Going into the fourth and final round of the Open Championship (the British Open) at Royal Portrush Golf Club in Northern Ireland on Sunday, Scottie Scheffler held a massive four-shot lead and was poised to add yet another major title to his ever-growing collection.
He didn’t disappoint.
The 29-year-old Texan carded a three-under 68 on the day to finish 17-under for the tournament and cruise to a four-stroke win over of the second-place finisher, American Harris English. Scheffler celebrated his fourth major championship (and second in 2025) by embracing his wife, Meredith, and his son, Bennett, on the 18th green.
>> Subscribe to Sports Spectrum Magazine for more stories where sports and faith connect <<
Scottie Scheffler's son after Scottie won ANOTHER major championship 😭
Just another Sunday for Bennett Scheffler 🏆 pic.twitter.com/rPun0Bg9aO
— ESPN (@espn) July 20, 2025
“I have a tremendous amount of gratitude towards moments like these,” Scheffler said in his post-round press conference after the season’s final major. “I literally worked my entire life to become good at this game and play this game for a living. It’s one of my greatest joys of my life to compete out here. To be able to win the Open Championship here at Portrush is a feeling that’s really hard to describe.
“I’m very fortunate to be able to come out here and live out my dreams. … This is amazing to win the Open Championship, but at the end of the day, having success in life, whether it be in golf, work, whatever it is, that’s not what fulfills the deepest desires of your heart.”
His words echoed a sentiment he shared earlier in the week, before the tournament began.
“Is it great to be able to win tournaments and to accomplish the things I have in the game of golf?” Scheffler asked himself in a press conference last Tuesday. “Yeah! I mean, it brings tears to my eyes just to think about, because I’ve literally worked my entire life to become good at this sport. And to have that sense of accomplishment I think is a pretty cool feeling. To get to live out your dreams is very special. … I love being able to play this game for a living — it’s one of the greatest joys of my life. But does it fill the deepest wants and desires of my heart? Absolutely not.”
He continued later: “This is not the place to look for your satisfaction. This is something where you can have a great appreciation for and a great amount of thankfulness for being able to do this. Like I said, it’s literally one of the most fun things that I can do in my entire life. I love being able to come out here and play golf and compete, but at the end of the day, it’s just not what satisfies me.”
Scheffler’s comments caused a stir in the national sports media; it’s not often media members are told by players at the very top of their sport that winning isn’t everything to them. In his press conference on Sunday, Scheffler revealed what was actually most important.
“I would say my greatest priorities are my faith and my family,” he said. “Those come first for me. Golf is third in that order. I’ve said it for a long time, golf is not how I identify myself. I don’t identify myself by winning tournaments, chasing trophies, being famous or whatever it is.”
“My faith & my family is what’s most important to me… I don’t think I’m anything special because some weeks I’m better at shooting a lower score than other guys are.” 👏
– British Open Champion Scottie Scheffler pic.twitter.com/sRSLwYgY5a— Jon Root (@JonnyRoot_) July 20, 2025
Scheffler, who describes himself as a “Christ Follower” in his Instagram bio, said something very similar after capturing the PGA Championship in May.
“I feel like I’ve been given a gift to play golf, but at the end of the day, the golf tournament is over,” he said. “You take your hat off, shake hands, and you move on. And so, my faith is such an important part of my golf game because it’s not only an important part of my life but it’s what helps me kind of realize that it’s not that big of a deal. I’m called to compete; I’m not called to go win every single golf tournament. Do I want to win every single golf tournament? Of course. But at the end of the day, that’s not what’s gonna satisfy my soul.”
In 2022, after winning the Masters for the first time, he spoke about finding his identity in Christ.
“The reason why I play golf is I’m trying to glorify God and all that He’s done in my life,” Scheffler said. “So for me, my identity isn’t a golf score. … All I’m trying to do is glorify God and that’s why I’m here and that’s why I’m in this position.”
Just a few weeks earlier, after winning the Arnold Palmer Invitational, Scheffler gave his ultimate motivation for being the best golfer he can be.
“You’ve really got to look at the motivation for why I play. For me, I have a relationship with Jesus Christ,” he said. “That’s why I play golf. I’m out here to compete because that’s where He wants me. He’s in control of what happens in the end. So just really staying the course and staying faithful and letting Him be the guidance for me versus anything that I do.”
View this post on Instagram
Scheffler may not think as much about his chase for golf’s career Grand Slam as many others will, but he has now triumphed in three of the four (the Masters, the PGA Championship and the Open Championship). His first opportunity to complete the chase will come at the 2026 U.S. Open.
But first, Scheffler has more golf to play in 2025. Next up on the PGA Tour schedule is the 3M Open in Blaine, Minnesota. The first round is set to begin on Thursday.
>> Do you know Christ personally? Learn how you can commit your life to Him. <<
RELATED STORIES:
— Scottie Scheffler tries ‘to live like Jesus’ as he celebrates 3rd major
— ‘Christ-follower’ Scottie Scheffler cards record score, remains No. 1
— Scottie Scheffler takes gold at Olympics, maintains identity in Christ
— Scottie Scheffler wins 2nd Masters, uses his talent ‘for God’s glory’
— SS PODCAST: LPGA Tour’s Rose Zhang on success, identity in Christ
