Scottie Scheffler was unable to defend his British Open title, falling three shots short of the lead after a final round of 3-under-par 67. Scheffler, who has secured one victory this year after a dominant 2024-25 season, made a late charge on Sunday but his putting struggles, which plagued him throughout the week, ultimately proved costly. He finished the tournament at 7 under par, tied for fourth place.
“Today was a great effort,” Scheffler said after the round. “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.”
Tommy Fleetwood, a native of Southport, experienced an emotional Sunday. He started his final round strongly, reaching 8 under par and trailing the leaders by just two shots through eight holes. However, Fleetwood bogeyed three consecutive holes from the ninth, dropping him to 5 under and out of contention. As he walked up the 18th fairway to an enormous ovation, Fleetwood appeared visibly moved.
“Yeah, 18 was pretty emotional,” Fleetwood 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.”
Rory McIlroy's Open championship did not gain momentum throughout the week, concluding with a 1-over-par 71 in the final round and a tournament total of 1 under par. McIlroy described his week as being "stuck in neutral" and noted that he struggled to maintain momentum, often following gains with bogeys.
Chris Gotterup, who tied for third at last year's Open, finished the tournament at 3 under par after a final-round 67, but was not in contention for the lead at any point during the week.