Collin Morikawa Takes Little Consolation in 2nd Place at the Tour Championship

`I want to win,' the Cal grad said after finishing behind Scottie Scheffler and earning $12.5 million

Collin Morikawa and his caddie plan a shot / John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

Collin Morikawa’s quest to win the FedEx Cup playoffs at the season-ending Tour Championship was rebuffed by a player who authored the greatest season golf has seen in 17 years.

Scottie Scheffler let Morikawa climb within two strokes after eight holes of Sunday’s final round at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, but the 27-year-old Cal grad never got closer.

Scheffler shot a 4-under 67 on Sunday to finish at 30 under par, including the 10-stroke advantage he took into Thursday’s opening based on his No. 1 ranking in the season FedEx Cup points standings.

Morikawa closed with a 66, leaving him at minus-26, including his four-stroke starting position. Over 72 holes, not counting their bonus strokes, Morikawa’s four-day performance of 66-63-67-66 added up to 22-under 262, best of any of the 30 golfers in the field. Scheffler carded a 264.

Collin Morikawa / John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

Morikawa wasn’t in much of a celebratory mood, despite playing so consistently well over four days, posting 27 birdies on 72 holes.

"I want to win,” he said. 

His consolation prize for second place: $12.5 million.

Scheffler, the world’s top-ranked player, pocketed a $25 million check. He fashioned a season with seven PGA Tour victories, including The Masters, The Players Championship and four signature events, plus a gold medal at the Paris Olympics. 

No one had won seven times in a season on the PGA Tour since Tiger Woods in 2007.

Scheffler’s earnings for 2024 added up to more than $64 million, according to USA Today. His final season scoring average of 68.0 is the lowest in PGA Tour history. He and his wife also had their first child this year.

Morikawa said Scheffler showed what he’s made of after a two-stroke swing on No. 8, where Morikawa made birdie and Scheffler a bogey, cutting the distance between them to two strokes.

“He has every shot, he never gets fazed,” Morikawa said. “He shanked one on the bunker on 8 and came out with three birdies after that. I think that shows who he is.”

Scheffler’s lead was back to five strokes, and Morikawa never got closer than four the rest of the way. 

Morikawa didn’t win this season but had seven top-5 finishes, including a tie for third at The Masters and a tie for fourth at the PGA Championship. He was second at the Memorial.

Asked about the progress of his game since the start of the year, Morikawa acknowledged, “I’m better, but honestly I’m only going to remember the wins. This is a lot to learn from and then move on. I love seeing Scottie win. Hopefully next year, we kind of find that stride and get back on it.”

Sahith Theegala finished third at minus-24 after a final-round 64 that included eight birdies. Theegala’s weekend would have ended different except that he self-imposed a two-stroke penalty on Saturday when he said he was 98 or 99 percent sure he lightly touched the sand with his club out of a bunker.

Xander Schauffele, who began the week at No. 2 in the FedEx Cup standings, wound up in a three-way tie for fourth place at minus-19 after making birdies on his final three holes. Schauffele won both the PGA Championship and The Open Championship this year.

He was tied with Adam Scott and Russell Henley, who shot a 62 on Sunday with eight birdies and an eagle on No. 18. Each of those three took home $4,833,333.

Byeong Hun An, a 32-year-old South Korean who played one season at Cal more than a decade ago, wound in a tie for 21st place at minus-8 after shooting 69 for the third time in four days.

An earned $660,000.