pga tour champions final

Live | PGA TOUR Champions

Sanford International

Minnehaha Country Club

Sioux Falls, South Dakota

Sep 13 - 16 , 2024

PGA of America

The PGA of America is one of the world's largest sports organizations, composed of PGA of America Golf Professionals who work daily to grow interest and participation in the game of golf.

2024 Principal Charity Classic final results: Prize money payout, PGA Tour Champions leaderboard, how much each golfer won

T he 2024 Principal Charity Classic final leaderboard is headed by winner Ernie Els, who topped the PGA Tour Champions leaderboard this week with a win on the 2024 PGA Tour Champions schedule at Wakonda Club in Des Moines, Iowa.

Els shot a 65 in the final round to hold off prior winner Stephen Ames by two shots on 21-under 195 in the 54-hole tournament.

Bernhard Langer, Rod Pampling and David Duval finished tied for third place, all four shots behind the winning South African.

Els won the $300,000 winner's share of the $2,000,000 purse.

Principal Charity Classic recap notes

Els wins the 12th PGA Tour Champions title of the year, getting into the winner's circle on the 50-plus tour for the fourth time.

The money Els -- and every PGA Tour Champions player in the field -- earned is converted into Charles Schwab Cup points, with every dollar converted into two points during the Charles Schwab Cup playoffs.

There is no cut on PGA Tour Champions-run events, including the major championships they run. Every pro who finished the tournament was paid.

The 2024 PGA Tour Champions schedule continues next week with the American Family Insurance Championship in Wisconsin.

2024 Principal Charity Classic final leaderboard, results and prize money payouts

Click header to sort; rotate mobile screens for details

The post 2024 Principal Charity Classic final results: Prize money payout, PGA Tour Champions leaderboard, how much each golfer won first appeared on Golf News Net .

Copyright, Golf News Net. All rights reserved.

• Champions League
• Motor Sports
• High School
• Horse Racing Northeast
• Shop Northeast
• PBR Northeast
• 3ICE Northeast
• Stubhub Northeast
• Play Golf Northeast

2024 Tour Championship leaderboard: Scottie Scheffler claims FedEx Cup payout with seventh win of season

Scheffler concluded an all-time campaign with the biggest money-earning victory of his career.

The final event of the 2024 PGA Tour season, the Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club, was emblematic of the season as a whole. Everyone in the field attempted to catch Scottie Scheffler, and for a brief moment, a few even thought they might. Still, in the end, Scheffler slammed the door on their dreams, waltzed to yet another victory and claimed a $25 million bonus out of the $100 million FedExCup payout pool to go along with it.

Scheffler on Sunday became the first golfer since Tiger Woods in 2007 to win seven PGA Tour events in a single season. Only those two and Vijay Singh have won 7+ tournaments in the same campaign since 1983. Scheffler's scoring average of the 68 over the course of the season marked the lowest in Tour history.

It started going sideways for Scheffler, who took a five-shot lead into the Tour Championship finale, on the seventh hole when he nearly roped a drive out of bounds. The ball nestled up next to a tree, and Scheffler made bogey from there. Another bogey followed on the par-4 eighth hole when he shanked a bunker shot sideways and backwards from where he was aiming. Collin Morikawa birdied that same hole to cut the lead to two as everybody watching leaned forward in anticipation.

Then Scheffler birdied three straight holes to put a wrap on the 2024 FedEx Cup. He concluded his day with a 4-under 67 to finish at 30 under for the tournament and claim his first FedEx Cup trophy. The win brings his season-long total money earned to an astounding $62,228,357.

"I was a bit frustrated. I had a pretty simple up and down there," Scheffler said of the shank. "Outside of the ball being on the side slope, it's pretty basic. ... It definitely happened at the wrong time, [but] from there on out, I did some pretty nice stuff."

Scheffler claiming the FedEx Cup after already winning a Masters green jacket and Olympic gold medal -- along with his multiple victories in signature events -- is an extraordinary feat, but the way in which he came through Sunday deserves further perspective.

He reached a moment on Sunday when memories of blowing a six-shot lead in the final round of the 2022 Tour Championship could have crept into his mind and affected his play; instead, he went the other way, blowing open the tournament and destroying the rest of the best golfers in the world.

Scheffler is great because he's a huge talent who works extremely hard, but now he's bordering on legendary with 15 wins in the last 32 months and $125 million earned. He exists at a level mentally that few have ever reached. 

That was the story of his season. Over and again, Scheffler spoke about how much pride he took in his ability to stay focused and reset mentally. It's one thing to say as much but quite another to hit a shank with $25 million on the line and get back after it immediately. That's what Scheffler achieved, and few endings have more appropriately summed up the overall narrative season than the conclusion of the Tour Championship.

Winning the FedEx Cup is not Scheffler's most notable achievement in a career full of them, but it is the one most emblematic of the player Scheffler has become and why he is far and away the best golfer in the world. Grade: A+

Here are the rest of our grades for the 2024 Tour Championship.

2. Collin Morikawa (-26): It was such a great effort from Morikawa, who seemed incredibly freed up from the back nine in his first round onward. There is a strange argument to make that Morikawa had the best season of his career despite not officially winning a PGA Tour event. He did end up winning an OWGR event by taking the fewest number of strokes at the Tour Championship, but he did not claim an official PGA Tour event because of the starting stroke differential between him and Scheffler to open the tournament. Regardless, I'm bullish on him in 2025 to have some win luck swing back in his favor. Grade: A

3. Sahith Theegala (-24): What a wild game. Theegala called a penalty on himself Saturday in the third round that cost him two strokes, and ultimately, $2.5 million. He would have finished tied for second alongside Morikawa with those two shots back and would have won the OWGR event. That's an unfortunate part of the deal, but it would not have deterred Theegala's decision. He was lights out on the weekend playing his last 27 holes in 13 under par. He's also going to be electric at the Presidents Cup. Grade: A

T4. Xander Schauffele (-19): The clear-cut second-best player in 2024 did not play like that at the Tour Championship until the end. Schauffele was the only golfer who could, with a straight face, say that he was even close to Scheffler's universe in 2024. Unfortunately, he stumbled a bit over the first few days at a golf course where he has historically played spectacularly. After starting two back of Scheffler, Schauffele finished 11 back of him on Sunday. Three birdies at the end of his final round, though, made up for it a bit as he earned $3 million more than he would have with three pars. That included a wild chip in at the final hole to complete the birdie streak. Grade: B+

T9. Rory McIlroy (-16): It was a weird final stretch of the season for the normally consistent McIlroy. He was quite volatile after the U.S. Open and did not do much at this event until a final round 66 on Sunday. It was still a nice year but not what McIlroy expects. It speaks to his outrageous ceiling that finishing T9 in the FedEx Cup is his second worst finish of the last seven years. "It's been a long season, and I'm going to just have to think about trying to build in a few extra breaks here and there next year and going forward because I felt like I hit a bit of a wall sort of post-U.S. Open, and still feel a little bit of that hangover," he said.  Grade: B

T14. Justin Thomas (-14 ): Jumped from nearly last to middle of the pack with a good Tour Championship. His performance probably gets him onto the Presidents Cup team, and it was representative of the grind-it-out season he put together. Nothing amazing, but he's slowly building back into the player he's been for the majority of his PGA Tour career. In a somewhat under-the-radar way, too. Grade: B+

T21. Keegan Bradley (-8): It's not a bad showing given the spot Bradley was in a few weeks ago when he narrowly made it to the BMW Championship. However, given that he started the week at 6 under and could only manage to get to 8 under by the end of the week, that's nevertheless a huge disappointment. To provide better context, Bradley started in the spot that receives $6 million and ended in the spot that receives less than $700,000. That's a tough fall after such an amazing week last week at the BMW Championship. Grade: B

Russell Henley 62

The best round of Sunday goes to Russell Henley who made eagle at the last to shoot 62 and jump all the way up to T4.

Scottie has ended the festivities

The last event went just like the season went. Everybody trying to catch Scottie and thinking they possibly could, and then him slamming the door on their dreams and waltzing to another victory.

Bounce back birdies

Following his shank out of a bunker on the 8th hole, Scheffler birdies the next two to push his lead back to four over Morikawa. Big boy birdies and emblematic of what he's done all year. 

Scheffler shank

Scottie just shanked a bunker shot on the 8th hole and went on to make bogey to bring Collin Morikawa back into it. Morikawa now within two going to the 9th tee. 

Scuffling Scottie

OK, Collin Morikawa has cut the lead to four shots. Scottie has made two bogeys in his last three holes, and Morikawa is now within striking distance. I wonder now if what happened in 2022 -- when Rory McIlroy ran down Scheffler from six back of him to start the day -- is starting to creep into Scheffler's head. 

Scottie starts rolling

Scottie takes an early seven shot lead over Morikawa with a birdie at the first hole, although Morikawa has fought back to make it six with 14 holes left to play. The only other golfer within 10 right now is Sahith Theegala, who is -18.

Scottie and Collin ready to roll

18 holes for $25 million is crazy, but that's what two of the top 10 players in the world are about to play for during their final round at East Lake. 

CBS Sports HQ Newsletter

We bring sports news that matters to your inbox, to help you stay informed and get a winning edge., thanks for signing up, keep an eye on your inbox., there was an error processing your subscription..

McIlroy shoots 68, in contention at Irish Open

Lipsky (65) leads Procore Championship

Solheim Cup preview, breakdown

FedEx Cup Fall: What is at stake?

Jon Rahm's DP World Tour status up in the air

Snedeker named assistant for U.S. Presidents Cup

LIV Golf wraps up regular season outside Chicago

PGA Tour, Tiger Woods meet Saudi PIF in New York

Jordan Spieth expects wrist injury to be 'fine' by 2025

PGA Tour vs. LIV Golf on TV? Stars to play in December

• Nate Ryan ,

• Zachary Krueger ,

• Zach Browning ,

Trending Teams

PGA Tour Champions

• Golf Channel Podcast
• College Golf Talk
• Solheim Cup

View Full Schedule

• Associated Press ,

AROUND THE GOLF WORLD

• Mercer Baggs ,

• Brentley Romine ,

• Ryan Lavner ,

2024 Tour Championship final results: Prize money payout, PGA Tour leaderboard and how much each golfer won

The 2024 Tour Championship final leaderboard is headed by winner Scottie Scheffler , who prevailed by four shots to win the FedEx Cup at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, Ga.

Starting the final round well ahead of the field, Scheffler had what became a seven-shot lead diminished into a two-shot advantage over Collin Morikawa after a shank on the eighth hole from a bunker. From there, Scheffler birdied the next three holes to slam the door on the event with starting strokes included.

Scheffler began the week on -10, then he played the tournament in 20-under 264 to win on 30-under total.

Sahith Theegala finished alone in third place on the FedEx Cup leaderboard at 24-under total, taking a five-shot edge over Xander Schauffele , Adam Scott and Russell Henley . Had Theegala not penalized himself two shots in the third round for touching the sand in a bunker by the narrowest of margins, he would have finished in a tie for second place and made $2.5 million more.

Scheffler won the $25,000,000 winner's share of the $82,925,000 purse.

Tour Championship recap notes

Morikawa had the lowest 72-hole score in the event without starting strokes, meaning he earns the 47.6 first-place Official World Golf Ranking points with the win in the 72-hole stroke-play championship, which will boost his individual world ranking.

Scheffler earns a five-year PGA Tour exemption for winning the FedEx Cup, which is really just an extension of what amounts to a lifetime exemption.

A total of 30 players finished the tournament in the 39th event of the 2024 PGA Tour season after a 36-hole cut was not made.

The 2024 PGA Tour FedEx Cup schedule is over, but the FedEx Fall starts in two weeks with the Procore Championship in California.

2024 Tour Championship final leaderboard, results and prize money payouts

Click header to sort; rotate mobile screens for details

About the author

Ryan Ballengee

Ryan Ballengee is founder and editor of Golf News Net. He has been writing and broadcasting about golf for nearly 20 years. Ballengee lives in the Washington, D.C. area with his family. He is currently a +2.6 USGA handicap, and he has covered dozens of major championships and professional golf tournaments. He likes writing about golf and making it more accessible by answering the complex questions fans have about the pro game or who want to understand how to play golf better.

Ryan talks about golf on various social platforms:

X or Twitter: https://twitter.com/ryanballengee Facebook: https://facebook.com/ryanballengeegolf Instagram: https://instagram.com/ryanballengee YouTube: https://youtube.com/@ryanballengeegolf

Ballengee can be reached by email at ryan[at]thegolfnewsnet.com

Ryan occasionally links to merchants of his choosing, and GNN may earn a commission from sales generated by those links. See more in GNN's affiliate disclosure.

Advertisement

Scottie scheffler wins 2024 tour championship to claim fedex cup, $25 million bonus, share this article.

ATLANTA — Randy Smith was speaking about his star pupil Scottie Scheffler when Scheffler’s mother, Diane, swooped in for a hug. But as he accepted her embrace, Smith answered the question about what he learned seeing Scheffler overcome the dreaded shank at the eighth hole in the final round of the 2024 Tour Championship and bounce back with three straight birdies and go on to win the title and the FedEx Cup for the first time with a winning score of 30 under.

“A lot,” Smith said, his eyes growing wide.

He still remembers when Scheffler was seven or eight years old and he would grow increasingly frustrated when he would do everything in his power correctly but the ball would take a funny bounce or would hit a spike mark and go off line. Scheffler couldn’t understand it. Smith said it took time, but he learned to control what he can control and appreciate that golf is not a game of perfect.

“Golf is hard,” Smith said, “and he’s figured out how to make it easy.”

Scottie Scheffler lines up his putt on the fifth green during the final round of the TOUR Championship. (John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports)

Indeed, Scheffler has, making five birdies and an eagle at East Lake Golf Club to shoot 4-under 67 on Sunday and beat Collin Morikawa by four strokes in the FedEx Cup finale to remove any doubt of who is the PGA Tour Player of the Year. Scheffler became the first player to win seven times in a single season – eight according to Scheffler, who counts the gold medal at the Paris Olympics – since Tiger Woods in 2007. In the last 40 years, Scheffler joins Woods, who did it four times, and Vijay Singh, who won nine times in 2004.

No less than Adam Scott, the 44-year-old veteran who experienced Tiger’s prime and finished T-4 this week, said Scheffler’s season was worthy of comparisons to some of Tiger’s best work.

“I think it is on par with those great years of Tiger’s. 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,” he said.

Golf Channel’s Brandel Chamblee argued Scheffler’s game from tee to green has been every bit as good as Tiger in his prime. “I never thought I’d be able to say that – Tiger Woods was a much better putter…what we (saw) this week is Tiger Woods-type putting,” he said of Scheffler, who ranked third in Strokes Gained: Putting this week.

Just a few weeks after Rory McIlroy suggested on national TV that Scheffler should consider using a mallet putter, he switched to a TaylorMade Spider in March, and the putts started to drop. When Scheffler, already the game’s most complete player, putts well, it’s not a fair fight.

“I made a lot of putts this year when I really needed to,” he said. “I think of the putt to win Memorial, I think of some of the putts I made over the week at the Players and the putts I made on the back nine Sunday at the Olympics. I made some putts this year when I really needed to, and that’s why I’m sitting here with a lot of wins instead of a few.”

Scheffler entered the Tour Championship at No. 1 in the FedEx Cup standings for the third consecutive year and began at 10 under in the staggered start, two strokes clear of Xander Schauffele and as many as 10 ahead of the last man in the 30-man field. With rounds of 65-66-66, he enjoyed a five-stroke lead heading into the final round, and with Morikawa making bogey at the first and Scheffler sinking a birdie at No. 2, his lead grew to seven. But that seemingly commanding advantage began to shrink. Scheffler made three bogeys in a four-hole stretch beginning at the fifth and concluding with the world No. 1 shanking that ball from a greenside bunker at No. 8 .

“You can see it in his body language right now,” NBC’s Jim “Bones” Mackay said. “He is shaken up.”

Tour Championship : Leaderboard | Photos

Very surprising were the words Morikawa used to describe the shot. He pounced, rolling in his birdie putt for a two-stroke swing to cut the deficit to two. All the momentum had shifted. But one of Scheffler’s super powers is his ability to only look forward.

“He went back to work,” Smith said.

“It almost brought his focus back in for a half second, and that’s something you can’t teach. You just either have it or you don’t,” Morikawa said.

It looked as if Scheffler, who blew a six-stroke 54-hole lead in the 2022 Tour Championship to McIlroy, was reeling. A pep talk from caddie Ted Scott helped settle his nerves. Morikawa wasn’t surprised what happened next: “He played Scottie golf.”

Scheffler drilled a 4-iron at the par-3 ninth to 3 feet and made birdie. He birdied the next two holes to stretch the lead to five. That’s what the greats do. Just like he did down the road at Augusta National Golf Club in April, he sucked all the drama out of the closing holes.

Scottie Scheffler celebrates with wife Meredith and their son Bennett after winning the 2024 Tour Championship. (John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports)

In a year in which he welcomed the birth of his first child, a son Bennett, and stretched in a Louisville jail cell before the second round of the PGA Championship at Valhalla, Scheffler collected his 13 th Tour title, tying him with a group that includes Jordan Spieth, Jason Day and David Duval. That included another major championship, his second Masters title, and he also won the Players, becoming the first player to win the Tour’s flagship event in back-to-back years. He also claimed four signature events: the Arnold Palmer Invitational, the RBC Heritage, the Travelers and the Memorial.

He won $25 million in bonus money as the FedEx Cup champion, bringing his grand total to $62,228,357 this season between official and bonus money .

“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. It’s something that is just as much of a skill as being able to hit a driver in the fairway or an iron on line. He’s clearly figured that out very well.”

Scott has tried to figure out Scheffler’s secret sauce, which included ranking first in 40 different statistical categories measured by the Tour – among them first in greens in regulation (73 percent) and putting average (1.69). No player had led both categories in a single season since 1980. (In 2000, Woods was second in putting average.)

“I’m observing all the time everything he does. I switched to his golf ball this year. I did a bunch of stuff just to see what’s going on. But I didn’t find it,” Scott said.

Aaron Rai, who made it to East Lake for the first time this season, has been keeping close tabs on Scheffler’s relentless play and run of dominance and offered a different take on what makes Scheffler special.

“His biggest strength is his outlook and his perspective on life,” Rai said. “To be able to maintain that level of golf under the pressure of being world No. 1 and the attention that surrounds him every week and to be able to play his best golf at No. 1 shows a different dimension to his game.”

Schauffele, who with two majors enjoyed a breakthrough season and finished T-4 at the Tour Championship, has witnessed Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson, McIlroy and Jon Rahm take their turn at No. 1, but what Scheffler has done stands alone.

“I think by the definition of dominance, I think that’s literally where he’s sitting,” Schauffele said. “They were kind of punching back and forth between 1, 2 and 3. Scottie has just been at the tip-top of the mountain for, what, two full years now it seems.”

Schauffele, Scott, Morikawa and the best players in men’s golf will get another shot next season to knock Scheffler from his perch, but none of his success surprises CBS analyst Colt Knost, who watched Scheffler blossom into the best in the world from a young age.

“This is what he does,” Knost said. “He’s been a winner his whole life, and I don’t see him slowing down any time soon.”

Check out the best equipment you can buy: Best drivers for 2024 | Best irons for 2024 | Best putters for 2024 | Best golf balls for 2024

Most Popular

Photos: solheim cup players go glam for the event's d.c. gala, meet the 12 players representing team usa at the 2024 solheim cup in virginia, including captain's pick lexi thompson, most cuts made all-time on pga tour, best golf quarter zip sweaters, pullovers and fleeces for fall 2024, golfweek's best 2024: top public-access golf courses in every state, ranked, photos: 2024 solheim cup at robert trent jones golf club, joe buck breaks down how he 'shattered' wife michelle beisner-buck's ankle with a golf ball.

Scottie Scheffler’s incredible season gets a fitting ending

10 Min Read

Converts TOUR Championship’s No. 1 seed into FedExCup crown

Change Text Size

ATLANTA – There was only one acceptable outcome for Scottie Scheffler at the TOUR Championship. That made the FedExCup Playoffs finale one of the most stressful weeks of the year.

In the previous two seasons, Scheffler had relinquished the unique, two-stroke advantage that the TOUR Championship affords the FedExCup leader. Though he was the PGA TOUR Player of the Year in both 2022 and 2023 – the first player since Tiger Woods to win the award in consecutive years – he couldn’t lay claim to the TOUR’s season-long prize.

“It definitely, I think, leaves a bad taste in your mouth at the end of the year, especially when I start with the lead,” Scheffler said about his unsuccessful attempts to win the FedExCup.

He was determined to make this time different. He is too competitive and had worked too hard to settle for anything less. There was no other way to end an incredible season where he won everything from a green jacket to a gold medal.

Behind the scenes after Scottie Scheffler’s TOUR Championship win

“In the back of your head you know it’s going to come down to this,” Scheffler said, “and you have to have a great week.”

This time, he did. But he had to show one more time what separates him from his peers before he could finally lift the FedExCup for the first time.

It came in the middle of a final round that once seemed like little more than a formality. Scheffler had built a seven-shot lead with just 16 holes remaining. The lead dwindled to two, though, after his sand shot on the eighth hole caught a portion of the clubface that only amateurs find.

Scottie Scheffler suffers back-to-back bogeys after shank at TOUR Championship

His shank, and the resulting bogey, allowed Collin Morikawa to pull within two shots. That’s when Scheffler’s caddie, Ted Scott, stepped in with a simple reminder.

“Just remember who you are,” Scott said. “You’re Scottie Scheffler.”

Scheffler responded by striping a 4-iron tee shot to within 3 feet of the ninth hole, the first of three consecutive birdies that put him five ahead. An eagle at the 14th hole, where Scheffler hit a 7-iron to 16 feet, made the final four holes the coronation that Scheffler’s season deserved.

Afterward, Scott had a message for his boss: “That’s the longest lead anyone has ever slept on.”

“It’s like eight months, knowing you’re going to have a lead here,” Scott explained. “It’s a tremendous amount of pressure, and he handled it super well.”

Players reflect on Scottie Scheffler’s season

Scheffler started the week at 10-under par and then shot 20-under (65-66-66-67, 264) on the following 72 holes. His total of 30-under par was four strokes better than Collin Morikawa, who shot the week’s low 72-hole score (66-63-67-66, 262). Sahith Theegala finished third at 24 under; he was the only other player within 10 shots of Scheffler.

Scheffler led the field in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee (+3.4), Greens in Regulation (54 of 72) and Driving Distance (338.6 yards). He was second in Driving Accuracy (37 of 56 fairways) and third in Strokes Gained: Putting (+4.1). It was another display of Scheffler’s unmatched ballstriking ability, and an opportunity to showcase the improved putting that was key to his dominant season.

“Last year I was playing good golf and I wasn't able to make the key putts at the right time, and this year I was,” Scheffler said. “That's really just the difference.”

Scheffler may have been voted the PGA TOUR’s top player in each of the previous two years, but his seven wins in 2024 were more than the previous two years combined. His 13 wins since February 2022 are more than double any other player. Including his Olympic gold medal, which doesn’t count as an official PGA TOUR win, he was victorious eight times in 2024 alone.

He will be the reigning FedExCup champion for the next 12 months, and it would likely take at least that long to supplant him from atop the world ranking.

“I'm proud of the results,” he said. “It's something I try not to focus too much on, but at the end of the day, being able to win tournaments is a great feeling, and it's what we work towards, and to be able to have as many wins as I have this year is really special.”

The rise of Scottie Scheffler

Scheffler won on courses both historic and modern, short and long, wide and narrow. From the expansive canvas of Augusta National to the cozy confines of Harbour Town. Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer could not stop Scheffler with the thick rough and firm greens that are the trademarks of their tournaments, nor could Pete Dye and his penal creations.

Scheffler held a magic wand for his first win, the mallet putter that he debuted that week, and his baby boy for the eighth and final victory of 2024. Little Bennett Scheffler has only been around since May but already has seen his father hoist four trophies. He still may fit inside the FedExCup.

It was a year that included a birth and an arrest, and he was victorious through a protest and an injury that almost forced him out of THE PLAYERS. But the trophies remained the biggest story. Through it all, he was unapologetically himself, sticking to the same philosophy that got him this far.

He relies on a simplicity that belies his achievements. Golf is supposed to be a complex game, but Scheffler sticks to the same fundamentals that his swing coach, Randy Smith, has been emphasizing since Scottie was a kid.

“Simple sometimes works best,” Smith said. It did this year.

Scottie Scheffler's impressive mentality and game

Warming up before the third round of the TOUR Championship, he was the only player on the practice range without a launch monitor sitting next to him. He uses a practice club with the same instructional grip that is often given to beginners, and he inspects the clubface, ensuring it’s square, before each practice shot. He often looks at his feet on the course, trying to focus on only his next step.

“I’ve always taken golf very seriously,” he once said. “I think that’s why I try to focus so much on the present, just staying present.”

The final week of the FedExCup Playoffs is a challenge to that mindset, though, because its format can almost present a premature coronation. The two-shot advantage that the FedExCup leader holds once he sets foot on the property is a reflection of all he’s accomplished during the season. There’s the temptation for reflection even though the final standings are still four rounds from being determined. There’s also a TOUR player’s inherent pride, which makes losing after being given a lead unacceptable.

“I should win the tournament if I'm starting ahead of people. That's how I feel,” Scheffler said. “So maybe the last couple years I've put too much pressure on myself to perform … but this year I did a good job of just staying in it mentally and keeping my head down.”

Scheffler is intensely competitive, whether at home in Dallas, where he gives 20 strokes to the mid-handicap members at Royal Oaks, or on the PGA TOUR. That’s why winning the FedExCup was so important to him. He didn’t want another season where there was a dichotomy between the vote of his peers for Player of the Year and the final scoreboard.

There is a finality to the TOUR Championship that adds significance. With the pursuit of the FedExCup complete, there is space to ruminate on the result. There is no next tournament or venue to focus on. That’s what made his loss here two years ago so difficult. He described it as “pretty challenging … to handle” and said he was “very sad” after losing a six-shot lead to Rory McIlroy in the final round.

Sadness is not an emotion that is readily confessed to by professional athletes, who hope to convey an intimidating air, but the 2022 TOUR Championship represented a disappointing end to an otherwise impeccable season that rapidly changed the course of Scheffler’s career. He won four times in a six-week span, earning both his first PGA TOUR title and his first major in the process. He rapidly ascended to world No. 1, as well. Losing the TOUR Championship may have been the only thing that didn’t go his way.

“I didn’t expect things to finish that way,” he said.

Scheffler won twice last year, including his first PLAYERS, to return to East Lake as the No. 1 seed. He broke par in just one round at the TOUR Championship, however.

Scheffler was still No. 1 when this year began, but he also was amid a winless drought that stretched to 51 weeks before he won the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard.

That duration was defined by his struggles on the greens. It was a frustrating span because his putting kept him from capitalizing on his peerless ball-striking, and it was a shortcoming that was the source of constant questions. It led to the most scrutiny he’d faced in his reign as the game’s top player.

Scheffler had been experimenting behind the scenes with new putters, however, and had enlisted putting coach Phil Kenyon the previous fall. It was at Bay Hill that Scheffler debuted the mallet putter that he would use in each of his eight wins this year.

“I felt like I was kind of gradually building towards something,” he said.

He committed to relying on the same athleticism that set him apart on long shots instead of obsessing over mechanics. He also ceased seeking perfection on the greens.

He won by five strokes at Bay Hill while finishing fifth in Strokes Gained: Putting (he led the field in that metric in the final round). It was the start of a five-tournament stretch where he won four times, and he was one 6-footer in Houston from potentially sweeping them all.

Scottie Scheffler’s dominance continues to impress fellow peers

A week after his win at Bay Hill, he became the first player to win back-to-back PLAYERS titles despite a neck injury that nearly forced him to withdraw. Then he won a second Masters with an exquisite display of ball control on a blustery week at Augusta National. By winning the following week, he became the first player since Bernhard Langer in 1985 to win at Augusta National and Harbour Town in consecutive weeks.

It was reminiscent of Scheffler’s breakout season in 2022 when he won four times in six starts – except this time, he just kept going. He was away for a month for the birth of his first child, then returned to a chaotic week at the PGA Championship. He still finished in the top 10 at Valhalla, then had two wins (and a runner-up) in his next four starts. Nicklaus’ Memorial Tournament presented by Workday was Scheffler’s first win as a father. At the Travelers Championship, he beat Tom Kim in a playoff after protesters stormed the 72nd green.

The Olympics may not count towards his PGA TOUR win total this season, but it was among his most impressive feats of the year. His Sunday 62 included a 29 on his final nine to make up a large deficit and win the gold medal.

Scheffler leads the TOUR in Strokes Gained: Approach the Green for the second consecutive year, and he is on pace to lead in Greens in Regulation for the third straight season. He is gaining nearly 2.5 strokes per round from tee-to-green, almost a shot per round better than Xander Schauffele, who ranks second in that statistic. And his putting is now a tick above average (+0.03 strokes gained per round), which is all he needs.

It was an incredible season that got the ending it deserved. Scottie Scheffler is finally a FedExCup champion.

TOUR Championship Roundtable | TOTT Podcast

Sean Martin is a senior editor for the PGA TOUR. He is a 2004 graduate of Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo. Attending a small school gave him a heart for the underdog, which is why he enjoys telling stories of golf's lesser-known players. Follow Sean Martin on Twitter .

NEW! Find where to watch all of your favorite sports!

Scottie Scheffler wins PGA Tour's FedEx Cup title, $25M payday

Scottie Scheffler bounces back from a rough front nine with three straight birdies and an eagle to seal a Tour Championship win. (1:08)

• Associated Press

ATLANTA -- A Masters green jacket and an Olympic gold medal. A first-time father and his first time being arrested. A year Scottie Scheffler won't forget ended the best way possible Sunday when he won the FedEx Cup to cap off golf's best season in nearly two decades.

"If you can describe it in words, more power to you," Scheffler said after his four-shot victory in the Tour Championship for his eighth win of the year. "Because I don't think I can."

As always, his clubs spoke volumes.

Scheffler, who led by as many as seven shots at East Lake early in the final round, nearly hit a tee shot out of bounds on No. 7 for bogey. He followed that with a shank from the bunker on the reachable par-4 eighth that led to another bogey. His lead was down to two shots over Collin Morikawa .

Facing the par-3 ninth, a hole that had yielded only nine birdies all week, Scheffler hit 4-iron to 5 feet for the first of three straight birdies that sent him to a 4-under 67 and the FedEx Cup trophy with its $25 million prize, the richest 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."

The victory pushed his season earnings, including bonuses, to just under $62.3 million.

It was the greatest year since Tiger Woods won eight times in 2006, including six in a row and two majors, all while dealing with the death of his father. Scheffler's eight wins included the Masters, The Players Championship, an Olympic gold medal and the Tour Championship that enabled him to finally 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 pro during the peak of Woods in 2000 and did not shy away from the comparisons Scheffler has invited because of his consistent level of contending.

"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 took the drama out of the final hour -- four of his wins this year were by three shots or more -- and finally let out a "WOOO!!" as he stepped inside to sign his card. He hoisted two big trophies, the silver FedEx Cup and his 4-month-old son, Bennett.

But it was hard work.

This was the third straight year Scheffler came to East Lake as the top seed, meaning he started 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 McIlroy.

He has been PGA Tour player of the year the past two seasons, leaving 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 for that not to be the case, though it got dicey as storm clouds began to threaten. Most harrowing was the two-shot swing on No. 8, when Morikawa pumped his fist with a birdie as Scheffler's shank led to a bogey.

And then it was over.

After his birdie on the ninth, Scheffler hit wedge to 3 feet on No. 10 for birdie, and then swirled in a 15-foot birdie putt on the par-3 11th.

"He's not going to just starting making bogeys after that," Morikawa said. "He's going to do the opposite and he's going to start hitting golf shots. It almost brought his focus back in for a half second, and that's something you can't teach."

Just like that, his lead was back to five shots. And when he holed a 15-foot eagle putt on the 14th hole, it was a matter of getting to the finish line to celebrate.

Scheffler finished out of the top 10 only three times in his 19 starts. He had a pair of runner-up finishes to go 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."

Morikawa, the No. 7 seed who started the tournament six shots behind, closed with a 66 and had the lowest score of the Tour Championship at 22-under 262. He won $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 called a two-shot penalty on himself Saturday for possibly brushing a small amount of sand on a bunker shot, closed with a 64 and finished third. He finished two shots behind Morikawa and earned a $7.5 million bonus for third place.

And to think it was just over five months ago when Scheffler was questioned about his putting, and he was coming up on a full year since his last PGA Tour title. (He won the unofficial Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas.)

His season earnings of $29,228,356 represented about 9.2% of the $317.4 million total purse from tournaments he played. Woods won $10,867,052 in 2007, 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, still regarded as one of the great 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 astonishing season.

"It's been a very eventful year," Scheffler said, "but it's been really fun."