ATLANTA — Scottie Scheffler emerged from the scorer’s room at East Lake Golf Club, where he had just signed up for the round that would win him the Tour Championship. Remigius held his son in his left hand; After him, his wife, Meredith Maroe, held their eldest son. Nearby, family and friends stood alongside PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp, all waiting to head to the 18th green of East Lake to present the FedEx Cup.
There have been many of these moments for Scheffler and his family over the course of four plus seasons, a lot of 18 green ceremonies and trophies. This is now in the generation of the generation; Scheffler beat his contemporaries so badly and so often that he is now working his way back through the history books.
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Scheffler won the Tour Championship by three dramatic free strokes on Sunday, claiming a $10 million prize that would move him past Tiger Woods in the PGA Tour’s career money market category. Scheffler — who had not won a PGA Tour event until January 2022 — is now the all-time money winner on the PGA Tour. There are ascents to stardom, and then there’s the straight-vertical vector that Scheffler is on.
Let’s throw away the foreign tourism, the perpetual fascination of sportsmen. It’s also worth noting that Scheffler had the best luck playing at the world level, hitting the exact moment when PGA Tour purses were booming across the board. The simple truth here is that Scheffler wins at a level that puts him in the company’s most elite company.
Another stipulation: Woods won 82 tournaments, Scheffler 22. Scheffler 207 total weeks at No. 1 in the world, Woods held that position for a full 683 weeks. Woods has 15 majors, Scheffler has four. Woods is one of the most famous people on earth; Scheffler still has a decent chance of going out for a burger without getting recognized.
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But the trend here is unmistakable: Scheffler is entering territory all the time. If you’re looking for another milestone, this is it: Woods holds the record for consecutive weeks at No. 1 in the world at 281 in 2010. (Screen Trivia of the Day: Who knocked Woods off that top spot? Lee Westwood.) Scheffler is at 172 straight weeks, which means that if he plays at this level, he will match Woods in a little over two years.
What does Scottie forbid? Literally anything. It is worth noting that, with rare exceptions, the careers of golfers, even at the elite level, are fragile and fleeting. Arnold Palmer won all seven of his majors in a span of seven seasons from 1958 to 1964. Brooks Koepka captured four majors in a span of three seasons from 2017 to 2019, won another in 2023, and looks a long way from a sixth.
For one thing, Scheffler seems prone to creative ailments; He spends several tournaments when he cuts a glass of wine in his hand while making ravioli before the season of 2025. And just last week, he contracted a serious case of hand, foot and mouth disease.
For another, Scheffler is playing in the most hypercompetitive era in golf history. The depth of talent up and down the leaderboard means it’s a street battle every week. Scheffler recognizes this. He made hell at this moment.
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“If you play Monopoly, he wants to beat you,” caddy Ted Scott said after Scheffler’s round. “He has the greatest hope of just competing at the level, no matter what he does.”
For Scheffler, who keeps a remarkably level head all this time, the secret comes in the details. Willingness to work is just a little harder than everyone else’s dull, game-playing aspect that no one else wants to work on.
“To get good at this game, they really enjoy the harder parts of it, the stuff that’s a little more mundane,” Scheffler said. “Whether it’s exercising my endurance on the bike in the gym, or working out when I don’t want to, or going out for a run and doing things that can be a little more boring that other guys can’t. [practice]I feel like late Sundays stuff like that has a tendency to show.”
Late Sundays. If you’re ever looking for Scottie Scheffler, this is a good place to start. And after that, take a look at the top golf leader of all time. He took that route.