Scottie Scheffler completed his remarkable season with a wire to wire victory at the Tour Championship at East Lake.  East Lake was no match for the top 30 players of the year as hot humid weather with little to no wind offered no challenge to these players as the birdie fest was on.  Scheffler maintained a steady lead over the field as only Colin Morakawa was actually within striking distance.  Scheffler wasn’t about to open any doors until the 8th hole on Sunday.  The eighth is a drivable par 4 and Scheffler’s tee shot landed on the upslope of the green side bunker on the right.  Scheffler’s bunker play was as good as usual except on this one, he shanked the shot out of the bunker and barely missed getting into the opposite green side bunker.  A shank is about the most disturbing shot in golf and is usually followed by lots of bad things.  The game quickened and Scheffler took little regard for the pitch shot back to the green–after a shank, the next shot is usually straight left.  Scheffler’s pitch to the green was indifferent and he missed a ten footer to make bogey while Morakawa was making a birdie.  The three shot swing cut Scheffler’s lead to 2 shots.  Just when you thought that Scheffler might be vulnerable-he unleashed a tremendous tee shot on 9 to make a birdie and the lead was back at 3.  Morakawa would not get any closer.  Morakawa played very well all week and had the lowest score when you subtract the opening scores where Scheffler was 10 under and Morakawa 4 under.

When asked by reporters what happened with the bunker shot at 8, Scheffler replied nonchalantly, “I shanked the shot.”  When pressed further by another reporter about the effects of the shank on the game, Scheffler stated that because it was a bunker shot, it didn’t have an impact on the rest of his game.  Scheffler elaborated that if he had shanked an iron or wedge from the fairway, it might have had a different effect on his outlook.  Scheffler was razor sharp on the bank nine and the outcome was never in doubt.  Most of us who have shanked a shot, follow it up with a hook that prevents the ball from coming anywhere near the hosel.

The Shank

Sahita Theegala played extremely well and is blossoming as the next star on the PGA Tour.  Theegala gained even more credibility with his peers when he called a two shot penalty on himself during the third round believing that his fairway bunker shot had tested the sand.  Theegala was convinced that it happened despite video evidence that did not collaborate the infraction, but he believed it happened and the penalty was assessed.  He had a barrage of birdies at the end of the third round and continued his great play on Sunday finishing alone in 3rd.  The two shot penalty turned out to be financially expensive but Theegala’s reputation for integrity is worth far more money to him and his peers.

The tournament really lacked a competitive thrust.  Scheffler is playing so well that it looks like he’s playing against himself with others playing for runner-up.  Scheffler is now dominating the tour the way Tiger Woods did but he’s doing it in a very measured way of great play in all aspects of the game and when his putter is working, its usually “lights out” for the rest of the field.

The Tour Championship win was his 7th PGA victory of 2024 with the Olympic gold medal as the cherry on top of the sundae.  Scheffler’s average round of 68 for the entire season is the lowest ever recorded in PGA history.

The Tour Championship is usually held at the end of October and the East Lake course might have been a sterner test at that time.  Virtually the entire field was under par for the four day event.

The President’s Cup

The US has won this event 9 times in a row and if the Internaionals don’t win this one, I think this event should disappear  It seems to me that trying to put together a team that doesn’t speak one language has to be very difficult to get organized as a team.  The US continues to lose Ryder Cups to the Europeans because the Europeans are able to coalesce around teamwork and camaraderie.  It seems that the US will take advantage of this situation with a lot of firepower on the squad led by Scheffler and Xander Schauffle.    The best chance the Internationals have will be having 5 Canadians playing on the team in Canada at the Royal Montreal Golf Club led by Canadian Mike Weir.   Weir is a fierce competitor and will do his best to ignite the fervor of these international players with his nucleus of Canadian players.  The Internationals could also have used LIV players Cameron Smith and Joaquin Niemann.

LIV

By the way, no one knows  or really cares where to find LIV events on TV.  The moneyed players are getting older and less relevant as time moves on.  There is no hint of any type of agreement with the PGA Tour and I think “The Housewifes of Beverly Hills” have higher ratings than LiV.  Who knows how Dustin Johnson, Cam Smith, Jon Rahm are playing and does anyone care.  In golf, there is more to the game than the almighty dollar.  It’s really a disgrace and an embarrassment to the game.  We could have used Arnold Palmer to sort this out but alas…we’re far from having that level of leadership and acumen at the professional golf level.