ATLANTA — By taking home the biggest golf prize in almost two decades, Scottie Scheffler completed the greatest year in golf history.
In the Tour Championship, Scheffler was momentarily challenged on Sunday, but he answered with three consecutive birdies to make the victory appear as certain as it has felt all year. He defeated Collin Morikawa by four shots in the final round, closing with a four-under 67 to win the FedEx Cup and its $25 million prize.
That increased his season salary to slightly over $62.3 million, including bonuses.
It was the best year since 2006, when Tiger Woods won eight times, including two majors and six consecutive victories, all while coping with his father’s passing. A gold medal from the Olympics, the Players Championship, the Masters, and the Tour Championship—which allowed him to finally win the FedEx Cup—were among Scheffler’s eight victories.
Since Woods in 2007, he has won the most titles on the PGA Tour (7).
“2024 will be remembered as one of the best individual years a player has had in a very long time,” remarked Rory McIlroy.
Scheffler arrived at East Lake with the number one seed for the third consecutive year, which meant he had a two-shot advantage and began the competition at 10-under par. He fell to McIlroy by six shots in the last round two years ago.
After every round, Scheffler had a lead of at least five strokes. But when the storm clouds started to threaten, there came a terrifying moment. On the reachable par-4 eighth hole, he made two consecutive bogeys, the second coming from a sheer shank from a bunker. With ten holes remaining, Morikawa reduced his seven-shot deficit from the first two holes to just two shots after making a birdie.
After that, it was finished.
On the par-three ninth hole, Scheffler made a birdie with a tee shot to five feet. On the par-three 11th hole, he swirled in a 15-foot birdie putt after hitting a wedge to three feet on the previous hole for a birdie.
His lead had returned to five shots in an instant. It was also a matter of reaching the finish line when he made a 15-foot eagle putt on the fourteenth hole.
Since everything depended on the final week at East Lake, Scheffler called the FedEx Cup a “silly” season-long race. Without a question, the FedEx Cup had its rightful winner.
In his 19 races, Scheffler only finished outside the top 10 three times. In addition to his seven PGA Tour victories, he also had two second-place results.
Justin Thomas declared, “He’s the guy to beat every single week.” People don’t realize how difficult it is to achieve that when you’re the favorite and under pressure to win, when everything you do on the golf course is scrutinized, both positively and negatively, and when it’s difficult to enter your own little bubble and shut out the outside world.
Morikawa was awarded $12.5 million for coming in second place. Finishing third with a final score of 64, Sahith Theegala received a $7.5 million bonus.