SOUTHPORT, England — Scottie Scheffler hung around the leaderboard all week, lurking in his effort to defend his British Open title.
And in the end, he fell just three shots short.
Scheffler, who has won just once this year after winning 13 times in 2024-25, made a Sunday run, getting himself to within a couple shots of the lead.
But his putter, as it did all week, continued to let him down.
He shot a 3-under-par 67 to finish 7 under for the week, tied for fourth.
“Today was a great effort,’’ Scheffler said afterward. “I felt like I was doing the right things out there. I gave myself a lot of looks again today. I guess it just wasn’t my week. That stuff hurts.
“I was very proud of how I played this week when I felt like things weren’t going my way. It was, mentally for me, a really, really good week.’’
Rory McIlroy’s Open week never really got going, and it ended in a rather fitting way with a 1-over-par 71 final round to finish well out of it at 1 under par for the week.
“I [was] just sort of stuck in neutral for most of the week,’’ McIlroy said after the round. “Even par over the weekend is not going to get it done. I just felt like any time I got a little bit of momentum out there, I seemed to make a bogey. Just one of those weeks I couldn’t get it going.’’
In the end, McIlroy’s week will be known most for his verbal takedown of Bryson DeChambeau on Saturday.
McIlroy was asked if he’d like to see DeChambeau play the Irish Open, which will be played in September at Doonbeg, which is owned by President Trump, with whom DeChambeau is close.
“Having someone like Bryson at the Irish Open, yeah, it would be great for the tournament,’’ he said.
Tommy Fleetwood, the Southport native who was lifted by the adulation of the local crowds all week, did what he’d hoped to do early in his final round Sunday: get off to a good start.
He was 3 under par in his round through eight holes and got to 8 under for the tournament, just two shots off the lead at the time.
But the magic disappeared quickly. It was not to be, as Fleetwood bogeyed Nos. 9, 10 and 11 to fall back to 5 under, too far back.
As he walked up 18 to the loudest roars of the week, Fleetwood had tears in his eyes.
“Yeah, 18 was pretty emotional,’’ he said. “It was just very, very special. There is disappointment that I didn’t win today or I couldn’t get it done when I was in a really good position … but stuff like that, walking down 18 and the atmosphere out there, that was beyond stuff that I’ve dreamt of.
“Southport is a very, very special place to me. It’s where I was born. It’s where I grew up. I don’t get that emotional, but yeah, that was heavy stuff. They were incredible.’’
Little Silver, N.J.’s Chris Gotterup, who finished tied for third at last year’s Open, faded Sunday. The Rutgers alum shot a 3-under-par 67, but he was never truly in contention this week and finished 3 under par for the tournament.
