ATLANTA – A Masters green jacket and an Olympic gold medal. A first-time father and his first time being arrested. A year Scottie Scheffler won't forget ended the best way possible Sunday when he won the FedEx Cup to cap off golf's best season in nearly two decades.
“If you can describe it in words, more power to you,” Scheffler said after his four-shot victory in the Tour Championship for his eighth win of the year. “Because I don't think I can.”
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As always, his clubs spoke volumes.
Scheffler, who led by as many as seven shots at East Lake early in the final round, nearly hit a tee shot out-of-bounds on No. 7 for bogey. He followed that with a shank from the bunker on the reachable par-4 eighth that led to another bogey. His lead was down to two shots over Collin Morikawa.
Facing the par-3 ninth, a hole that had yielded only nine birdies all week, Scheffler hit 4-iron to 5 feet for the first of three straight birdies that sent him to a 4-under 67 and the FedEx Cup trophy with its $25 million prize, the richest in golf.
“All I'm trying to do is hit a good shot,” he said. “This year, I've been able to do that a lot.”
The victory pushed his season earnings, including bonuses, to just under $62.3 million.
It was the greatest year since Tiger Woods won eight times in 2006, including six in a row and two majors, all while dealing with the death of his father. Scheffler's eight wins included the Masters, The Players Championship, an Olympic gold medal and the Tour Championship that enabled him to finally claim the FedEx Cup.
His seven PGA Tour titles are the most since Woods in 2007.
“We'll look back on 2024 and it's obviously one of the best individual years that a player has had for a long time,” Rory McIlroy said.
Adam Scott, who tied for fourth in the FedEx Cup, turned pro during the peak of Woods in 2000 and did not shy away from the comparisons Scheffler has created because of his consistent level of contending.
“I think it is on par with those great years of Tiger’s,” Scott said. “I think it’s very hard today for anyone to separate themselves as much as Scottie has. I don’t think we’ve seen that in a long time. I think it’s harder to do it today.”
Scheffler took the drama out of the final hour — four of his wins this year were by three shots or more — and finally let out a “WOOO!!” as he stepped inside to sign his card. He hoisted two big trophies, the silver FedEx Cup and his 4-month-old son, Bennett.
But it was hard work.
This was the third straight year Scheffler came to East Lake as the top seed, meaning he started the tournament at 10-under par with a two-shot lead. Two years ago, he lost a six-shot lead in the final round to McIlroy.
He has been PGA Tour player of the year the last two seasons, leaving without the FedEx Cup trophy. “It definitely leaves a bad taste in your mouth at the end of the year,” he said.
Scheffler was determined for that not to be the case, though it got dicey as storm clouds began to threaten. Most harrowing was the two-shot swing on No. 8, when Morikawa pumped his fist with a birdie as Scheffler's shank led to a bogey.
And then it was over.
After his birdie on the ninth, Scheffler hit wedge to 3 feet on No. 10 for birdie, and then swirled in a 15-foot birdie putt on the par-3 11th.
“He's not going to just starting making bogeys after that,” Morikawa said. “He's going to do the opposite and he’s going to start hitting golf shots. It almost brought his focus back in for a half second, and that’s something you can’t teach.”
Just like that, his lead was back to five shots. And when he holed a 15-foot eagle putt on the 14th hole, it was a matter of getting to the finish line to celebrate.
Scheffler only finished out of the top 10 three times in his 19 starts. He had a pair of runner-up finishes to go along with seven PGA Tour titles.
“He's the guy to beat every single week,” Justin Thomas said. “I don’t think people understand how hard that is to do, when you’re expected to win, when you’re the favorite to win, when every single thing you’re doing is being looked at — good and bad — on the golf course, and how hard it is to get in your own little zone and own little world and truly just quiet the noise.”
Morikawa, the No. 7 seed who started the tournament six shots behind, closed with a 66 and had the lowest score of the Tour Championship at 22-under 262. He won $12.5 million for finishing second in the FedEx Cup.
“Six shots behind was hard against the best player in the world,” Morikawa said. “I tried.”
Sahith Theegala, who called a two-shot penalty on himself Saturday for possibly brushing a small amount of sand on a bunker shot, closed with a 64 and finished third. He finished two shots behind Morikawa and earned a $7.5 million bonus for third place.
And to think it was just over five months ago when Scheffler was questioned about his putting, and he was coming up on a full year since his last PGA Tour title (he won the unofficial Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas).
His season earnings of $29,228,356 represented about 9.2% of the $317.4 million total purse from tournaments he played. Woods won $10,867,052 in 2007, about 9.7% of $112.5 million in total prize money.
Woods won about 11.6% of the total prize money in tournaments he played during 2000, still regarded as one of the great seasons ever.
The $25 million FedEx Cup prize is unofficial, as is the $8 million Scheffler received from the “Comcast Business Top 10” for leading the regular season.
The FedEx Cup trophy felt valuable in its own right, a perfect end to an astonishing season.
“It’s been a very eventful year,” Scheffler said, “but it’s been really fun.”
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AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf