Tour Championship, final classification
-16 S Scheffler (United States); -13 V Hovland (north); -12 R Gerard (United States); -11 A Fitzpatrick (Eng), C Gotterup (US), R McIlroy (NI), R Henley (US), MW Lee (Aus), J Bridgeman (US), L Aberg (Swe)
Other selected: -10 T Fleetwood (English), C Young (USA), A Scott (Australia); -9 C Morikawa (United States); -7 J Rose (English); -5 M Fitzpatrick (English), W Clark (United States); my R MacIntyre (Scotland)
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At times it seemed like there was a certain inevitability to Scottie Scheffler clinching his second Fedex Cup title on Sunday.
As those around him began to falter, the world number one, who started the day three shots behind the previous day’s leader, Viktor Hovland, put in a typically metronomic performance with the winning check in sight.
And what a prize. Scheffler’s reward for his 22nd career victory at the PGA Tour’s season-ending Tour Championship in Atlanta will be a sum of $10m (£7.4m) credited to his bank account.
The 2024 champion also joins Tiger Woods (2007 and 2009) and Rory McIlroy (2016, 2019 and 2022) who have won the event multiple times.
“Coming back and being able to win the tournament is a really great feeling,” Scheffler said.
“There were a lot of talented guys ahead of me on the leaderboard. I was lucky to get off to a good start and put myself in the mix. It’s a gift to be here on tour. Every day I’m going to try to do my best.”
In the last three pairings, Scheffler’s four-under 66 was the only round to break par with his superb ability to find green after green giving him a substantial lead over his rivals.
Hovland, whose driving became more erratic, also found his putter had gone cold when he needed it most, and the Norwegian posted a 72-2, two over which he finished three back in second place.
American debutant Ryan Gerard, who started one behind Hovland, finished the day in the same position and third overall at 12 under after also shooting 72.
McIlroy was unable to rediscover the rhythm that propelled him into contention on Saturday, with his backhand round of 69 containing four birdies and an eagle mixed with five bogeys.
Apart from the Northern Irishman, there were few moments of brilliance between the potential contenders, although Justin Rose’s hole-in-one on the ninth was an obvious exception.
While Rose was unable to gain any momentum to seriously challenge, finishing the day at seven under overall, another Englishman, Alex Fitzpatrick, equaled Scheffler’s 66, the lowest round of the day, to catapult up the leaderboard and conclude the tournament alongside six-time major winner McIlroy and five others at 11 under.
It earned the 27-year-old a tie for fourth in his debut to cap a remarkable season that saw him win his first DP World Tour event at the Indian Open before teaming up with his older brother, 2022 US Open champion Matt, to win the pairs event at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans.
Tommy Fleetwood, who triumphed 12 months ago, started the day too far off the pace for his three-under 67 to bother the likes of Scheffler and finished tied for 11th at 10 under overall.
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