Washington (United States) (AFP) – World number one Scottie Scheffler powered to an eight-stroke victory in the St. Jude Championship on Sunday, capturing his first PGA Tour title since January. The American launched the tour’s FedEx Cup playoff series in convincing style, shrugging off an early bogey to card five birdies in a four-under par 66 for a 17-under par total of 263 at TPC Southwind in Memphis, Tennessee. South Korean Kim Si-woo carded a two-under 68 to finish second on nine-under.
“I’ve had some close calls this year,” said Scheffler, who had five runner-up finishes and four other top-fours during the extended dry spell that followed his season-opening victory at La Quinta, California. “I feel like I kept saying at the end of each tournament ‘Man, I feel like I’m playing pretty good. It’s just the little things aren’t going my way.'”
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Scheffler started the day with a two-shot lead, his first 54-hole lead in more than a year, but quickly got another unwelcome taste of little things going wrong when his shot out of a greenside bunker at the third hole hit a sprinkler head and bounced into the water for a bogey. Scheffler responded with a 10-foot birdie at the fifth, then rolled in 20-foot birdie putts at six and 11 before draining a 22-foot birdie at the 13th. A six-foot birdie at the 16th was just an exclamation point as those chasing systematically fell by the wayside.
Scheffler’s good friend Sam Burns, who started the day tied for second and played in the final group, took a double-bogey at the third and bogeyed the fifth. He finished with a three-over 73 and finished tied for third with Sweden’s Alex Noren on eight-under. South Korean Im Sung-jae, who shared second overnight, fired a four-over 74 for a share of fifth. That was good enough to see Im move into the top 50 in the FedEx Cup standings and book his spot in next week’s BMW Championship.
Four-time major-winner Scheffler, whose week included a superb 61 on Friday, claimed his 21st PGA Tour title. The more than six-month gap since his last victory was the longest he’s gone between titles since 2023, when he won the Players Championship in March and didn’t return to the winner’s circle again until the Hero World Challenge in December. Although he’s enjoyed a statistically superb year, missing just one cut, Scheffler admitted that couldn’t compare with hoisting a trophy.
“Statistics are one thing, but being able to win golf tournaments is another,” said Scheffler, who had nine wins in 2024 and six in 2025. “This is a lot better feeling than having statistically another good week.”
© 2024 AFP
