PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland (AP) — A brief glance at the final round Sunday in the British Open at Royal Portrush: THE VICTOR: Scottie Scheffler closed with a 3-under 68 for a four-shot victory, his second title major of the year and fourth of his career.

Tony Finau found no joy in his final round of the 153rd British Open on Sunday, an event he finished in solo third place in 2019 at this same Royal Portrush course outside of Belfast in Northern Ireland. Finau made double bogey on holes 5 and 14 to dash any chance he had of finishing in the Top 10 if not Top 20 at the Open Championship.

Scheffler not only gained strokes on Royal Portrush’s greens—more than 8.5 to be specific—he excelled. He finished four rounds ranked second in the field in SG/putting. While many will recall his dialled iron shots and pin-high approach play, there’s little doubt his improved putting was the difference this time around.

If McIlroy didn’t quite deliver, then Royal Portrush — where he shot 61 as a 16-year-old for the course record — certainly did, gaining widespread rave reviews.

Lord Byron, who won a record 11 tournaments in a single season, famously gave up golf once he’d made enough money to buy the North Texas ranch he’d always wanted. Nelson had many fine qualities as a golfer, but quality of life remained his ultimate goal. Couldn’t help thinking of Byron last week while listening to Scheffler.

It's billed as "golf's original championship" and in 2026, the Open Championship will be contested for the 154th time.

Harris English arrived in Britain two weeks ago without his caddie while Chris Gotterup flew over without a plane ticket for Ireland.

Wyndham Clark secured his career-best result at the British Open with a sensational final round at Royal Portrush, but his locker-room incident at last month’s U.S. Open still lingered. Clark, the 2023 U.