CHARLOTTE, N.C. — This one felt different.

Scottie Scheffler, the world No. 1 ranked player, struggled, looked uncharacteristically mortal.

It looked different, too.

Scheffler spiked his ball cap onto the 18th green at Quail Hollow in the Sunday evening setting sun as he’d clinched his first PGA Championship.

He screamed, “F–k yeah! That’s what I’m talking about!” in celebration.

Scheffler has won a lot of tournaments, 15 of them to be exact, and two of those before Sunday came at Augusta National.

But none was more difficult to come by than this one.

Thus, the hat spike, a rare release of emotion on display from the usually stoic Scheffler.

“Just a lot of happiness,’’ he said, clutching the Wanamaker Trophy. “Just maybe thankful as well. It was a long week. I felt like this was as hard as I battled for a tournament in my career. This was a pretty challenging week. The first two days I did not swing it my best, and I was able to post a score somehow.’’

His 11-under-par final score was five shots clear of runners-up Bryson DeChambeau, Harris English and Davis Riley. But this was much more complicated than the final leaderboard would show.

Scheffler entered the day with a three-shot lead that he allowed to evaporate by the time he made the turn in 2-over 37 and Jon Rahm birdied holes 8, 10 and 11 to tie him at 9-under.

He had seemingly lost his swing, hitting tee shots left, and he looked uncharacteristically vulnerable, before snapping out of it and seizing control again on the back nine, going 2-under par while Rahm faltered on Quail Hollow’s treacherous “Green Mile’’ — holes 16, 17 and 18.

“This back nine will be one that I remember for a long time,’’ Scheffler said. “The back nine was pretty special, but [Saturday] the way I finished off that round, I think it was really important for me to have a lead to play with today.’’

Indeed, it looked on Saturday afternoon that Scheffler had all but clinched victory when he went 5-under on the final five holes to build that three-shot lead.

For a player who entered this week having successfully converted his previous seven 54-hole leads into victories, few expected any drama on Sunday.

“He’s in a spot where it would be shocking if he didn’t win,’’ defending champion Xander Schauffele said before Scheffler began his round Sunday.

“The way he hits the golf ball and how few mistakes he makes, I think it’s going to be really difficult for anyone to catch him,’’ Sam Burns, one of Scheffler’s best friends, said. “Someone’s going to have to go out and do something miraculous.’’

Rahm nearly pulled off that miracle, until he went 5-over across the “Green Mile.’’

“I was excited for today,’’ Scheffler said. “I was a little bit anxious. You work your whole lifetime for a chance to play in these tournaments, and I had a great opportunity to win one today. I just wanted to get out there and start playing.’’

He was disappointed with the sloppy start.

“There’s too much talent in the game of golf for me to slap the ball around today with a three-shot lead,’’ Scheffler said. “Three shots in 18 holes is really not that much. I gave that up in nine holes today.

“Overall, I was proud of how I stepped up on the back nine and hit the shots I needed to. I hit the important shots well this week, and that’s why I’m walking away with the trophy.’’

The win was Scheffler’s third career major championship and it puts him halfway to a career Grand Slam.

It was was Scheffler’s 140th career professional start. He went the first 70 of those without a single victory. Sunday was his 15th victory in the past 70 starts.

So, by age 28, Scheffler has three majors and 15 wins. Since World War II, only two other players have reached those milestones before age 29 — Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods.

These are the names to which Scheffler is being compared: the two greatest players in the history of the sport, who have a combined 33 major championships.

It feels like Scheffler is only just beginning.

“It’s cliché, but he does all those small things really well,’’ Schauffele said. “I played with him [Thursday and Friday] and he didn’t hit it great. He finished strong, which he always does, and gives himself some sort of momentum.

“He goes and practices after his rounds, does his thing with his team, and he rinses and repeats.’’