. That was it. Scheffler went through both practice greens to the first tee and the crowds followed. Scheffler streaked his opening shot. The first three holes at Aronimink were hit on Sunday and fast starts were expected to be common. As Scheffler hovered over his 95-yard approach, the tension added weight to the humid Pennsylvania air. To Scheffler’s left, fans gathered a changing platform in the yard of a neighboring house. Scheffler’s putt was clean, but the shot went wide of the flag and left him a long two-putt for par. As he walked to the first green, the denizens of the fairway began a loud “Scottie! Scottie!” they sing. Patrons on the other side of the fairway joined in, trying to push the world number 1 to light the fuse.
Scheffler made par at the first and then rolled in a 20-foot birdie putt at the second that sent them onto the building’s deck overlooking the second green and eighth tee in delirium. He was four back with so much golf to play. The crowds grew and moved with him. When he planted a four-foot wedge on No. 3, the electricity surged as history looked set to beckon.
But then something else happened. Scheffler’s birdie putt hit the rim but didn’t land. The crowd groaned.
Then came the par-3 fifth, where Scheffler missed the left of the green and couldn’t get up and down to save par. The air began to leave the balloon as it became clear that the story they wanted was not coming. After missing the 9-footer for a five-over par, Scheffler smiled and shook his head. He whispered a few words to caddy Ted Scott and then walked himself to the sixth green.
There comes a point in every tour when reality starts to sink in, when it overtakes hope. Hours after Scheffler missed birdie on three and bogey on five, Jon Rahmwho would finish in a tie for second behind eventual winner Aaron Raiexplained the phenomenon of still trying to win even though the outcome is no longer in doubt.
“Never gave up hope,” Rahm said hours after Scheffler left the property after a final-round 69 that included several missed short putts on the back nine. “Even at the end, listen, once (Rai got to 9 under), you’re still trying to finish as hard as possible.”
In an organization that demanded ruthless precision, it felt like a Scottie Scheffler kind of week. Aronimink loved it. This is the greatness effect. It stirs something deep within those who witness it, like witnessing a once-in-a-century celestial event.
But Scheffler couldn’t give the Aronimink crowd what it wanted, like Rai did a few hours later with a huge 68-foot birdie on the 17th hole. Instead, the defending champion faded from the PGA Championship picture.
As his tee shot on the par-4 sixth sailed right, Scheffler looked back to try to see where he was going. He watched it land in the fairway bunker. He sighed, dropped his head and lightly hit the driver’s head on the tee box turf. The crowd dispersed in different directions.
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