OWINGS MILLS, Md. – Nobody had been able to stop that ball short of the pin. Not until the final group, anyway.

The par-3 17th hole at Caves Valley Golf Club drew the ire of players all week at the BMW Championship, but particularly Sunday, with the pin precariously placed just a few paces from the pond that hugged the right side of the hole.

Over and over, players bailed left, which either left them a long, incredibly quick downhill putt or an even more difficult chip from nasty rough with the entire green sloped toward the water lurking just past the pin. Chris Gotterup, trying to play his way into the top 30 for the TOUR Championship, three-putted from that spot on the green and nearly missed a spot at East Lake because of it. Michael Kim failed to get up and down from the left rough, running his chip well past the hole and missing the comebacker. He missed out on the top 30 by one shot. They weren’t the only victims.

There’s a difference, though, between Gotterup and Kim and Scottie Scheffler, especially in the big moments. The world No. 1 has distanced himself from the PGA TOUR rank-and-file, its perennial winners and its other superstars. The 17th hole was an apt reminder of why.

Scheffler’s tee shot found the left rough, a few yards behind where Kim just made a mess of the hole. Scheffler held a one-shot lead over Robert MacIntyre, ahead but hardly secure with the chip upcoming and the difficult 18th. A par seemed to be the best-case scenario. Leaving it short of the pin seemed impossible.

Scheffler has a way of shifting what you believe is possible, turning the improbable into attainable with an air of what-else-did-you-expect modesty. Scheffler flopped his chip just to the top of the slope and watched it drip down the hill and drop in the back of the cup with dying speed.

Scheffler and fill-in caddie Michael Cromie exchanged high-fives. MacIntyre watched in stunned resignation. The tournament, which for 54 holes looked like MacIntyre’s to lose, was now over. MacIntyre had lost it, yes, but Scheffler had callously ripped it from him in such a business-like manner that you forgot MacIntyre was ever actually in control. MacIntyre’s part in this BMW Championship will be lost to history. Scheffler’s won’t.

The win, which Scheffler secured with a par at the 18th, was Scheffler’s fifth of the season. He’s the first player since Tiger Woods (2005-07) with back-to-back seasons of five or more wins. He’s now won 18 times in his PGA TOUR career, all within the last four years. It’s the third time Scheffler has overcome at least a four-shot deficit after 54 holes.

“Great battle all the way through,” Scheffler said. “Did a good job of staying patient and executing when we needed to.”

What is left to say about Scheffler? What else is left to prove?

Maybe you wondered if he could do it without Ted Scott? Scott had been on the bag for all 17 of Scheffler’s previous victories. It wasn’t until Scott took over the bag that Scheffler emerged as a winner and then a superstar. In the two tournaments Scott had missed a round – the 2024 PGA Championship and last week’s FedEx St. Jude Championship – Scheffler didn’t look like himself. Scheffler was without Scott again this week as the veteran looper attends to a family matter back home. It didn’t matter.

Maybe you wondered if Scheffler lacked the pizazz that made Tiger Woods' dominance so breathtaking? Scheffler’s greatness doesn’t require the hero shot because he seldom needs to conjure one. It’s just overwhelmingly relentless consistency that suffocates fields and wins trophies. But if you still were hoping for a bit of flair, Scheffler provided that too with the moment on the 17th – plenty akin to Woods’ famous chip-in at the 1999 Memorial Tournament presented by Workday. Any complaints that Scheffler is boring are lazy complaints without proper context and appreciation.

Maybe you wondered if Scheffler could do it outside the friendly confines of his favorite venues? He’s won multiple times at Augusta National, TPC Sawgrass, TPC Scottsdale and Bay Hill. Often, he needed to see the venue at least once before he solved it. Scheffler has put that to bed in 2025 – winning at Oakmont and Royal Portrush and now at Caves Valley. He’s won a major other than the Masters. Soon, he might have the career Grand Slam.

Maybe you wondered if his putting would ever be solved? He’s fixed that, too. He ranks 16th in putting this season, among the game’s elite. He ranked exactly 16th in putting at Caves Valley. Paired with the best tee-to-green game of the week and the results feel pre-determined.

Scheffler trailed MacIntyre by four shots to begin the day, but that deficit was gone by the fifth hole. MacIntyre gave shots away early with bogeys at Nos. 1, 2 and 5, and Scheffler played the same stretch 1 under. The American took the lead for good with a birdie on the seventh hole.

“All of a sudden, it's like, 'All right, it's game on now,'” Scheffler said. “No more cushy lead; it's time to go get it. We did some good things there on the front nine and then kept him at bay there on the back nine.”

MacIntyre was despondent about his play after the round, calling his start “horrific,” and the play that followed wasn’t good enough to make up for it.

“He's the better player on the day,” MacIntyre said. “I'm just really pissed off right now … I want to go and smash up my golf clubs, to be honest with you.”

Despite the frustration, MacIntyre had a window back into the tournament after Scheffler three-putted the 14th and the Scot birdied the 16th to get within one. That’s when Scheffler pulled off his magic at the 17, and MacIntyre’s hopes were dashed.

“That was fun,” said Cromie, the regular caddie for Chris Kirk, who had been back home for all of 10 minutes on Monday after being eliminated from the Playoffs in Memphis, Tennessee, before Scheffler texted him asking to be his caddie. “My wife was excited because I was supposed to be home for five months … then I got a text from Scottie.”

Scheffler has emerged as one of the greatest players of his generation and maybe all generations. It will take years to accumulate the sheer amount of accolades that Woods and the other unquestioned greats have on their resumes, but their most dominant stretches looked like this. They had this feeling of inevitability. This feeling of history every time they won and a palpable energy that draws people in. Scheffler is compiling something special. That much is certain.

There’s nothing left to question. Now it’s time to watch in awe.