On 17 May 2024, Scottie Scheffler prepared for his second round at the US PGA Championship by “warming up in a jail cell”.

On 18 May 2025, he lifted aloft the Wanamaker Trophy as the new US PGA champion.

It was a very different US PGA experience this year for the world’s most dominant player, as he marked the day after the anniversary of his shock arrest at Valhalla by doing what he regularly does.

Winning a golf tournament.

“It’s pretty special sitting here with the trophy,” Scheffler said afterwards. “This means a lot to me.”

While Rory McIlroy’s win at the Masters was an emotional outpouring as a result of his 11-year major drought and completion of the career Grand Slam, Scheffler’s win on Sunday felt close to the opposite.

McIlroy’s Masters Sunday was a rollercoaster of highs and lows. Scheffler’s US PGA Sunday felt like an inexorable journey towards the inevitable.

That said, he was by his standards all over the place on the front nine. The control and measure we have come to associate with the world number one were rarely seen; but for a hot putter, it would have been even worse.

But no-one in golf – and few across all sports – are as mentally strong or as adept at bouncing back as Scheffler.

His bogey on the ninth meant he and a charging Jon Rahm were tied on nine under. Normal humans would likely have panicked and crumbled.

Scheffler responded by birdieing the 10th.

It was one of the six times at Quail Hollow that he followed a bogey with an immediate bounce-back birdie.

It felt like a key moment, and so it proved. Scheffler was suddenly imperious, picking up further strokes with ridiculous ease at the 14th and 15th.

The chasing Rahm faltered, bringing to mind the travails of Ernie Els, Phil Mickelson and Vijay Singh as they desperately tried to reel in Tiger Woods in his pomp.

He has a long way to go to match Woods in every sense, but there is no doubt Scheffler is the closest thing in mentality and competitive nature we have seen since the 15-time major champion’s peak years.

That was illustrated equally as well 12 months ago, even though he did not win the US PGA.

Shortly before the second round in Kentucky, Scheffler was arrested on his way into the tournament as he tried to avoid heavy traffic caused by an earlier unrelated accident in which a pedestrian died.

The picture of him in an orange prison jumpsuit went viral but he still made his tee time and, despite a minimal warm-up and with his mind surely scrambled, shot a scarcely believable five under par on day two.

His weekend challenge faltered but he still remarkably finished eighth. From mugshot and jail cell to a top-10 finish in a major within 54 hours.

A year to the day of his arrest, Scheffler demolished Quail Hollow’s infamous three-hole stretch from the 16th that is dubbed The Green Mile, named in honour of Stephen King’s prison novel that later became a movie.

He was five under from the 14th to the 18th and that detached him from the pack, giving him the cushion that meant his scrappy front nine on Sunday was not terminal.

It may well not have been lost on him that a year on from his own jail saga, it was down The Green Mile that he took charge of the US PGA.

Scheffler serves reminder of his talents

After McIlroy’s victory at the Masters last month, there was dreamy talk of a stress-free player winning a second major of the year at a course he loves.

The game’s other big names were also not in top form, other than Bryson DeChambeau. It looked ripe for a McIlroy double.

But then Scheffler – whose year started slowly as a result of a freak hand injury – served a reminder of his quality at the Byron Nelson Classic two weeks ago with an eight-shot victory.

Scheffler was back. But he was far from content.

Two majors are scant return for a player who has been recognised as the world’s top dog for several years, and that frustration perhaps leaked through his normally placid demeanour after his first round at Quail Hollow.

Unusually irritable in his post-round news conference, he criticised the PGA’s decision not to allow preferred lies – when players are allowed to lift and clean mud from their ball and then replace it without penalty.

His criticism followed a wayward shot – with a ‘mudball’ – on the 16th that cost him a double bogey.

“I felt like this was as hard as I battled for a tournament in my career – this was a pretty challenging week,” Scheffler said.

“Sometimes I wish I didn’t care as much as I did – but at the end of the day, I’m very grateful and looking forward to getting home and celebrating.”

Once his mastery of The Green Mile got him out in front on Saturday evening, there was an inevitability about who would hold the Wanamaker Trophy aloft 24 hours later.

Closing out the US PGA as expected was the eighth time since the start of 2024 Scheffler had entered a final round holding or sharing the lead… and the eighth time he converted them into victories.

It will have been a chilling reminder to McIlroy – understandably out of sorts at Quail Hollow after a month of celebrations – DeChambeau, Rahm and the rest, of the grinding efficiency of the 28-year-old.

Adding the US PGA title to his two Masters titles takes him halfway to the career Grand Slam club.

The US Open – a test of mentality and efficiency, and in which he has a share of second and a third place already to his name – is next.

Scheffler will be the clear favourite at Oakmont and anyone finishing in front of him will have had a good week.

And if you are wondering if Oakmont will suit Scheffler, the last time the classic Pennsylvania course hosted the US Open, an unknown teenage amateur shot an opening 69 to sit in a share for fourth.

His name was Scottie Scheffler.

Bbc.com

Victor Osimhen’s extraordinary season in Turkey hit another high on Sunday night, as the Nigerian striker fired Galatasaray to a record-extending 25th Turkish Super Lig title — and received a glowing tribute from one of his closest friends in the game, according to Soccernet.ng.

Super Eagles teammate Victor Boniface, who has been linked with a summer move to Real Madrid, hailed Osimhen as the “best ever” in a heartfelt social media post after the Napoli loanee scored the opening goal in a 3-0 win over Kayserispor at the RAMS Park in Istanbul.

“Best ever, Victor Osimhen,” Boniface posted on X, formerly Twitter, tagging the Galatasaray star.

Osimhen responded warmly, writing: “Love you brother. See you soon!!!”

“Best ever” – Real Madrid target hails Victor Osimhen after inspiring Galatasaray to Super Lig title
The Nigerian forward’s header in the 26th minute — his 25th league goal of the season — set Galatasaray on course for a dominant victory that secured their third consecutive Super Lig title and their 25th overall. It was yet another demonstration of Osimhen’s class, composure, and commanding presence inside the penalty area.

The 26-year-old rose above a crowded box to meet Gabriel Sara’s pinpoint corner and powered home his header to ignite wild celebrations among the home supporters.

His performance once again underlined why Galatasaray were so determined to bring him to Istanbul on loan from Napoli — and why many of Europe’s top clubs continue to circle.

Sunday’s strike not only consolidated Osimhen’s place at the top of the Turkish Super Lig scoring charts, but also carved his name into Galatasaray’s history books.

According to Opta, he is now just the third foreign player in the club’s history to reach 25 goals in a single league campaign — joining the likes of Bafétimbi Gomis (2017–18) and Mauro Icardi (2023–24).

With just two games left to play, Galatasaray sit eight points clear of bitter rivals Fenerbahçe, whose hopes of catching the leaders were mathematically extinguished by the Yellow-Reds’ latest triumph. Galatasaray now have 89 points, compared to Fenerbahçe’s 81.

Osimhen’s 25 goals in 29 league appearances have also positioned him as a strong favourite to win the Super Lig Golden Boot. His closest challenger, Poland international Krzysztof Piątek, trails with 21 goals and little time left to catch up.

In all competitions, Osimhen has tallied an astonishing 36 goals and eight assists in 40 appearances — a remarkable return for a player who has shouldered Galatasaray’s attacking responsibilities with style, strength, and self-belief.

While questions continue to swirl about his long-term future — especially with interest from clubs in England, Spain, and Saudi Arabia — Osimhen has remained focused on the job at hand in Turkey.

Whether he stays in Istanbul or heads for new challenges this summer, one thing is clear: Victor Osimhen has delivered a season to remember.

Reigning world champion Max Verstappen wins for the fourth straight time at Imola, defeating McLaren’s Lando Norris and F1 drivers’ standings leader Oscar Piastri.

Max Verstappen has given his Formula 1 title defence a big boost with victory at the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix after a daring overtake on standings leader Oscar Piastri at the start.

The Dutch driver built a commanding lead on Sunday that was wiped out when the safety car bundled the field back up. He still held on to win ahead of Lando Norris, who overtook his McLaren teammate Piastri for second with five laps remaining.

Verstappen took his second win of the season and first since last month’s Japanese Grand Prix and denied Piastri – who finished third – what would have been his fourth victory in a row.

Verstappen praised his Red Bull team’s “fantastic execution all round” as the team marked its 400th F1 race with a win.

“The start itself wasn’t particularly great, but I was still on the outside line, or basically the normal [racing] line, and I was like, ‘Well, I’m just going to try and send it round the outside,’ and it worked really well,” Verstappen said of his crucial overtake. “That, of course, unleashed our pace because once we were in the lead, the car was good.”

Norris’s late-race move on Piastri was almost a copy of Verstappen’s although Norris had the advantage of being on fresher tyres than his teammate.

“We had a good little battle at the end between Oscar and myself, which is always tense but always good fun,” Norris said, admitting that Verstappen and Red Bull were “too good for us today”.

Piastri’s lead over Norris in the standings was cut to 13 points. Verstappen rounds out the top three at nine points behind Norris.

Hamilton bounces back

Lewis Hamilton recovered from 12th on the grid to finish fourth in his first race for Ferrari in Italy.

Hamilton profited from a late-race fight between his teammate Charles Leclerc and Alex Albon of Williams.

Albon complained Leclerc had pushed him off the track as they battled for fourth, and Hamilton passed both drivers before Ferrari eventually asked Leclerc to yield fifth to Albon.

George Russell was seventh for Mercedes, ahead of Carlos Sainz Jr in the second Williams.

Isack Hadjar was ninth for Racing Bulls, and Verstappen’s Red Bull teammate Yuki Tsunoda was 10th after starting last following a crash in qualifying.

An action-packed ‘farewell’ to Imola
Overtaking was expected to be rare in what could be F1’s last race for the foreseeable future at Imola. Instead, the Italian fans were treated to Verstappen’s spectacular move at the start and plenty of other overtakes.

The narrow, bumpy Imola track has been a favourite among drivers, who have relished its old-school challenge since it returned to the F1 schedule during the COVID-19 pandemic. Still, its status as Italy’s second race – only the United States also hosts more than one – makes its position vulnerable.

“If we don’t come back here, it is going to be a shame,” Piastri said on Saturday.

Sunday’s race was the last under Imola’s current contract, and while it isn’t officially goodbye yet, there has been no word about next year.

Aljazeera.com