Scheffler matches record for annual victories

Scottie Scheffler (right) has achieved victory in 42.9% of the 21 tournaments he participated in during 2024. The final standings for the Hero World Challenge are presented below: -25 S Scheffler (US); -19 T Kim (Kor); -18 J Thomas (US); -15 A Bhatia (US); -14 K Bradley (US); -12 L Aberg (Swe); -11 R MacIntyre (Sco) Selected others: -4 A Rai (Eng); Level W Clark (US); +1 J Day (Aus) Full leaderboard Scottie Scheffler concluded a dominant year by securing the Hero World Challenge title for the second consecutive time, achieving a nine-under 63 and winning by six strokes. The world’s top-ranked golfer, who also secured victories at the Masters and the Olympic gold medal in 2024, achieved his ninth title of the year, matching a record, by completing a bogey-free round to finish at 25 under par. This win signifies that he has triumphed in 42.9% of the 21 tournaments he participated in during 2024. Following his win, Scheffler commented, “[That was] very satisfying,” after equaling the record for most single-season wins since 1950, a feat previously achieved by Tiger Woods (2000) and Vijay Singh (2004). It was noted that this event and the Olympics are not classified as PGA Tour competitions. He added, “I did a lot of good stuff on the course, played a really solid round of golf.” He further stated, “[It] feels nice to take a little break and come back and continue to play some pretty solid golf.” Scheffler, who had not participated in a strokeplay tournament since his victory at the PGA Tour Championship in August, became one of only three golfers to win the 20-man invitational event at Albany Golf Club in the Bahamas consecutively, alongside Woods (2006-2007) and Norway’s Viktor Hovland (2021-2022). The 28-year-old Scheffler secured his dominant victory by making birdies on three of the initial four holes and four of the last six. Tom Kim of South Korea finished in a distant second place with a score of 68, while Justin Thomas, who had been the overnight leader, concluded the tournament in third position, one shot behind Kim. Thomas, who has not secured a win since the 2022 US PGA Championship, completed his round with a one-under 71. The 31-year-old golfer recorded birdies on the first and fourth holes, but these were offset by bogeys on the par-three second and fifth holes. This sequence of events enabled Scheffler to establish a lead he maintained throughout, following an eight-foot birdie on the opening hole, a tap-in birdie on the par-five third, and an impressive birdie putt from just under 50 feet on the fourth. Scheffler further commented, “It has been a great year and a fun year.” He continued, “I have had a little bit of time to reflect, but I am not really sure how to assess it. It has just been pretty surreal, a lot of fun and I am just really grateful.”