While Tommy Fleetwood was trying to end his interminable run without a PGA Tour win, Scottie Scheffler eyed FedEx Cup immortality at Atlanta, Georgia's East Lake Golf Club on Sunday. If anyone was going to plunge yet another dagger into the 34-year-old Englishman, the best golfer on the planet today seemed like a safe bet. But the underdog narrative reached its joyous and long-awaited conclusion at the Tour Championship, as the world No. 1 turned mortal in a pivotal moment.
Surging with momentum and pulling within two strokes of Fleetwood after sinking his fifth birdie of the day, Scheffler sent the ball into the water on the 15th hole and tallied a back-breaking double-bogey five. He got a stroke back at the 16th, but the damage was done. The 29-year-old finished two-under on the day and landed in a three-way tie for fourth place at 14-under par, falling four shots short of becoming the first player to win the FedEx Cup Playoffs two years in a row.
The public expects the four-time major champion to snatch victory whenever he is lurking near the top of the leaderboard late on a Sunday, just as he did the week before at the BMW Championship. He was unable to enter that signature Scheffler-tier of dominance on this day, however. Actually, it eluded him throughout the tournament.
“I battled all week to give myself a chance,” Scheffler said, per ESPN's Mark Schlabach. “I wasn't as sharp as I would have hoped to have. I had a good first round, but outside of that didn't really play my best the first few days. Still gave myself a shot. Just needed a few better swings.”
Scottie Scheffler always seems to have a chance
Scheffler started the Tour Championship with a bang, carding a seven-under 63 and looking every bit the favorite to capture the title. He stumbled a bit across the next three rounds, though, barely clearing par on Friday and posting early bogeys on Saturday and Sunday. Despite some inconsistencies, the reigning PGA Championship and Open Championship winner still created some final-round excitement.
When his ball went in the water, the air in East Lake changed. What was shaping out to be another potential Fleetwood heartbreaker suddenly appeared to be a dry spell-ending triumph. Patrick Cantlay and Russell Henley both remained in the hunt — finished three strokes back as co-runners-up, but it felt like Fleetwood cleared his final obstacle on the road to PGA euphoria on that double-bogey.
That is the Scottie Scheffler effect. He exudes an aura on the links, one that is not supposed to exist in the modern game. When it flickers like it did on the 15th hole, fans scramble to make sense of it. Because the Texan has set the bar at such an incredibly high level, his critical gaffe almost seems more surprising than if he had pulled off another Sunday comeback.
Scheffler was not at his best in the Tour Championship, and yet, he still made his presence known down the stretch. While Tommy Fleetwood certainly deserves the spotlight after his tremendous outing, that feat is something to behold in its own right. The man always seems to have a couple of haymakers in his bag. Rest assured, Scheffler will bring some more with him the next time he hits the course.
