Scottie Scheffler compiles career accomplishments through impressive, unique 2024 season

There has never been a golf season like the one Scottie Scheffler has created in 2024. There have been better seasons and there have been ones in which golfers have racked up a longer list of accomplishments — more major championships, more PGA Tour event wins. But in terms of the unique nature of an entire year, what Scheffler accomplished has never been done before.

Let’s start with a win.

Scheffler has a total of eight victories, of which the sport’s two primary bodies recognize seven each. He won seven tournaments on the PGA Tour, although the Tour Championship does not count toward the Official World Golf Ranking. He also won an Olympic gold medal in Paris, which the OWGR recognizes as a win while the PGA Tour does not.

No matter what number you put next to Scheffler’s name, no golfer has accomplished the same feat in the last 17 years, and only two others have done it during a single season in the last 41 years.

Seven or more PGA Tour wins (since 1983)

“It’s pretty cool,” Scheffler said of his total number of wins. “Still don’t get why the Olympics don’t count. It’s a little weird to me. I think it’s part of the greed that goes through your mind. You say, ‘seven,’ I say, ‘I won eight.’ I won the Olympics in the middle of the year, and for some reason, it doesn’t count as an official PGA Tour win. It counts the same as Hero – no disrespect – but it counts the same as the Hero World Challenge in the big scheme of things.

“But overall, it’s been a great year. I’m proud of the results. It’s something I don’t focus on too much, but at the end of the day, winning tournaments is a great feeling, and that’s what we work towards. And to have as many wins as I’ve had this year is really special.”

Scheffler won’t praise himself, but Adam Scott, 44, who finished T4 at the Tour Championship, used the T-word when referring to Scheffler’s performance in 2024.

“It’s been really unbelievable, starting at Bay Hill,” Scott said. “I think it’s on a par with those great Tiger years. I think it’s really hard for anybody today to separate themselves as much as Scottie has. I don’t think we’ve seen that in a long time. I think it’s even harder to do that today.”

One of Scheffler’s most incredible stats of the year: In 20 worldwide starts, he finished in the top 10 17 times. Seventeen! He didn’t miss a single cut, and 13 of those top 10s were top fives. He put himself in position to win a lot, and he took advantage of it.

“I think his consistency, his attitude, is great,” said Rory McIlroy, who finished T9 at the Tour Championship, 14 shots behind Scheffler. “I think he’s the same every day on the course, no matter where he is on the leaderboard. It’s amazing to watch the way he handles himself on the golf course. Yeah, we’ll look at 2024, and it’s obviously one of the best individual years a player has had in a long time.”

Scheffler went winless in March. He then won eight of his next 15 tournaments, including his second Masters and second Players Championship. His gold medal win in August was the start of the season. Scheffler is the first male golfer to win a gold medal and a major in the same year. And it’s the start of his unique combination of victories in 2024.

Scheffler did all of this while playing every week as the world number one and entering every tournament as the favorite, often with heavy odds of 5-1 or better.

“I don’t even know where to start,” said Justin Thomas, who finished T14 at the Tour Championship. “Obviously, [Scheffler’s] Putting has been very impressive in terms of what part of his game it is. But I just think how well he plays when he’s the guy to beat every week. I don’t think people understand how hard it is to do that when you’re expected to win, when you’re the favorite to win, when everything you do is looked at on the golf course, good and bad, and how hard it is to go into your own little area and your own little world and really silence the noise.

“It’s just as skillful as hitting a shot with a driver in the fairway or an iron down the line. He’s obviously figured it out very well.”

Now, let’s talk about money.

A record $29.2 million in regular-season earnings (breaking his own record from a year earlier). Another $8 million from the Comcast Business Top 10, which rewards regular-season play on the PGA Tour. And then the biggest thing: a $25 million check for winning the Tour Championship and the FedEx Cup on Sunday at East Lake. That’s a total of more than $62 million — nearly seven times what Jack Nicklaus earned during his entire career — in just six months.

For a moment, it looked unlikely that Scheffler would win the final $25 million. He stumbled briefly at East Lake on Sunday but then recovered with three consecutive birdies in the middle of his round to leave him behind teammate Collin Morikawa and put the FedEx Cup out of reach.

“Nothing bothers him,” Morikawa said. “Whether I was close to getting the lead or he was getting the lead, it didn’t change the way he moved or the way he played or the way he played each shot. That’s something to learn. I think his mental game is a lot stronger than a lot of people know.”

The figures were also extraordinary.

Scheffler also put together one of the best seasons in recent history from a raw data standpoint. According to Data Golf, he gained more than 3.0 strokes per round (adjusted for field strength) in the tournaments he played in. Although exact numbers after the Tour Championship have not been officially released, maintaining a full year of more than 3.0 SG (which Scottie achieved) has not been achieved since at least 2010. One reason for this was that he zeroed in on his putting (he was an average PGA Tour putter in 2024), but the approach play (more than 1.5 strokes gained per round!) was on another planet.

What Morikawa said is also true: Scheffler has never been so mentally in control before. It’s his secret formula and his greatest gift. He wants to win just the right amount. He’s not defined by it, but he honestly jumps into competition at every opportunity. He perfectly maintains the tension between wanting to win too little and wanting to win too much.

“So, this week [at the Tour Championship]“My goal starting this week was just to have the right attitude and use my best strength, and that’s my mind,” Scheffler said. “That’s what I think my best strength is.” [caddie Ted Scott] I remembered at the beginning of the week, and that was really the thing I focused on the most, was staying in it mentally, and it paid off.”

Then there’s everything else.

The brouhaha surrounding the Masters — a buzz that Scheffler could leave for the birth of his child, though the due date was several weeks away. The arrest at the PGA Championship — after he felt the pull in a jail cell, he was released and shot 66 to nearly take the lead at the halfway point at Valhalla.

When you look at last year as a whole, it was a unique season. Nothing like it has ever happened before, and given all the unique circumstances and events, it’s doubtful it will ever happen again.

“I feel like I’ve almost lived my whole life in this one year,” Scheffler said. “It’s been crazy. I don’t know, I think it always comes down to my faith. I think that’s what keeps me grounded, keeps me in the right mental state.”

A lifetime in this one year is a great way to refer to Scheffler’s accomplishments, as he accomplished more than most golfers do in six months. He basically looked back at Hideki Matsuyama’s career from March 1 to September 1, and he did it in the most Scotty way: deflecting praise, talking about process, playing wired headphones and generally maintaining a cheerful demeanor that’s uncommon in professional golf.

This came full circle during an interview following his Tour Championship victory, the culmination of one of the greatest seasons in modern golf history.

What’s the simplest way to summarize your year?

Scottie Scheffler: “I mean, pretty funny. Yeah.”