Three back at the start, three clear at the end
Scheffler began the final round three shots behind Viktor Hovland and finished three ahead of him. That was the tournament.
The world No. 1 shot a 4-under 66 at East Lake to close on 16-under 264 and take the Tour Championship, his second FedEx Cup in three years. Hovland signed for a 72 and slipped to 13 under, alone in second.
Only two players had ever won the FedEx Cup more than once. Tiger Woods took it in 2007 and 2009. Rory McIlroy won three, in 2016, 2019 and 2022. Scheffler is the third name on that list, after his first title in 2024.
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Two inches at the second hole
The opening stretch settled it. Scheffler scrambled a par at a first hole playing into the wind, then stuck his tee shot at the par-3 second to two inches. Birdie. He birdied the fourth to pull level with Hovland at 14 under while the leaders were still finding their feet, Ryan Gerard having opened with a double bogey.
A bogey at the seventh, a birdie at the eighth. Another birdie at the 10th. Then a five-footer at the 13th that put him in front on his own for the first time all week, at 16 under.
He handed it back with a bogey at the 14th after driving into the rough. Hovland did the same at the 13th from the same trouble. Scheffler settled the argument by getting up and down from a fairway bunker at the 16th for birdie.
Hovland’s week ended at the 17th. He overshot the green from 103 yards with a lob wedge and made bogey. Three back with one hole to play, and Scheffler was already walking up the last.
Past Woods on the money list
The $10 million first prize carried Scheffler to $130,390,661 in career PGA Tour earnings. Woods had held the record at $120,999,166. McIlroy needed a solo fourth or better to get there first and finished tied for fourth at 11 under, alongside Chris Gotterup, Ludvig Aberg, Alex Fitzpatrick, Jacob Bridgeman, Min Woo Lee and Russell Henley.
Gerard shot 72 and took third at 12 under. Nobody else came near the top two.
Scheffler called winning “two out of three playoff events” a good way to close the season. Three victories this year, ten top-three finishes, and a Player of the Year vote that is unlikely to take long.
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