Scottie Scheffler caps Tiger Woods-like season with $25 million victory

ATLANTA — When Tiger Woods famously made birdie on the 72nd hole at the 2008 U.S. Open, which forced a playoff with Rocco Mediate the following day, Dan Hicks of NBC Sports famously cried out, “Expect anything different!?”

You can say the same thing about this week’s Tour Championship. World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler won wire-to-wire, clinching his first FedEx Cup title and the $25 million that comes with it. He also became the first player to win seven PGA Tour titles in a season since 2007, when Woods did so, making those comparisons even more palpable.

Scheffler’s march to history began at Bay Hill in March, where, after having the putting yips, he decided to switch out his mallet putter for a spider one. He won that week and has stood atop the FedEx Cup standings ever since, a 25-week stretch that sets a new PGA Tour record.

The following week, Scheffler won at TPC Sawgrass, becoming the first player to win The Players in back-to-back years. A month later, he won The Masters, as he made no mistakes down the stretch while every other contender faltered around him. Scheffler then won the RBC Heritage, the Memorial, and the Travelers Championship, further solidifying his place as the best player in the world.

But his final round at the Olympics, a 9-under 62, will live on in sports lore forever. It is, without a doubt, one of the most incredible rounds in history. It ranks up there with Johnny Miller’s 63 at Oakmont in 1973, Tom Watson’s 65 at Turnberry in 1977, Jack Nicklaus’ 65 at Augusta in 1986, and Henrik Stenson’s 63 at Royal Troon.

“As far as the year goes, I really don’t know how to put it into words,” Scheffler said Sunday.

Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

“I think the gold medal is pretty cool. I think when you hear people chanting ‘U-S-A,’ even though it’s been over a month now since it happened, you still hear people talking about it, chanting. It’s pretty cool. Like I said, I take great pride in being an American, so pretty fun to bring home that gold medal.”

During the national anthem, Scheffler was overcome with emotion while standing on the podium as he recognized the significance of representing his country and his place in history.

Since Paris, however, Scheffler has not been at his best. He contended at the FedEx St. Jude in Memphis but never threatened victory. Then, Scheffler had a frustrating few days at the BMW Championship, which included a rare tirade. He tied for 33rd, failing to break 71 on all four days.

Despite that, he arrived in Atlanta sitting atop the FedEx Cup standings, a position he has been in for the past two seasons. Thanks to the starting strokes format the Tour Championship now employs, Scheffler began the week holding a two-shot advantage at 10-under par over Xander Schauffele, who had a marvelous year of his own. But Scheffler has called this format “silly,” as it puts a giant target on his back. His disdain for it perhaps draws from the 2022 and 2023 seasons, when he failed to take advantage of the two-shot lead he started with.

But that would not happen this time around.

After bogeying the first hole on Thursday, Scheffler went on an absolute tear. He played the final 17 holes during the first round in 7-under par, opening up a record seven-shot lead over the field after 18 holes.

It was all but over.

“I’m trying not to think much about the starting strokes stuff,” Scheffler said Thursday.

“I think it’s still a bit weird that it’s not a traditional event. But yeah, it was nice to get off to a good start in the first round, and I feel like I did a lot of things well today.”

He continued to do many things well over the final 54 holes, carding 66-66-67 on the par-71 layout to beat Collin Morikawa by four.

“We’ve put in a lot of work to get to this point, and it’s been a long week,” Scheffler said Sunday.

“Right now, I’m just pretty tired, so I don’t really know how to put this into words. But it’s a pretty special feeling to be finally holding the trophy.”

Even though it looked like the FedEx Cup would be Scheffler’s all along, the man always has a knack for entertaining. Whether it’s his superb play from tee to green, getting booked into a Lousiville jail cell, or three-putting from nine feet, Scheffler always keeps the golfing world on the edge of their seats.

He did so again on the 7th and 8th holes on Sunday.

On the 7th, Scheffler hit a snap duck-hook that threatened out-of-bounds. Yet, his wayward drive stayed in play as it bounced off the boundary fence. But it nestled up against an Arborvitaie, setting up a precarious situation. Scheffler then took his stance, half his body covered by the tree, and pitched out in the fairway. He ultimately left himself a 5-footer for par but missed, thus taking a three-shot advantage to the 8th tee.

Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

After driving it into the greenside bunker on this drivable par-4, Scheffler hit a cold-blooded shank that went dead right off the hosel. He made a bogey while Morikawa birdied, thus cutting his lead to two—the lowest it had been since the 6th hole on Saturday.

But nobody on the PGA Tour bounces back better than Scheffler, another Tiger-esque attribute that makes him the best player in the world. He made three straight birdies after that shank, extending his lead back to five in a matter of minutes.

His caddie, Ted Scott, gave him a quick pep talk between the 8th and 9th holes, which settled Scheffler down and re-focused him again. The reigning Masters champion then pulled out 4-iron on the 9th, a challenging par-3, and stuck his tee shot to five feet.

“Nine was a huge turnaround,” Scheffler said.

“Teddy gave me a nice pep talk there on the back of eight green because I kind of looked at him like, ‘Man, I don’t know about this; this isn’t looking so hot right now.’ He gave me a little pep talk and then I was able to hit a really nice iron shot in there and got things rolling.”

Part of why Scheffler has been so dominant has been because of Scott, who has earned almost $6 million of his own this season. It’s nice to loop for the world’s best player, who has earned nearly $70 million this year alone.

“I’m not going to give away all our secrets,” Scheffler said when asked about what Scott said on the 8th green.

“But Teddy has always been my biggest supporter. I think the results speak for themselves after he was able to pick up my bag and start helping me. He really is a huge part of the team. I don’t know if I’d be able to do any of this without him on my bag. We’ve got a great relationship. He has a habit of saying the right thing at the right time to keep me in the right frame of mind.”

After re-establishing his massive lead with birdies on the 9th, 10th, and 11th, Scheffler put an exclamation point on this championship with an eagle on the par-5 14th. He even gave a little fist-pump, knowing he had put this tournament to bed.

He held a five-stroke lead with four holes to play at that point, which meant it was time to engrave his name into the FedEx Cup trophy for the first time.

His closest pursuer, Morikawa, could do nothing more as he put forth a valiant effort in his chase for Tour Championship glory. If not for the format, Morikawa would have actually won this tournament. He posted a gross score of 22-under par, while Scheffler finished at 20-under.

“Nothing fazes him,” Morikawa said of Scheffler.

“Whether I was close to gaining some ground or he was gaining ground, it didn’t change how he walked, played, or went through every shot. That’s something to learn. I think his mental game is a lot stronger than a lot of people I know.”

That proclamation sounds awfully similar—similar to what many players may have said in the early-to-mid 2000s.

“I think the guys are wondering, ‘How do you beat him?’ That was the same kind of factor that Tiger Woods had when he was at his peak,” NBC Sports analyst Kevin Kisner said on the broadcast.

“Guys didn’t want to be paired with him; they didn’t know how they could beat him, and Scottie is starting to get there.”

Indeed, Scheffler put forth a historic season that only legends have produced.

“Talk about the great seasons of all time, the plateau of seven wins in a season in the last 70 years: Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Johnny Miller, Tom Watson, Tiger Woods, Vijay Singh, and now, Scottie Scheffler,” Hicks said on the NBC broadcast on Sunday.

“A season that may never be duplicated.”

Seven PGA Tour titles and a gold medal victory is almost incomprehensible. But so is a quick trip to a jail cell, where he warmed up for his second round of the PGA Championship. Of course, he shot a 66 on that Friday in May.

But through all the superb play, the history-making, and the chaos, Scheffler and his wife Meredith became parents this year, a reality that ranks above all else.

“I feel like I’ve lived almost a full lifetime in this one year. It’s been nuts,” Scheffler said.

“I think it just always comes back to my faith. I think that’s what keeps me grounded and in the right frame of mind.”

If he keeps that mindset, Scheffler will win and intimidate players for years to come—just as Woods did some two decades ago.

Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.