Scottie Scheffler leaves no doubt about the best golfer on the PGA Tour.
Jonathan Bachman, Getty Images
ATLANTA, GEORGIA | Remember when people were talking about Scottie Scheffler having a “down” year? We should all struggle so well.
The world No. 1 finished 2026 the way he started it, with a win, which earned him a second FedEx Cup and likely buttoned up his fifth consecutive PGA Tour Player of the Year award. It was Scheffler’s third victory of the season and second in the three-week FedEx Cup playoffs.
Sparked by a near ace on the second hole at East Lake Golf Club, Scheffler chased down 54-hole leader Viktor Hovland with a Sunday-best 4-under 66 to finish 16-under par and win the Tour Championship by three strokes. Scheffler joins Rory McIlroy (three times) and Tiger Woods as the only players to win multiple FedEx Cups in the 20-year history of the PGA Tour’s season-long race.
Scheffler passed Woods atop the PGA Tour career money list with his official earnings at East Lake. Woods had held the top spot since 2000 but hasn’t earned anything since 2024. Scheffler pocketed nearly $31 million in official earnings this season, not including his $23 million bonus for topping the FedEx Cup season-long points list. His $10 million winner’s check at East Lake pushed his career official earnings to $130,390,661, leaving Woods behind at $120,999,166.
“I think days like today are really fun. To come from behind and be able to win a tournament is a really cool feeling.”
Scottie Scheffler
While a handful of players lurked behind the leaders before falling off, Scheffler and Hovland reprised their duel from earlier this summer at the Travelers Championship. While Hovland got the better of Scheffler that time in a one-hole playoff, Scheffler took command this time on the back nine.
The protagonists made the turn tied atop the leaderboard at 14-under, but Scheffler made birdie putts of 8 and 5 feet on Nos. 10 and 13 while Hovland was settling for par saves two groups behind him. Hovland’s putter that had poured in so many birdies the first three rounds went cold, as he lipped out for par on 13 and birdie on 15 that could have kept pace with Scheffler.
When Scheffler knocked in an 11-footer for birdie on 16 to make up for his bogey on 14, his lead was two strokes with two to play. He needed only two pars to finish as Hovland made a small mess of the scoreable 17th and 18th, settling for second by a stroke over Ryan Gerard. Seven players tied for fourth, including Rory McIlroy, Chris Gotterup and Ludvig Åberg.
Who Else Won
Hotel Planner TOUR
Christofer Blomstrand
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LADIES EURO TOUR
Casandra Alexander
EPSON TOUR
Mirabel Ting
CHAMPIONS TOUR
Steven Alker
LEGENDS TOUR
Mikael Lundberg
“Today was a day I was fortunate to get off to a good start and was able to make some birdies late in the round to kind of seal the deal,” Scheffler said.
“I think days like today are really fun. To come from behind and be able to win a tournament is a really cool feeling. There were a lot of talented guys in front of me on the leaderboard. I was fortunate to get off to a good start and put myself in the mix.”
After rounds of 64, 66 and 65, Hovland’s 2-over 72 on Sunday wasn’t nearly good enough to beat Scheffler to a second FedEx Cup of his own.
“Obviously pretty disappointed with how I played today, just with the position that I was at,” Hovland said. “I only would have needed 1-under par to force a playoff. If I just had my normal game, my normal ball striking from the previous years, I think I take away this tournament.
“That’s obviously disappointing, but at the same time, it’s the way that I was able to have a chance to really win this event after being in some big holes throughout the season. I mean, I was able to battle myself out of it and win Travelers and then come back out here and almost win the whole thing. I kind of look at it as a huge positive, but at the same time, just a reminder of what I feel like I should have done.”
Scheffler opened his 2026 season with a victory in the American Express in January, and for the next seven months all he did was rack up five runner-up finishes and five more top-four results as he piled up the most FedEx Cup points and money without any trophies. He went through a spell of poor starts and charging finishes that came up short.
That changed with a dominating eight-stroke victory in the playoff opener in Memphis and another in the finale – despite suffering from hand, foot and mouth disease during the week in between.
His consistency through the ups and downs never wavered.
“I think that’s something I’m very proud of,” he said. “I think when you look over the course of the season, and especially some of the tough starts – shooting over par to start a tournament on the PGA Tour is never a good spot to be in. I’m very proud of fighting back and having some good finishes and even giving myself some chances to win with some of those poor starts.
“Overall just continued to battle, like you said, day in and day out. It’s something that I’m very proud of. It’s a gift to be out here on tour. Each and every day I’m going to try to give it my best.”
Scott Michaux
