There was a brief moment during the final round of The Tour Championship at East Lake where it appeared that Scottie Scheffler may be facing a fight to win the FedEx Cup – but it was, indeed, little more than a moment.
The result everyone expected heading into Sunday at The Tour Championship came to pass, with Scottie Scheffler winning by four over Collin Morikawa in Atlanta. It is the first time that the world number one has won the FedEx Cup, while he has now won eight times worldwide in 2024.
In truth, it appeared after the first two holes that it was going to be a precession, with Scheffler making a birdie on the second hole after watching Morikawa bogey the first. And there was virtually no drama on the back nine with Scheffler making six pars after the turn.
But Scheffler did seemingly do his best to give fans hope of a dramatic finale to the PGA Tour season, as he made a bogey on the seventh and followed that with another on the following hole.
Justin Rose lauds Ted Scott after Scottie Scheffler wins The Tour Championship
In fact, Scheffler made a five on eight after shanking a bunker shot and missing the green altogether. His second chip was also poor; giving Morikawa the chance to close the gap to just two shots. That threatened to be a pivotal moment, but instead, Scheffler immediately then made three successive birdies to open up the lead again.
And speaking on Sky Sports (broadcast on 1/9), Justin Rose suggested that he spotted his caddie play such a crucial role in helping Scheffler bounce back from the mistake on the eighth hole.
“Some props to Ted Scott there. They communicated so well and on the back nine there was a nice shift. I could see Teddy walking up the hill to the ninth tee box after what happened at eight and you could see Teddy was in his ear, that really settled Scottie down and the shot they hit into nine, that was the golf tournament there,” he said.
“Once Scottie rebounded from that little bit of pressure that he put on himself the rest of it was a foregone conclusion and rightly so. This is a champions procession as they walk up 18 here and he deserves this walk, 100%.”
Sunday’s crucial moment
It has not been easy for the 28-year-old during the play-offs, with Scheffler losing his cool during the BMW Championship. On that occasion, it appeared to be Ted Scott who faced the brunt of Scheffler’s anger as he struggled to adapt to the demands of Castle Pines.
But the pair have enjoyed so much success together, and Scott is incredibly experienced, so he would have known exactly what to say to Scheffler after that shank on eight. Scheffler does not tend to play several poor tournaments in a row, and his ability to bounce back is so impressive.
It was the tee shots on nine which ultimately proved to be the turning point, with Morikawa catching his shot heavy and needing an impressive up and down to save a par, while Scheffler knocked his effort to close range to leave a simple birdie putt.
Scheffler is a freak in this golden era of the sport, but he would probably be one of the first to tell you that this level of success does not happen without Scott on his bag.
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