Scottie Scheffler proves he was right in stony reply to Rory McIlroy question at PGA Championship

Scottie Scheffler proved he is a man of his word at the on Sunday, as he claimed any pressure from wouldn't affect his game. The American golfer added a third major title to his budding collection, alongside his victories in 2022 and 2024.

began the day with a comfortable five-shot lead over , but the gap narrowed as Rahm's impressive string of birdies propelled him into a tie for the lead midway through the final round. However, the No. 1 regained his composure and went on to secure the trophy by the same five-shot margin he had started with over the Spaniard - who collapsed to a seven-shot gap behind the American.

Meanwhile, many had expected Masters champion to mount a strong challenge at Quail Hollow, but the Northern Irishman's hopes of back-to-back majors were dashed fairly early on.

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After sharing the course with McIlroy for the first half of the tournament, Scheffler was asked by the Mirror US back on Friday about whether he had felt intimidated by McIlroy's game during a time when the Northern Irishman was mounting some pressure right in front of him on the second day.

McIlroy's tournament got off to a rocky start when he was after his original choice was deemed "no longer permissible". However, he did show a glimmer of hope in the second round, notching up three birdies over four holes between the 7th and the 10th.

Despite this, appeared unfazed by all the noise around his playing partner, focusing squarely on his own game. At the time, the 28-year-old said: "That's a good question. When you're out there competing, I'm mostly concerned about myself out there.

"I notice what's going on, but it's not like another sport. Like if we were playing basketball and he's hitting a bunch of threes in my face, I'd probably have to adjust something because it's more of a one-on-one game."

Scheffler shrugged off any notion of an ingrained rivalry with McIlroy, suggesting that his attitude could have changed if the 36-year-old's resurgence occurred later on in the tournament.

He added: "In , outside of us two, there is 154 other people in the field this week. It's a big field, and there's a lot of guys. I think mostly we're competing against the golf course at times, especially the first two rounds.

"If it was late on Sunday and he was making a charge to get three ahead of me, maybe I'd have to change something. But in the second round, it doesn't really make much of a difference to me."

Scheffler justified his stern resolve towards McIlroy's early-round displays by clinching victory, while his counterpart staggered to a tied-47th finish alongside Scottish golfer Robert MacIntyre. McIlroy finished three over and a whopping 15 shots behind the eventual winner.

McIlroy also chose to disengage with the media during the tournament, while Scheffler basked in the glory of his triumph.

Post-victory, he said: "This is a special tournament. 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."

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