Scottie Scheffler won the Tour Championship on Sunday at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, capturing his second FedEx Cup title and a $10 million prize. The victory also pushed him past Tiger Woods to become the PGA Tour's all-time career money leader.
Scheffler's total now stands at $130,390,661. Woods had held the top spot since February 13, 2000, when he earned $264,000 by tying for second at Torrey Pines while chasing his seventh consecutive PGA Tour win. Woods' career total sits at $120,999,166, a number that has not moved since he made his last cut at the 2024 Masters.
According to ABC News, Scheffler started the final round three strokes behind overnight leader Viktor Hovland of Norway. He shot a four-under 66, the only round under par among the final three pairings, while Hovland stumbled to a two-over 72 as his driving grew erratic and his putter went cold. American Ryan Gerard, who began the day one stroke behind Hovland, also shot 72 and finished third at 12 under. Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland finished tied for fourth at 11 under after a round of 69 that included four birdies, an eagle, and five bogeys. England's Alex Fitzpatrick also shot 66, matching Scheffler for the low round of the day, to finish in the same tie for fourth on his Tour Championship debut.
"To come from behind and be able to win tournament is a really cool feeling," Scheffler said, as reported by the BBC. "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. It's a gift to be out here on tour. Each and every day I'm going to try to give it my best."
The 22nd career win matches Scheffler against a far more significant Woods record. Woods and Sam Snead share the PGA Tour record with 82 victories. Scheffler has said the wins total is the Woods number he actually cares about.
The speed at which Scheffler surpassed the career earnings mark reflects how dramatically prize money has grown on tour. During his peak years from 1997 through 2009, Woods never played for a $10 million purse. This season alone, 15 PGA Tour events carried prize funds of $20 million or more. The arrival of Saudi-funded LIV Golf in 2022 accelerated those increases as the PGA Tour worked to prevent players from defecting. Scheffler earned $23 million in bonus money alone last week by leading the FedEx Cup points standings, and has taken in just over $72.7 million across his last 50 tournaments over roughly two years.
Scheffler himself deflected credit for the milestone. "The reason our purses are so large today is because of the influence and impact that Tiger had on the game," he said before the tournament began. "I wouldn't really consider that a Tiger record being broken. I think it just shows one of the many effects he had on the game of golf in a positive way."
The win also makes Scheffler just the third player to win the FedEx Cup more than once, joining Woods, who won it in 2007 and 2009, and McIlroy, who won it in 2016, 2019, and 2022. Scheffler has been ranked number one in the world since May 2023.
