ATLANTA — Scottie Scheffler capped off the largest 12 months in golf in practically twenty years by profitable the largest prize in golf.
Challenged briefly Sunday within the Tour Championship, Scheffler responded with three straight birdies to make profitable look as inevitable because it has appeared all 12 months. He closed with a 4-under 67 for a four-shot victory over Collin Morikawa to seize the FedEx Cup and its $25 million prize.
That pushed his season earnings, together with bonuses, to simply over $62.3 million.
It was the best 12 months since Tiger Woods received eight instances in 2006, together with six in a row and two majors, all whereas coping with the dying of his father. Scheffler’s eight wins included the Masters, The Gamers Championship, an Olympic gold medal and the Tour Championship that enabled him to lastly declare the FedEx Cup.
“I am simply pleased with the work that we put in,” Scheffler mentioned of his season. “It is onerous to place into phrases what this 12 months has been like for me. It has been fairly emotional. There’s been a variety of stuff that is gone on exterior of golf. It has been a little bit of a wild 12 months.”
His seven PGA Tour titles are probably the most since Woods in 2007.
“We’ll look again on 2024 and it is clearly among the finest particular person years {that a} participant has had for a very long time,” Rory McIlroy mentioned.
This was the third straight 12 months Scheffler got here to East Lake as the highest seed, which means he began the event at 10-under par with a two-shot lead. Two years in the past, he misplaced a six-shot lead within the remaining spherical to McIlroy.
Scheffler led by no less than 5 pictures after every spherical. However there was a harrowing second as storm clouds started to threaten. He made two straight bogeys, the second on a pure shank from a bunker on the reachable par-4 eighth gap. Morikawa made birdie, and a seven-shot deficit he confronted after two holes was right down to a mere two pictures with 10 holes to play.
After which it was over.
Scheffler hit his tee shot to five ft on the par-3 ninth for birdie. He hit wedge to three ft on No. 10 for birdie, after which swirled in a 15-foot birdie putt on the par-3 eleventh.
Identical to that, his lead was again to 5 pictures. And when he holed a 15-foot eagle putt on the 14th gap, it was a matter of attending to the end line.
Scheffler referred to the FedEx Cup as a season-long race being “foolish” as a result of every thing got here right down to the ultimate week at East Lake. There was no doubting the FedEx Cup bought a most applicable champion.
Scheffler completed out of the highest 10 solely 3 times in his 19 begins. He had a pair of runner-up finishes to go together with seven PGA Tour titles.
“He is the man to beat each single week,” Justin Thomas mentioned. “I do not assume folks perceive how onerous that’s to do, whenever you’re anticipated to win, whenever you’re the favourite to win, when each single factor you are doing is being checked out — good and unhealthy — on the golf course, and the way onerous it’s to get in your individual little zone and personal little world and really simply quiet the noise.”
Morikawa received $12.5 million for ending second. Sahith Theegala closed with a 64 and completed third, incomes a $7.5 million bonus.
