Scottie Scheffler finally pulled it off again, and he did it with a bang, absolutely running away with the FedEx St. Jude Championship by a massive eight-shot victory on Sunday. He dropped a final-round 66 at TPC Southwind in Memphis, opening the PGA Tour’s postseason like a boss.
That ‘Struggle’ Narrative? Yeah, It’s Toast.
For months, it felt like Scheffler was stuck in neutral, right? A season full of near-misses, five second-place finishes , two of them playoff losses! People were talking like it was a “weird step back” for the guy who dominated golf like vintage Tiger Woods. But don’t get it twisted. This dude was still World No. 1 and atop the FedExCup standings all year. He’d even notched 11 top-10 finishes and a win back in January. This win? It wasn’t just another W, it solidified his spot at the top of the FedExCup standings with only two tournaments left. Oh, and it came with a cool $3.6 million check. Hard to call that “struggling” when he’s still stacking cash and leading the league.
His Putter Woke Up, And The Tour Is Scrambling
This week, things just clicked for Scheffler. He grabbed the 36-hole lead, then went into Saturday with a three-shot advantage. A 2-under 68 on Saturday cut that to just a single stroke going into the final pairing with Sam Burns. But Scheffler only needed that one stroke to work some magic. He pushed his lead to five shots by the turn on Sunday, even after a chip-shot flew into the water after hitting a sprinkler head, which, crazy enough, briefly dropped his lead back to just a single stroke at the time. Then he sank a nearly 20-footer for birdie, his third of the day, and BAM, the lead was suddenly six full shots. He added two more birdies for good measure. His putter, which was an “issue just a few weeks ago,” looked completely fixed. He drained 14 putts of more than 10 feet, the most in his career for a single tournament and way more than anyone else in the field. He gained over nine shots on the green in total. This man has now won 21 times on the PGA Tour, with all but six of those coming in the last three seasons. He’s only the fifth golfer in the past 40 years to win multiple times by eight or more strokes.
The FedExCup Chase Is On, And Scheffler Is Coming For It All
Si Woo Kim ended up taking second at 9-under, with Alex Noren and Sam Burns tied for third at 8-under. Rory McIlroy, dude, he finished way back in 66th, his worst finish all season. But he’s still safely in the field next week in St. Louis. Jordan Spieth, though, stumbled late and fell outside the top-50, even with a T19 finish. The FedExCup trophy isn’t handed out yet, with plenty of golf left before East Lake in Atlanta. And with the Tour Championship ditching that old staggered start format, the FedExCup title is totally up for grabs. But after this performance, Scheffler just let everyone know he’s here to claim it.
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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