The final event of the PGA season, the Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta included the top 30 players in the season-long standings for the FedEx Cup. Throughout this season, two players stood well ahead of the rest of the pack: Scottie Scheffler had 6,615 points entering this week and Xander Schauffele had 5,422 points. The next closest was below 4,000.
In 2019, the PGA Tour changed the format of the Tour Championship. This change included starting strokes, which meant that depending on your position in the FedEx Cup Standings, you would start at a certain score relative to par. This meant that Scheffler started the week at 10 under par and with a two-stroke lead over Schauffele.
Scheffler was quoted during a news conference at TPC Southwind calling the format of the event “silly” because he believes that the idea of it being a season-long race isn’t reflected by starting a few strokes ahead. Other players weren’t as upset about the format because they still had a chance at victory.
“I love the format, because if it wasn’t this format, none of us would have a chance against [Scheffler] because he’s so far ahead,” four-time major winner Rory McIlroy said.
Scheffler opened his round with a bogey on the first hole, but he went on to birdie seven holes the rest of the way, shooting an opening six-under 65 and ending 16-under on the day. He not only started the tournament in first place but also shot the lowest gross round to grow a massive lead. From that point on, he never looked back.
Scheffler followed up his 65 with a 66 in the second round, another 66 in the third round and a final round 67. He finished the tournament with a gross score of 20-under, and a net score of 30-under, including the starting strokes. At the end of the week, he added a FedEx Cup — and $25 million — to his already historic season.
Collin Morikawa made a push toward Scheffler on a few different occasions, with the closest margin being two strokes, but every time he threatened, Scheffler pulled away quickly. Morikawa had the lowest gross score for the week at 22-under, but he started six shots behind Scheffler at four-under.
Sahith Theegala is another competitor who also had an impressive tournament, shooting the second-best gross score of 21-under, but he started seven back of Scheffler at three-under, thus finishing the event at 24-under and in third place overall.
Schauffele didn’t bring his A-game at East Lake, finishing the tournament at 19-under for a tie for fourth place after starting the week in second place. While he didn’t play his best golf on the weekend, he finished the final round with three straight birdies to shoot a three-under 68 and earn himself a bigger check.
Scheffler’s win capped a one-of-a-kind season that stands alone in the history books. His main achievements and events throughout the season, both on and off the golf course, included a second Masters, a second Players, an Olympic gold medal, the FedEx Cup, eight total wins, 17 top ten finishes, $62.2 million in earnings, spending every week as world No. 1, becoming a father and even a brief stint in jail.
In the 2024 season, Scheffler played just 20 events as he spent multiple weeks at home taking care of his firstborn child. Not only did he win eight events, he won some of the biggest events at the biggest courses, including the Masters at Augusta, the Players Championship, the Arnold Palmer Invitational, the RBC Heritage Cup, the Travelers Cup, a Gold Medal in the Olympics at Le Golf National and, of course, the Tour Championship at East Lake.
All of his on-tour wins were either majors or elevated events, and he added an Olympic gold medal to that repertoire in a field that included multiple top players from the competing LIV tour.
Scottie Scheffler has raked in achievements and money earnings that many people never would have expected. While many say he’s the best golfer since Tiger Woods, Scottie has accomplished individual achievements that even Woods never attained.
Scottie showed not only his skill, but also an ability to bounce back quickly after unexpected circumstances. At his first hole at the PGA Championship after his arrest, he hit a perfect tee shot down the middle of the fairway and holed his approach from over 190 yards out for an eagle. While he didn’t go on to win the tournament, he still managed to block out the noise and finish in a tie for eighth.
Now that his roller coaster of a season is over, he can go back to his home in Dallas and spend the offseason with his wife and four-month-old son.
