‘I’ve Lived Almost A Full Lifetime In This One Year’: Scottie Scheffler Caps Historic Season With $25M Tour Championship Win

Scottie Scheffler is exhausted. Can anyone blame him after what he’s been through?

The world number one closed off a year that was equal parts extraordinary and chaotic by winning the season-ending Tour Championship in Atlanta by four shots on Sunday.

After starting the week with a two-stroke lead at the summit on 10-under par, as a reward for his position atop the FedEx Cup standings, the American cruised over East Lake with a closing four-under 67 to beat compatriot Collin Morikawa to the $25 million winner’s cut of a $100 million prize pool.

Scheffler | CNN Image

‘I’ve Lived Almost A Full Lifetime In This One Year’: Scottie Scheffler Caps Historic Season With $25M Tour Championship Win

It is the first time a player has won seven PGA Tour events since Tiger Woods in 2007, and the haul is even more amazing when you consider the Olympic gold, a newborn son, and the mid-major arrest that highlighted Scheffler’s stunning campaign.

“I feel like I’ve lived almost a full lifetime in this one year,” Scheffler told reporters. “It’s been nuts.”

“I’m exhausted right now,” he explained. “There truly is no other way around it. “I’m just really tired.”

A golden year.
Scheffler’s early edge at East Lake was his reward after an outstanding season.

The 28-year-old appeared almost unbeatable during a prolific early season run, becoming the first player to ever defend The Players Championship before winning the RBC Heritage in April, just one week after clinching his second Masters title at Augusta National, for four wins in five starts.

His greatest victory came just a few weeks later when his wife Meredith gave birth to Bennett, the couple’s first child. Their son came just in time for the PGA Championship, where the Texan was arrested amid dramatic scenes in Louisville.

Following his arrest for driving around a police roadblock outside Valhalla Golf Club, the tournament favorite warmed up in a prison cell. Though the week ended in frustration on the golf course, with Scheffler finishing eight strokes behind winner Xander Schauffele, all accusations were dropped a month later.

Scheffler rebounded to win the Memorial Tournament and the Travellers Championship before clinching Olympic gold with a spectacular nine-under-par final round at Le Golf National in Paris last month.

“People still screaming ‘U-S-A’ after almost a month… “It’s pretty cool,” Scheffler stated.

“I’m very proud to be an American, so bringing home that gold medal was a lot of pleasure. I’m at a loss for words regarding the past year.

“You had the one weird spot there at Valhalla – I just don’t really know what to say about it – but everything else has been pretty special,” remarked the musician.

“Just nothing fazes him.”
It appeared to be a procession until Scheffler made a series of uncommon blunders near the conclusion of his front nine, beginning with a skewed drive at the seventh that forced him to escape from under a tree.

That resulted in a bogey, repeated at the next hole when the leader shanked his shot from a greenside bunker, allowing a soaring Morikawa to get within two strokes.

Fittingly for the season, Scheffler dispelled any doubts by making three straight birdies before lasering in for an eagle at the par-five 15th to finish ahead of world No. 4 Morikawa.

“Just nothing fazes him,” Morikawa, who received $12.5 million, told reporters of Scheffler.

“Whether I was close to gaining or gaining ground, it made no difference in how he walked, played, or executed each shot. That is something to learn. I believe his mental game is far stronger than most people realize.

‘I’ve Lived Almost A Full Lifetime In This One Year’: Scottie Scheffler Caps Historic Season With $25M Tour Championship Win

“It’s astounding what he’s accomplished this season and over the last three years. It’s been incredibly amazing to see him, and hopefully I can take something away from it.”

Morikawa and Scheffler’s focus will now shift to the Presidents Cup, as both players have been automatically qualified for US captain Jim Furyk’s team, which will face Mike Weir’s international side on September 24 at Royal Montreal Golf Club in Quebec, Canada.

Scheffler was a member of a winning US team in Quail Hollow, North Carolina, two years ago, but he struggled individually, losing three of four matches.

“Emotionally right now, I’m pretty drained, so I’m looking forward to going home and getting rest for a week or so before I start prepping for the Presidents Cup because that’s a tournament that I really want us to go out there and win,” Scheffler said on Wednesday.

SOURCE | CNN