Scottie Scheffler held off playing partner Collin Morikawa to complete a dominant PGA Tour season with FedExCup victory at the Tour Championship.
The world No 1 took a two-shot lead into the season finale and never relinquished top spot at any point throughout the tournament, despite seeing a seven-shot advantage temporarily cut to just two strokes on the final day.
Scheffler fired three consecutive birdies around the turn to reclaim control of the tournament and closed out a four-under 67 to end the week on 30 under, with the win seeing him become the first player since Tiger Woods to win seven times in a season on the PGA Tour.
He mixed an eagle and five birdies with three bogeys during the final day to finish four ahead of Morikawa, while a final-round 64 jumped Sahith Theegala into third spot ahead of Russell Henley, Adam Scott and Xander Schauffele.
How Scheffler secured FedExCup glory
Morikawa bogeyed the first and quickly found himself seven behind Scheffler, who holed from eight feet to save par and added a 15-foot birdie at the par-three next, only to begin his fightback with a timely birdie at the par-four fourth.
Scheffler failed to get up and down from the sand to save par at the fifth but splashed out of the greenside bunker to tap-in range at the par-five next, matching Morikawa's birdie, before seeing his lead drastically shrink over the next two holes.
The Masters champion had to pitch out from the trees at the seventh and missed a five-footer for par, the first putt all week he failed to convert from inside that distance, then shanked a bunker shot at the driveable par-four next to card a second successive birdie.
Morikawa got up and down from the back of the green to make birdie and get within two of the lead, only for Scheffler to respond by firing his tee shot to inside five feet at the par-three next putt and holing the putt.
Scheffler fired a wedge in close at the tenth and converted from 15 feet at the 11th for a third consecutive birdie, taking him five clear, but Morikawa closed the gap again when he rolled in from nine feet at the 13th.
Morikawa fell further behind despite adding another birdie at the par-five 14th, as Scheffler slotted in from 15 feet for eagle to get to 30 under and leave him on the brink of victory.
Four pars along the closing stretch was enough for Scheffler to close out a 13th PGA Tour title and cap off his 2024 campaign in style, where he became the first player to win The Players, The Masters and the Tour Championship in the same season.
Morikawa reduced the winning margin after a penultimate-hole birdie, ending the week on 26 under after a five-under 66, while Theegala was the only other player to get within 10 strokes of Scheffler.
Former US Open champion Wyndham Clark finished in eighth spot on 17 under, while Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry both ended the week a further stroke back after rounds of 66 and 68 respectively.
Third time lucky for Scheffler at East Lake
"I try not to think too much about the past or think too much about the future, but two years ago was pretty tough, having a good lead going into the last round and not playing my best and then losing," Scheffler said, having arrived at the Tour Championship as the FedExCup leader for the third consecutive season.
"Then last year, I just had a pretty off week so was fairly disappointing. So to come in with a lead for the third time and be able to finish it off is definitely pretty sweet. I feel like I've lived almost a full lifetime in this one year."
Speaking about Scheffler's performance, Morikawa said: "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. I think his mental game is a lot stronger than a lot of people know.
"It's amazing what he's been able to do for this entire season, and honestly kind of over this past three years now. It's been really cool to watch him, and hopefully I can draw something from that."
What's next?
The FedExCup fall campaign begins with the Procore Championship in California from September 12-15, while Scheffler will next be in action when he features for Team USA in the Presidents Cup from September 26-29. Stream the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and more with NOW.
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