Collin Morikawa reveals which part of Scottie Scheffler’s game is so much better than many realise

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For a brief moment on Sunday at The Tour Championship, Collin Morikawa appeared to have a real chance of catching Scottie Scheffler and ruining the world number one’s hopes of finally winning the FedEx Cup.

The early stages of the final round hinted that it would be little more than a precession for Scottie Scheffler, with the 28-year-old leading The Tour Championship by seven shots after a birdie on the second hole. However, by the time he and Collin Morikawa reached the ninth tee, there appeared to be a twist on the cards.

Scheffler had bogeyed the seventh hole and followed that with another on eight. Scheffler hit a shank out of the bunker and then failed to get up and down, allowing Morikawa to close the gap to just two as he holed a good putt for birdie.

But Scheffler was clearly playing with all of the golf fans, as he responded with three successive birdies to pull away again. And there was to be no drama on the back nine as Scheffler ended up winning by four to put the icing on the cake in his phenomenal 2024.

Collin Morikawa suggests one part of Scottie Scheffler’s game is much better than many realise

Morikawa produced the four best rounds over the week at East Lake, but that may be little consolation for him right now with much of the focus on his countryman. Speaking after his final round, Morikawa was asked about what impresses him most about Scheffler, and he suggested that there are parts of his game which are still underrated.

“Just nothing fazes him. Whether I was close in gaining some ground or he was gaining ground, it didn’t change how he walked or how he played or how he went through every shot. That’s something to learn. I think his mental game is a lot stronger than a lot of people know,” he said.

“It’s amazing what he’s been able to do for this entire season, and honestly kind of over this past, what is it, three years now. It’s been really cool to watch him, and hopefully I can draw something from that.”

What world number one did on nine was remarkable

It was remarkable how Scheffler responded to his two bogeys towards the end of the front nine. He produced a stunning tee shot on nine to set up a birdie which put the pressure back on Morikawa. Many players would have, understandably, struggled to put the previous two holes behind them, particularly with Morikawa seemingly bearing down on him.

Justin Rose praised Ted Scott for getting straight into Scheffler’s ear after the shank on eight, and the rest of his round proved to be nearly flawless.

All of the world’s best players have an ability to fly through the gears and blow the rest of the field away, but Scheffler managed to find those gears at a time when he was going backwards under enormous pressure – and very few seem to be capable of doing that.