Chances are, Scottie Scheffler will be carrying a lot of “what might have been” thoughts with him the next few days after his finish at the 2023 PGA Championship. It’s hard to complain about grabbing a share of second in a major championship, Scheffler shooting a final-round 65 at Oak Hill Country Club. Unless, that is, you held a share of the 36-hole lead and then stumbled on Saturday with a three-over 73, leaving himself four shots off the pace entering the final 18.
Scheffler deserves credit, though, for not going away on Sunday, making six birdies over the last 12 holes to claim his second runner-up finish in a major in 11 months.
If there’s any consolation, Scheffler’s finish at Oak Hill did allow him to jump Jon Rahm and return to the top spot in the Official World Golf Ranking. Although that was news to Scheffler as you can see in this exchange from his Sunday press conference at the PGA:
Q: What is significant according to World Ranking gurus you, become No. 1 again this week. Is that something important to you? Does it make any difference?
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER: Do I become No. 1 again?
Yes, you do Scottie. It’s actually the fourth time in his career he’s moved into the top spot. All the jumping back and forth between Scheffler, Rahm and Rory McIlroy appears to have made the honor a little less inspirational than it was when he first rose to No. 1 in March 2022.
“That’s great. I mean, it’s just an algorithm. It’s nice, but I really don’t care [laughing],” Scheffler said.
“I don’t play for World Ranking. I play to come out here and compete. Right now, I’m a little sad that I wasn’t able to get the tournament done, but I’m proud of how I fought, I’m proud of how I played the back nine today to give myself a chance. I got beat by somebody that played better this week, and tip of the cap to Brooks.”