# 2025 Open Championship
The 2025 Open Championship, the 153rd staging of the Open Championship and the final men's golf major of the year, was won by world number one [Scottie Scheffler](https://www.edgepedia.org/scottie-scheffler) of the United States, who finished at 17-under par and four strokes clear of Harris English at Royal Portrush in [Northern Ireland](https://www.edgepedia.org/northern-ireland) on 20 July 2025.[1](https://www.theopen.com/latest/scottie-scheffler-wins-the-153rd-open-royal-portrush) • [2](https://www.nbcsports.com/pressbox/press-releases/scottie-scheffler-wins-the-153rd-open-championship-at-royal-portrush-on-nbc-and-peacock-notes-and-quotes) It was Scheffler's first Open title, his fourth major championship, and the third of the four legs of the career [Grand Slam](https://www.edgepedia.org/grand-slam-golf), leaving only the US Open.[2](https://www.nbcsports.com/pressbox/press-releases/scottie-scheffler-wins-the-153rd-open-championship-at-royal-portrush-on-nbc-and-peacock-notes-and-quotes)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Edition and venue | 153rd Open Championship, played at Royal Portrush, Northern Ireland, the course's third staging after 1951 and 2019[3](https://theanalyst.com/articles/2025-open-facts-stats-royal-portrush) |
| Champion | Scottie Scheffler, 17-under par, Champion Golfer of the Year[1](https://www.theopen.com/latest/scottie-scheffler-wins-the-153rd-open-royal-portrush) |
| Margin | Four shots over runner-up Harris English (13-under); Chris Gotterup third at 12-under[1](https://www.theopen.com/latest/scottie-scheffler-wins-the-153rd-open-royal-portrush) • [4](https://pluggedingolf.com/2025-open-championship-recap/) |
| Scheffler's rounds | 68-64-67-68[1](https://www.theopen.com/latest/scottie-scheffler-wins-the-153rd-open-royal-portrush) |
| Career significance | Fourth major title, 1,197 days after his first (2022 Masters), the same span Tiger Woods took for his first four[5](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/golf/articles/cql0wn52kpqo) • [1](https://www.theopen.com/latest/scottie-scheffler-wins-the-153rd-open-royal-portrush) |
| Ranking note | Second world No.1 to win The Open since the Official World Golf Ranking began in 1986, after Tiger Woods[1](https://www.theopen.com/latest/scottie-scheffler-wins-the-153rd-open-royal-portrush) |
| Attendance | Close to 300,000 spectators, the best-attended Open outside St Andrews[6](https://www.golfmonthly.com/features/wayne-riley-open-championship-reflections-and-predictions) |
## Venue and build-up
Royal Portrush hosted the Open Championship for the third time. It first staged the event in 1951, won by England's Max Faulkner, and returned in 2019 after a 68-year absence, when Ireland's Shane Lowry triumphed; it remains the only course in Northern Ireland to have hosted the championship.[3](https://theanalyst.com/articles/2025-open-facts-stats-royal-portrush) The Open was first contested 165 years earlier, in 1860 at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland, and is the oldest of the men's major golf tournaments.[3](https://theanalyst.com/articles/2025-open-facts-stats-royal-portrush)
The pre-tournament storylines centered on [Xander Schauffele](https://www.edgepedia.org/xander-schauffele), bidding to become the first back-to-back Open champion since Padraig Harrington (2007, 2008), and on [Rory McIlroy](https://www.edgepedia.org/rory-mcilroy), who had won the 2025 Masters in April and aimed to become the first player since [Tiger Woods](https://www.edgepedia.org/tiger-woods) in 2005 to win the Masters and the Open in the same year, at the course where he had missed the cut in 2019 after rounds of 79 and 65.[3](https://theanalyst.com/articles/2025-open-facts-stats-royal-portrush) Scheffler arrived as the only player with a top-10 finish at all three majors played in 2025, having won the PGA Championship in May.[3](https://theanalyst.com/articles/2025-open-facts-stats-royal-portrush)
## Scheffler's victory
Scheffler opened with rounds of 68, 64, and 67 to take a four-shot lead into the final day.[1](https://www.theopen.com/latest/scottie-scheffler-wins-the-153rd-open-royal-portrush) On Sunday, less than an hour after teeing off, he had effectively settled the championship: his 9-iron approach at the first hole finished about a foot away for birdie, and he added birdies at the 4th and 5th with the same pattern of straight tee shot, close approach, and short putt.[5](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/golf/articles/cql0wn52kpqo) • [1](https://www.theopen.com/latest/scottie-scheffler-wins-the-153rd-open-royal-portrush) By the 6th hole he was 17-under par and eight shots clear, at which point statisticians noted that since 1908 only Woods had won The Open by such a margin.[1](https://www.theopen.com/latest/scottie-scheffler-wins-the-153rd-open-royal-portrush)
**A brief wobble.** Scheffler's only stumble came at the 8th, a double bogey after failing to escape a fairway bunker, while Haotong Li birdied the 9th and [Matt Fitzpatrick](https://www.edgepedia.org/matt-fitzpatrick) pulled within five. Scheffler answered with a birdie at the next hole, then did not drop another shot, adding a birdie at the 12th. On the par-3 16th, known as Calamity Corner, he made three birdies and a par across his four rounds of the week.[1](https://www.theopen.com/latest/scottie-scheffler-wins-the-153rd-open-royal-portrush) He closed with a 3-under 68 and tapped in for par in front of a packed grandstand at the 18th.[7](https://golf.com/news/scottie-scheffler-wins-open-championship-2025/) • [8](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-07-21/open-championship-2025-royal-portrush/105552860)
## The chasing pack
Harris English recorded an eagle and two birdies on the back nine and finished second at 13-under; [Chris Gotterup](https://www.edgepedia.org/chris-gotterup), a week after winning the Genesis Scottish Open, made five birdies in a 67 to take third at 12-under.[1](https://www.theopen.com/latest/scottie-scheffler-wins-the-153rd-open-royal-portrush) • [4](https://pluggedingolf.com/2025-open-championship-recap/) [Wyndham Clark](https://www.edgepedia.org/wyndham-clark) shot 65 to finish 11-under, tied with Fitzpatrick and Li. [Robert MacIntyre](https://www.edgepedia.org/robert-macintyre), Xander Schauffele, and McIlroy were tied seventh at 10-under, a shot further back.[1](https://www.theopen.com/latest/scottie-scheffler-wins-the-153rd-open-royal-portrush) Bryson DeChambeau closed with a 64 to reach nine under, despite an opening seven-over 78 on Thursday.[5](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/golf/articles/cql0wn52kpqo) McIlroy, playing in his home country, finished seven shots behind the winner.[8](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-07-21/open-championship-2025-royal-portrush/105552860)
## Significance
The win made Scheffler the third successive American champion of the Open and the fourth American winner in five years, following [Collin Morikawa](https://www.edgepedia.org/collin-morikawa), Cameron Smith (Australia), [Brian Harman](https://www.edgepedia.org/brian-harman), and Schauffele in the intervening editions.[8](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-07-21/open-championship-2025-royal-portrush/105552860) • [3](https://theanalyst.com/articles/2025-open-facts-stats-royal-portrush) He is the second world No.1 to win The Open since the [Official World Golf Ranking](https://www.edgepedia.org/official-world-golf-ranking) started in 1986, joining Tiger Woods, and the 1,197 days between his first major and this fourth exactly matched Woods's span from the 1997 Masters onward.[1](https://www.theopen.com/latest/scottie-scheffler-wins-the-153rd-open-royal-portrush) • [5](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/golf/articles/cql0wn52kpqo) McIlroy, the Masters champion, said after the round that "he is the bar that we're all trying to get to."
[9](https://apnews.com/article/3b81c067f945c4a1512bed5ef971419e)
## References
1. [Scheffler reigns supreme | The 153rd Open | Royal Portrush, TheOpen.com](https://www.theopen.com/latest/scottie-scheffler-wins-the-153rd-open-royal-portrush)
2. [Scottie Scheffler Wins the 153rd Open Championship at Royal Portrush on NBC and Peacock, NBC Sports](https://www.nbcsports.com/pressbox/press-releases/scottie-scheffler-wins-the-153rd-open-championship-at-royal-portrush-on-nbc-and-peacock-notes-and-quotes)
3. [The Open Facts and Stats to Know, Opta Analyst](https://theanalyst.com/articles/2025-open-facts-stats-royal-portrush)
4. [2025 Open Championship Recap, Plugged In Golf](https://pluggedingolf.com/2025-open-championship-recap/)
5. [The Open 2025: Scottie Scheffler completes dominant win at Royal Portrush, BBC Sport](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/golf/articles/cql0wn52kpqo)
6. [Wayne Riley shares his predictions for The Open Championship, Golf Monthly](https://www.golfmonthly.com/features/wayne-riley-open-championship-reflections-and-predictions)
7. [Scottie Scheffler dominates Open Championship, wins 4th major, GOLF.com](https://golf.com/news/scottie-scheffler-wins-open-championship-2025/)
8. [American Scottie Scheffler wins The Open Championship by four shots at Royal Portrush, ABC News](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-07-21/open-championship-2025-royal-portrush/105552860)
9. [Scottie Scheffler dominates in British Open victory for his 2nd major title this year, AP News](https://apnews.com/article/3b81c067f945c4a1512bed5ef971419e)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Individual sports and outdoor recreation › Other individual sports and outdoor recreation › Outdoor recreation and equestrian sports*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license