ATLANTA: Scottie Scheffler capped off the biggest year in golf in nearly two decades by winning the biggest prize in golf.
Challenged briefly Sunday in the Tour Championship, Scheffler responded with three straight birdies to made winning look as inevitable as it has seemed all year. He closed with a 4-under 67 for a four-shot victory over Collin Morikawa to capture the FedEx Cup and its $25 million prize.
That pushed his season earnings, including bonuses, to just over $62.3 million.
It was the greatest year since Tiger Woods won eight times in 2006, including six in a row and two majors, all while dealing with the death of his father. Scheffler’s eight wins included the Masters, The Players Championship, an Olympic gold medal and the Tour Championship that enabled him to finally claim the FedEx Cup.
His seven PGA Tour titles are the most since Woods in 2007.
“We’ll look back on 2024 and it’s obviously one of the best individual years that a player has had for a long time,” Rory McIlroy said.
This was the third straight year Scheffler came to East Lake as the top seed, meaning he started the tournament at 10-under par with a two-shot lead. Two years ago, he lost a six-shot lead in the final round to McIlroy.
Scheffler led by at least five shots after each round. But there was a harrowing moment as storm clouds began to threaten. He made two straight bogeys, the second one on a pure shank from a bunker on the reachable par-4 eighth hole. Morikawa made birdie, and a seven-shot deficit he faced after two holes was down to a mere two shots with 10 holes to play.
And then it was over.
Scheffler hit his tee shot to 5 feet on the par-3 ninth for birdie. He hit wedge to 3 feet on No. 10 for birdie, and then swirled in a 15-foot birdie putt on the par-3 11th.
Just like that, his lead was back to five shots. And when he holed a 15-foot eagle putt on the 14th hole, it was a matter of getting to the finish line.
Scheffler referred to the FedEx Cup as a season-long race being “silly” because everything came down to the final week at East Lake. There was no doubting the FedEx Cup got a most appropriate champion.
Scheffler only finished out of the top 10 three times in his 19 starts. He had a pair of runner-up finishes to go along with seven PGA Tour titles.
“He’s the guy to beat every single week,” Justin Thomas said. “I don’t think people understand how hard that is to do, when you’re expected to win, when you’re the favorite to win, when every single thing you’re doing is being looked at — good and bad — on the golf course, and how hard it is to get in your own little zone and own little world and truly just quiet the noise.”
Morikawa won $12.5 million for finishing second. Sahith Theegala closed with a 64 and finished third, earning a $7.5 million bonus.
Scottie Scheffler caps off record season with FedEx Cup title and $25 million bonus
https://arab.news/4rgc8
Scottie Scheffler caps off record season with FedEx Cup title and $25 million bonus
- Scheffler referred to the FedEx Cup as a season-long race being “silly” because everything came down to the final week at East Lake
Morocco look to youth and experience to prove Qatar World Cup success was no fluke
- “Qatar was not a miracle,” Regragui told Moroccan state television
- “It was the fruit of a long-term plan. At 2026, we want to go further. We have the talent, the mentality and the experience“
RABAT: Morocco head into Friday’s FIFA World Cup draw in Washington brimming with confidence, determined to build on their trailblazing run to the semifinals in Qatar 2022 and prove their rise is no accident.
The Atlas Lions stunned the world three years ago, becoming the first African and Arab nation to reach the last four of a World Cup after eliminating Spain and Portugal before falling to France.
Coach Walid Regragui, who masterminded that historic feat, said the challenge now was to sustain success. “Qatar was not a miracle,” Regragui told Moroccan state television. “It was the fruit of a long-term plan. At 2026, we want to go further. We have the talent, the mentality and the experience.”
Morocco’s ambitions rest on two pillars: a thriving youth system and a squad stacked with international stars. Achraf Hakimi, a Champions League regular with Paris Saint-Germain, headlines a group that includes Hakim Ziyech, Sofyan Amrabat and Youssef En-Nesyri — all playing at the highest level in Europe.
Rising talents such as Abde Ezzalzouli and Bilal El Khannouss add depth and dynamism.
Morocco’s youth program has delivered unprecedented success. Coach Mohamed Wahbi guided his team to a historic FIFA Under-20 World Cup triumph in October, when they beat Argentina 2-0 in the final to become the first Arab nation to lift the trophy.
The under-17 side reached the quarter-finals of their World Cup, while the under-23 team claimed the Africa Cup of Nations and secured a place at the Paris 2024 Olympics, where they went on to win bronze.
“The pressure is already there – all of Morocco wants the Africa Cup,” Wahbi told Al Arabiya TV, referring to this month’s continental tournament on home soil. “Winning the youth World Cup won’t add pressure on Regragui, it will motivate him. Everyone sees Morocco today as a leader in African football, and that’s the result of a clear project.”
Morocco’s football vision aligns with its global ambitions. The kingdom will co-host the 2030 World Cup alongside Spain and Portugal.
“Hosting 2030 is a responsibility and an opportunity,” said Fouzi Lekjaa, president of the Royal Moroccan Football Federation. “But first, 2026 is about proving that Morocco belongs among the elite.”
