Scottie Scheffler recovered from an early-round wobble to run out a dominant winner of the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow.
The world number one began the final round with a three-shot lead, odds of 2/9 reflecting his superiority, but had to battle hard as Jon Rahm laid down a significant challenge during the first two-thirds of his round.
Rahm birdied holes eight, 10 and 11 before missing chances at 12, 13 and 14, the frustration from which may well have played a part in his dropping five shots over the closing three holes to finish in a share of eighth.
The Spaniard was the only serious challenger to Scheffler, who was two-over to the turn and struggling to hit fairways before a crucial birdie at the 10th helped turn the tide.
As Rahm faltered, Scheffler hit a sublime bunker shot to birdie the driveable 14th, two more prodigious hits saw him birdie the 15th, and he was able to plot a path through the famous closing Green Mile and scramble his way to the clubhouse.
A winner by eight shots in Texas two weeks ago, Scheffler arrived as t-favourite with Rory McIlroy but coped best on a difficult Thursday despite complaining that the organisers had not allowed players to clean mud off their balls and place them in the fairway.
Scheffler overcame that to shoot an opening 69, and then on Saturday produced a dazzling burst over the final five holes, playing them in five-under to power into a big lead over Alex Noren, who never really looked like emerging as the biggest threat.
That was left to Rahm and to a lesser extent Bryson DeChambeau, who birdied holes seven and nine, defied a bogey at the 13th to add two more birdies at the next two holes, but knew the game was up by the time a closing bogey saw him sign for a round of 70 and eventual share of second.
Scheffler was five shots too good despite a bogey at the last and while Rahm for a while made it interesting, never did Scheffler let slip the grip he had on this title from Saturday afternoon. He is now halfway to the grand slam and sure to start favourite for the US Open in less than a month.
