Scottie Scheffler, the world number one, rounded off a remarkable season by defending his title at the Hero World Challenge on Sunday, securing his ninth win of the year.
The 28-year-old American carded a flawless, nine-under par 63 to finish on 25-under after 72 holes at the 20-player, unofficial invitational event at Albany Golf Club in the Bahamas.
This performance earned him a commanding six-shot victory over South Korea’s Tom Kim, with two-time Major winner Justin Thomas finishing third on 18-under.
“Very satisfying,” Scheffler remarked. “I did a lot of good stuff today on the course, played a really solid round of golf. I got off to a good start.”
Having not played a stroke-play event since winning the PGA Tour Championship in August, Scheffler added another achievement to his 2024 season, which already includes a second Masters green jacket and gold at the Paris Olympics. He also joins Tiger Woods and Viktor Hovland as back-to-back winners of the event with the tournament host taking honours in 2006 and 2007, and the Norwegian winning the 2021 and 2022 editions.
“It feels nice to take a little break and come back and continue to play some solid golf,” Scheffler said. “I’m very pleased with the results this week.”
This also marked a successful debut for his new putting grip, which pleased him as he prepares for some rest before the new campaign kicks off in January.
“Overall, I’ll head home tonight, try to get some rest, and keep working on the things I’ve been focusing on this off-season to get ready for next season,” he said.
Thomas, who had led Scheffler by a stroke at the start of the day, was unable to end his winless streak, which stretches back to his victory at the 2022 PGA Championship.
Thomas started well with birdies at the 1st and 4th holes but faltered with bogeys at the par-three 2nd and 5th. His slow start allowed Scheffler to seize the lead, beginning with an eight-foot birdie at the first hole, followed by a tap-in birdie at the par-five 3rd and a stunning 50-foot birdie putt at the 4th.
Kim birdied all three par-fives on the front nine—the 3rd, 6th, and 9th—and made a four-foot birdie putt at the 10th to reach 19 under.
However, Scheffler responded with a birdie at the 9th after pitching to within four feet, and then made a 20-foot birdie putt at the 10th to extend his lead to three shots when Kim missed a two-foot putt at the par-five 11th, resulting in a bogey.
Scheffler’s lead widened further as he made birdie putts on four of the final six holes—three from inside four feet and a 10-footer at the par-four 16th.
He closed out in style, hitting a laser-like iron from 175 yards to inside four feet to cap off an incredible season.
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