Scottie Scheffler put an eight-stroke gap between himself and the rest of the field at the PGA Tour St. Jude Championship, nabbing his first title since January and kicking off the FedEx Cup playoff series like a man possessed. The world number one didn’t just win; he absolutely blew past the competition, proving he’s still the guy to beat, even after a half-year “dry spell.”
The Comeback Kid (Who Never Really Left)
Talk about a statement. Scheffler carded a four-under par 66 on Sunday, locking in a ridiculous 17-under par total of 263 at TPC Southwind in Memphis. What’s wild is he even started the day with an “unwelcome taste of little things going wrong,” as he put it. His shot out of a greenside bunker at the third hole actually smacked a sprinkler head and bounced right into the water for an early bogey. You think that rattled him? Nah. He answered back with a 10-foot birdie at the fifth, then sank 20-foot birdie putts at both the sixth and 11th. He wasn’t done, draining a 22-foot birdie at the 13th before capping it off with a six-foot birdie at the 16th. Oh, and let’s not forget that absurd 61 he threw down on Friday. This dude was locked in.
The “Close Calls” Are Officially Over
For a player who’s missed just one cut all year, and racked up five runner-up finishes and four other top-fours since his season-opening win at La Quinta, Scheffler has been saying things like, “Man, I feel like I’m playing pretty good. It’s just the little things aren’t going my way.” Well, those “little things” clearly went his way this weekend, big time. This victory marks his 21st PGA Tour title, and it snapped his longest winless streak since 2023. Back then, he won the Players Championship in March and didn’t find the winner’s circle again until December’s Hero World Challenge. He even admitted it himself: “Statistics are one thing, but being able to win golf tournaments is another. This is a lot better feeling than having statistically another good week.” You can’t argue with that. This win means more than any stat sheet ever could.
Who Got Left In The Dust?
While Scheffler was busy setting the world on fire, the chasing pack got absolutely smoked. South Korean Kim Si-woo finished a distant second at nine-under. Sam Burns, who actually started the day tied for second and played with Scheffler in the final group, crumbled under the pressure. Burns took a double-bogey at the third and then bogeyed the fifth, limping to a three-over 73 and finishing tied for third at eight-under with Sweden’s Alex Noren. Another co-second starter, Im Sung-jae, posted a four-over 74, ending up tied for fifth. But hey, that was still good enough to get Im into the top 50 in the FedEx Cup standings and book his spot in next week’s BMW Championship. As for Scottie? He just reminded everyone that the FedEx Cup is his to lose.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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