Scottie Scheffler came into the Tour Championship with a two-stroke lead due to his top spot in the FedEx Cup Standings. He opened up the week with a 6-under 66 to take a seven-shot lead after 18 holes. Sunday looked to be a cruise-control type of day for the World No. 1. That was until the seventh and eighth holes, where Scheffler hit a shank out of a bunker and made two bogeys.
It started on seven, with an unusual missed fairway and a missed par putt.
Then came number eight, where Scheffler was in the greenside bunker after his drive. What came next was shocking, to say the least.
Another poor chip shot led to another bogey. In the meantime, Collin Morikawa made a par and a birdie to cut the lead to just two shots. Scheffler was not scuffling for long, as he made two consecutive birdies to start the back nine.
Scottie Scheffler caps a great season with great playoff performance
Scheffler started the playoffs with comments suggesting that he did not like the current format. Despite his substantial lead over Xander Schauffele in the standings, he still was only going to tee off with a two-shot lead in the Tour Championship. After poor performances in the first two playoff events, there were questions about whether or not he would prevail at East Lake.
This tournament has not been kind to Scheffler in the past. He lost to Rory McIlroy in 2022 despite a tremendous season and couldn't close the deal in 2023 either. With a $10 million bonus to the winner, the Tour Championship is important to the players every year.
East Lake underwent a massive renovation after Viktor Hovland's victory last year. Scheffler immediately began to tear up the new design, shooting that first-round 66 and not losing the lead the rest of the way. If Scottie Scheffler enjoys the new design at East Lake, his bank account will get even fatter than it is now for years to come.
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