Scottie Scheffler had an unforgettable year, marked by a Masters green jacket and an Olympic gold medal, becoming a first-time father and experiencing his first arrest.
He ended his remarkable season by winning the FedEx Cup on Sunday, making it one of golf’s best seasons in nearly 20 years.
“If you can describe it in words, more power to you,” Scheffler said after his four-shot victory in the Tour Championship, which was his eighth win of the year. “Because I don’t think I can.”
As always, his performance on the course spoke for itself.
Scheffler, who had a lead of up to seven shots at East Lake early in the final round, had a few shaky moments, including a bogey on No. 7 after nearly hitting his tee shot out-of-bounds and another bogey on the par-4 eighth after a bunker shank.
His lead was reduced to two shots over Collin Morikawa.
On the par-3 ninth, a hole that had seen only nine birdies all week, Scheffler hit a 4-iron to 5 feet and made the first of three straight birdies. He finished with a 4-under 67 to win the FedEx Cup and its $25 million prize, the largest 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.” This victory brought his total season earnings, including bonuses, to just under $62.3 million.
It was the best year in golf since Tiger Woods won eight times in 2006, including six consecutive wins and two majors, while also dealing with his father’s death. Scheffler’s eight wins this year included the Masters, The Players Championship, an Olympic gold medal, and the Tour Championship, allowing him to 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 professional during Tiger Woods’ peak in 2000 and wasn’t afraid to compare Scottie Scheffler’s current performance to those great years of Woods.
“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 made the final hour of the tournament less tense by winning four of his tournaments this year by three shots or more. He finally let out a “WOOO!!” when he signed his scorecard, holding up the silver FedEx Cup and his 4-month-old son, Bennett.
But it was hard work. This was the third year in a row that Scheffler came to East Lake as the top seed, starting 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 Rory McIlroy.
He had been PGA Tour player of the year for the last two seasons but left 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 not to let that happen again, even as storm clouds threatened. The most nerve-wracking moment was the two-shot swing on No. 8 when Collin Morikawa made a birdie and Scheffler’s shank led to a bogey.
But then Scheffler turned things around.
After his birdie on the ninth hole, he made a birdie with a wedge from 3 feet on No. 10 and followed with a 15-foot birdie putt on the par-3 11th.
“He’s not going to just start making bogeys after that,” Morikawa said. “He’s going to do the opposite and start hitting golf shots. It almost brought his focus back in for a half second, and that’s something you can’t teach.”
With that, his lead grew back to five shots. After making a 15-foot eagle putt on the 14th hole, it was just a matter of finishing to celebrate.
Scheffler finished outside the top 10 only three times in his 19 starts this season. He also had a couple of runner-up finishes 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.”
Collin Morikawa, the No. 7 seed who started the tournament six shots behind, finished with a 66 and had the lowest score of the Tour Championship at 22-under 262. He earned $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 gave himself a two-shot penalty on Saturday for possibly brushing a small amount of sand on a bunker shot, closed with a 64 and finished third. He ended two shots behind Morikawa and earned a $7.5 million bonus for third place.
It’s remarkable to think that just over five months ago, Scheffler was facing questions about his putting and had not won a PGA Tour title in almost a year (his last win was the unofficial Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas).
His season earnings of $29,228,356 were about 9.2% of the $317.4 million total purse from tournaments he played. In 2007, Woods won $10,867,052, 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, which is still considered one of the greatest 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 amazing season. “It’s been a very eventful year,” Scheffler said, “but it’s been really fun.”
