Scottie Scheffler is many things in this game, and now he's the Champion Golfer of the Year.

Scheffler earned his first claret jug with a virtuoso performance at The 153rd Open, carding 17-under 267 across 72 holes at Royal Portrush to finish four strokes clear of Harris English. The world No. 1 started fast Sunday with three birdies in his first five holes, and he bounced back from a double bogey at the par-4 eighth with steady play on the final nine at the season's final major championship.

Scheffler led by four strokes into Sunday after rounds of 68-64-67 in Northern Ireland, and he closed in 3-under 68 to earn his fourth career major title. Scheffler, 29, earned his first PGA Championship title at Quail Hollow earlier this year and also holds two Masters titles to his credit.

Scheffler joined Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player as players to win a Masters, PGA Championship and The Open before age 30. It's esteemed company, and Scheffler should have plenty more peak years ahead to continue and rack up major accolades. He has now completed three legs of the career Grand Slam, and only the U.S. Open remains in that pursuit.

Read below to see how Sunday's final round unfolded at The 153rd Open (all times ET).

1:43 p.m.: Scheffler splits the fairway at the par-4 18th and plays a smart long iron from 216 yards onto the putting surface, allowing him to take a relaxing walk to the green and enjoy the support of Northern Ireland's appreciative fans. He two-putts for par from 23 feet to become the Champion Golfer of the Year, four strokes clear of the field.

1:28 p.m.: Scheffler misses the fairway right at the par-4 17th but finds a decent lie and is able to wedge from 103 yards onto the green. He two-putts for par from 16 feet, maintaining his four-stroke lead to the 72nd hole of The 153rd Open.

Scheffler can win with a triple bogey or better at the final hole. The stage is set.

1:12 p.m.: Scheffler has no trouble with the 230-yard, par-3 16th known as "Calamity Corner." Does anything cause him trouble, after all?

He stripes a tee shot that is perfectly controlled, the ball landing on the putting surface and releasing to 12 feet. He two-putts for par to remain at 17-under, now four strokes clear of Harris English, who makes birdie at 17 and par at 18 for a final-round 66 and 13-under total.

Scheffler leads by four strokes at Royal Portrush with two holes to play. Let the coronation begin.

12:58 p.m.: Scheffler's genius is rooted in his ability to make golf, an endlessly complicated game, look so simple. This ethos shines again at the par-4 15th, where he launches a drive 314 yards down the fairway, feathers a 123-yard wedge to roughly 20 feet and two-putts for par. It's all he needs at this moment, and he continues to deliver in sublime fashion.

Scheffler (17-under) stands five clear of the field with three holes to play.

12:43 p.m.: It's a routine par for Scheffler at the par-4 14th, and that's all he needs at this point.

Scheffler splits the fairway at the 473-yard par 4 with just 147 yards left for his approach. He plays a safe, smart second shot to 41 feet and two-putts for par to remain at 17-under, five shots clear of Chris Gotterup (thru 15) and Harris English (thru 16).

Time is running out for the chasers. Scheffler's coronation as Champion Golfer of the Year is likely upon us.

12:28 p.m.: It couldhave been a birdie for Scheffler at the par-3 13th, but a comfy par does him no harm at this juncture. He's five ahead of the field with five holes to play at The 153rd Open.

After appearing to change from 7-iron to 8-iron at the last moment, Scheffler flushes his tee shot at the 188-yard, par-3 13th and looks on anxiously. It clears the front bunker and skips onto the green, releasing toward the hole and leaving a strong birdie look from 8 feet. He can't convert but taps in for par to stay five ahead of Chris Gotterup (through 14).

Scheffler is 3-under through 13 holes in Sunday's final round, with a double bogey at the par-4 eighth, and 17-under for the week. He has comfortably answered the challenges of Royal Portrush at every turn, and his moment with the claret jug could be imminent.

12:17 p.m.: Scheffler returns to 17-under with a routine birdie at the par-5 12th, and his lead remains at five.

Scheffler flushes his tee shot down the middle at the reachable par 5 and plays a disciplined second shot from 253 yards to an area of fairway just left of the green, avoiding any precarious positions. He pitches from 26 yards to 8 feet and drains the birdie putt, staying five clear of Chris Gotterup, who made birdie at the par-3 13th from two pairings ahead.

Gotterup, like Scheffler a New Jersey native, holds solo second place at 12-under. But at five off the lead with six holes to play, time is running out to catch up, and he knows it.

12:00 p.m.: Scheffler survives a helicopter finish on his tee shot with a routine par at the 11th, but his lead has been "cut" to five.

Scheffler tugs his tee shot left at the mid-length par-4 11th and looks on anxiously as he holds a helicopter finish, having appeared slightly unbalanced on the follow-through, but the ball settles in the rough just short of fescue with a decent lie. He plays his 137-yard approach to the back of the green and comfortably two-putts for par from 27 feet, remaining at 16-under for the week.

His playing partner Li drains a 30-foot birdie from the fringe to reach 11-under, while Chris Gotterup and Harris English also reach 11-under at the par-5 12th, where Gotterup two-putts for birdie and English drains a 33-footer for eagle.

11:45 a.m.: Scheffler can't convert a strong birdie look at the 10th, but he gains a shot on the field as his closest pursuers each make bogey. He's 16-under total, six clear of the field with eight holes to play. He appears inevitable.

Scheffler splits the fairway at the narrow par-4 10th (a hole that has given players fits off the tee), and he feathers a 146-yard approach to 10 feet. Surgical. The birdie putt slides just to the right, but he taps in for a strong par at one of Royal Portrush's most demanding holes. His playing partner Li makes bogey, as does Chris Gotterup at the 11th; each player falls back to 10-under, now six back of Scheffler's lead. Fitzpatrick (through 10) is also 10-under.

After a double bogey at the 10th, McIlroy is now 8-under, eight strokes off the lead.

11:32 a.m.: It's back to business for Scheffler, who shakes off a jarring double bogey (from an outside vantage) at the eighth with a bounce-back birdie at the par-4 ninth. Scheffler turns in 2-under 34 and leads by five strokes to the final nine at 16-under total.

Scheffler stripes his tee shot down the fairway's left side; it scampers into some short rough but settles into a good lie just 95 yards from the hole. He flips a wedge to 5 feet and converts the birdie, center cut, to remain five strokes behind his playing partner Li (who matches Scheffler's birdie at No. 9) and last week's Genesis Scottish Open winner Chris Gotterup.

McIlroy, Fitzpatrick and Harris English share fourth place at 10-under, six off the lead.

11:18 a.m.: Things have gotten a bit more interesting, as Scheffler makes double bogey at the par-4 eighth and his lead is down to four shots.

The troubles begin off the tee as Scheffler pushes his drive into a right fairway bunker. Trying to be relatively aggressive with his second shot, it catches the bunker lip and rolls back toward his feet. He pitches his third shot back into the fairway, wedges to 16 feet and two-putts for double bogey. (After making putts from approximately 15 feet on each of the three previous holes, this one slides just by.)

Shortly before Scheffler's double bogey, Chris Gotterup made birdie at the par-4 ninth to reach 11-under. Gotterup now holds solo second place at 11-under, with four players in a share of third at 10-under: McIlroy, Li, Fitzpatrick and Harris English.

Scheffler might be inevitable, but this might not be over either.

11:03 a.m.: Another hole, another majestic display of putting from the world No. 1, and a strengthened grip on The Open lead.

Scheffler finds a pot bunker off the tee at the par-5 seventh and is forced to lay up, leaving a 208-yard third shot. He misses the green left, leaving a short-sided pitch from a dicey lie, and his pitch shot sails 15 feet past the hole. But rather than ceding a shot to the field, he drains a mid-range par putt for the second straight hole, staying 17-under for the week and seven strokes clear of the field.

There are now five players in second place at 10-under: McIlroy, Li, Harris English, Chris Gotterup and Matt Fitzpatrick. Each might need to blister the back nine with birdies to have a fighting chance.

It's safe to say Scheffler is inevitable.

10:50 a.m.: Scheffler unleashes some emotion on a par save at the par-3 sixth that keeps him seven clear of the field, a reminder to his pursuers that they likely need something crazy to make a run.

Scheffler's tee shot at the 189-yard par 3 catches a false front and funnels off the front side of the green, well below the putting surface, and he plays a nifty pitch shot to 16 feet before draining the par putt and pumping his fist with more enthusiasm than some of his winning moments. If there was any vulnerability in his march to his first Open title, he perhaps shook it off with this seminal moment.

Scheffler remains 17-under, seven clear of a trio of players that share second place: McIlroy, Li and Chris Gotterup.

10:40 a.m.: Scheffler lays back at the short par-4 fifth, wedges to 15 feet and drains the birdie putt with ease, staying seven clear of his playing partner Li, who pitches to 4 feet and matches the birdie.

The proceedings have taken on an aura of inevitability, as any pursuer will likely need a blistering final nine to threaten Scheffler's lead. The world No. 1 is now 3-under on the final round and 17-under for the tournament. He led by four into Sunday and has extended the lead by three shots in just five holes.

10:25 a.m.: Could the rout be on? Perhaps. Scheffler makes birdie at the par-4 fourth, moving seven clear of second place as his playing partner Li makes bogey.

Scheffler plays a big cut off the tee at the long par-4 fourth that flirts with a fairway bunker but misses a few feet to the right and chases well up the fairway. He leans on his 175-yard approach but has no reason to, as the ball funnels off a slope toward the hole, leaving a 7-foot birdie try. He drains it, center-cut, as if there was never a doubt.

Li finds a fairway bunker off the tee and has to lay up well short of the green; he wedges to 17 feet and two-putts for bogey, falling into a share of second place with Harris English and Chris Gotterup.

In the group ahead, McIlroy missed his second shot into a precarious position right of the green, leaving a slippery chip. His third shot raced nearly 40 feet past the hole and he two-putted for bogey, falling back to 8-under. He's now eight strokes off the lead.

10:07 a.m.: Scheffler and Li match pars at the par-3 third, and Scheffler maintains a five-shot lead with 15 holes to play at Royal Portrush.

Scheffler flights his tee shot on the 180-yard par 3 onto the proper level, leaving a 29-foot birdie try, but it's a flat one that he nestles to tap-in range with ease. Li plays his tee shot to 43 feet and has no trouble two-putting either.

In the group ahead, McIlroy two-putted for par from 29 feet, staying six back of Scheffler's lead.

9:55 a.m.: Scheffler makes a relatively disappointing par at the short par-5 second, but his lead is now five as his playing partner Li makes a disheartening bogey.

Scheffler finds the fairway off the tee and plays his second shot from 258 yards to a fairway area short and left of the green, perhaps catching it a bit heavy. He plays a bump-and-run with his third from 22 yards; the ball skips through the fringe, releases onto the green and races well past the hole, leaving a 27-foot birdie try. He two-putted for par to remain 15-under.

Li finds a bunker on his second shot, flies his 23-yard third shot over the green, chips to 5 feet and misses the par putt, falling back to 10-under.

In the group ahead, McIlroy made birdie at the par-5 second to reach 9-under; he moves a shot closer to Scheffler but still trails by six.

9:40 a.m.: Scheffler tugs his tee shot just left of the fairway at the narrow par-4 first, but he finds a favorable lie in the rough and stuffs a 144-yard approach to tap-in range. He moves to 15-under total, still four clear of his playing partner Li, who lasers a 146-yard approach from the fairway to 5 feet and rolls in the birdie.

Playing in the group ahead, McIlroy found the fairway and green at the first and two-putted for par. He's 8-under total, seven back of Scheffler's lead.