Scottie Scheffler confirmed his standing because the world’s primary golfer with a dominant victory on the PGA Tour’s season-ending Tour Championship in Atlanta.
It caps a outstanding 2024 for the American who has received the Masters, six different PGA Tour occasions and an Olympic gold medal.
He’s the primary participant since Tiger Woods in 2007 to win seven occasions in a PGA Tour season and the primary participant to earn greater than $50m in a single season.
Scheffler, who began the ultimate spherical at East Lake with a five-shot lead over nearest challenger Collin Morikawa, shot a four-under 67 to win on 30 beneath and gather the $25m first prize, which took his season’s earnings haul to a staggering $54m.
He completed 4 away from Morikawa, who hit a 66, with one other American, Sahith Theegala, in third on 24 beneath after a 64.
For a 3rd successive yr, Scheffler started the Tour Championship on 10 beneath par because the chief of the FedEx Cup standings, two away from Xander Schauffele in second, with Morikawa amongst a gaggle on 4 beneath within the staggered begin – a format which Scheffler himself referred to as ‘foolish’ at first of the week.
And he stayed forward via the primary three rounds to arrange what appeared like a simple closing spherical.
Uncharacteristic errors
His five-shot lead was six after Morikawa bogeyed the primary gap. Nevertheless, Scheffler made uncharacteristic errors as he recorded successive bogeys on the seventh and eighth holes that allowed Morikawa, who birdied 4, 6 and eight, to shut to inside two.
A wayward drive left Scheffler hacking out from beneath a tree down the left of the seventh, whereas he plain shanked a greenside bunker shot on the eighth that squirted out proper and ended up additional away from the opening.
In typical Scheffler fashion, he instantly bounced again making birdies at 9, 10 and 11 to reestablish his four-shot lead. Morikawa responded with a birdie on the thirteenth, however Scheffler drained a 15-foot eagle putt on the 14th to maneuver 5 clear, and he parred his approach dwelling to safe his first FedEx Cup title.
“It’s been a wild yr”
“I really feel like I’ve lived nearly a full lifetime on this one yr, Scheffler mentioned, reflecting on a season that has additionally seen him turn out to be a father for the primary time and seen him being arrested – wrongly – on his method to competing within the second spherical of the PGA Championship. “It’s been nuts. I’m simply happy with the work that we put in. It’s onerous to place into phrases what this yr has been like for me. It’s been wild at instances, and it’s been emotional.”
For the ultimate leaderboard from the Tour Championship, click on right here.
