Scottie Scheffler of the United States had thought the par-5 third hole in the final round would be a birdie chance. Instead, he made bogey. His third shot from a greenside bunker rose gently, bounced higher than expected after landing, skipped across the flagstick and rolled off the far side into the water. The ball had struck a sprinkler head.
Scheffler had gone seven months without a win since taking the American Express in January. Over that stretch he finished runner-up five times. The lull raised doubts about whether his grip on the tour had slipped, compared with the seven victories he recorded in 2024 and six in 2025.
He erased those doubts with a dominant win on the final day at TPC Southwind (par 70) in Memphis, Tennessee, on the 17th, Korea time. Scheffler closed at 17-under-par 263, beating runner-up Kim Si-woo by eight strokes. The eight-stroke margin was the largest winning margin on the PGA Tour this season. It was his second win of the season and the 21st of his career at the FedEx St. Jude Championship, the first leg of the FedEx Cup playoffs, which carried a total purse of $20 million.
Scheffler did everything flawlessly this week. His ball-striking was faultless as usual — long and accurate. He gained 6.643 strokes on approach, second in the field. On the greens he was electric, leading the field by gaining 8.917 strokes putting. On the final day alone he sank three birdie putts from about six meters.
"I made a lot of putts from 4.5 to 6 meters, and that helped me create good chances," Scheffler said after the win. "All season I kept telling myself I was playing well. It feels good to have found answers to a lot of questions this week." One of those questions was surely who the world's No. 1 is.
The win added $3.6 million (about 5.1 billion won) to bring Scheffler's career earnings to $119,964,411, moving him past Rory McIlroy into second place. McIlroy of Northern Ireland, who tied for 66th at this event and took home $41,600, has career earnings of $116,488,372. Scheffler now trails only Tiger Woods, whose $120,999,166 leaves him about $1.03 million ahead, making Scheffler a strong candidate to reach No. 1 soon. Depending on the results of the second and third playoff legs, however, McIlroy could still climb to the top of the career earnings list first.
