Scottie Scheffler delivered one of his strongest performances of the season at the FedEx St. Jude Championship, closing with a 4-under 66 to win the opening event of the FedExCup Playoffs by eight shots. The world No. 1 finished at 17-under at TPC Southwind, pulling away from a competitive field that included his close friend Sam Burns.
Burns entered the final round in the final pairing with Scheffler after shooting a third-round 62. He was only two shots behind the leader entering Sunday, but a 73 dropped him to a tie for third at 8-under. Scheffler, meanwhile, responded to an early setback and continued to build his advantage throughout the final round.
The victory gave Scheffler his 21st PGA Tour title and ended a stretch of near misses by his standards. After the round, he spoke with Amanda Balionis about the unusual challenge of competing directly against one of his closest friends while both players were chasing the same trophy.
Scottie Scheffler Discusses Playing Against Sam Burns
Scheffler acknowledged that sharing the final group with Burns made the final round different from a typical Sunday.
“You know, today was a day in which, you know, it’s always challenging, I think, playing with one of my best friends, both trying to win,” Scheffler told Amanda Balionis. “He’s had his fair share of close calls this year as well.”
Burns had moved into contention with his 62 on Saturday. The round put him just two shots behind Scheffler and set up a matchup between two players who have a close personal relationship.
Burns was Scheffler’s best man at his wedding, adding another layer to the final-round pairing. However, once the round began, both players were focused on winning the FedEx St. Jude Championship.
Burns could not match Scheffler’s pace. He made a double bogey on the third hole and finished with a 73. Scheffler shot 66 and finished eight shots ahead of Si Woo Kim, with Burns nine shots behind in a tie for third.
Burns later acknowledged how difficult it would have been to catch Scheffler.
“I think everyone knew that coming into the day. I knew he was going to put a solid round together,” Burns said. “Honestly it was going to be really difficult — what did he finish, at 17?”
“I would have had to play pretty much a perfect round of golf to have a chance today, and I didn’t come close to that. Yeah, he played exactly how I expected him to.”
Scottie Scheffler Overcomes Bunker Trouble at TPC Southwind
GettyScottie Scheffler of the United States
Scheffler’s final round was not completely without trouble. His bunker shot on the par-5 third hole hit a sprinkler head and bounced into the water, turning a likely birdie opportunity into a bogey.
The incident prompted Scheffler to question when the difficult breaks would stop coming.
“I told Teddy when we were going down there to drop my ball, and I was like, ‘When is this going to stop happening?’” Scheffler said, referring to his caddie Ted Scott.
Despite the setback, Scheffler quickly regained control. He made five birdies over the remainder of the round without another bogey and closed with a 66.
His performance was especially notable on the greens. Scheffler gained nearly nine strokes putting for the week, his best Strokes Gained: Putting performance of his career. He also made three birdie putts from outside 20 feet during the final round.
“I felt like I holed a lot of those kind of 15- to 20-footers,” Scheffler said. “I was able to give myself a lot of looks and putt aggressively from there.”
The win marked Scheffler’s 21st PGA Tour victory. Only Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus reached that total at a younger age.
Scheffler also secured the top position in the FedExCup standings heading into the Tour Championship and became the first player to officially clinch a spot on the U.S. Presidents Cup team.
After months of close finishes, Scheffler said the victory felt different.
“I felt like I was on repeat all year just being like, ‘Hey, I’m playing solid. I’m close,’” Scheffler said. “It feels good to be answering some different questions at the end of this week.”
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