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 (Monday, Sept. 2, 2024, PH time) 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.”
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.
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. / AP