Scottie Scheffler claims three-shot victory in Atlanta to secure FedEx Cup

Scheffler’s closing round of 66 lifted him above overnight leader Hovland, who struggled on the greens, making three bogeys in a round of 72.

There was one late scare for Scheffler when he found the thick rough with his tee shot on the 18th, but by the time he did so Hovland had just bogeyed the 17th to give the world number one extra breathing space – and Scheffler recovered to make par regardless as he added to the FedEx Cup he won in 2024.

It was a day when most players struggled to score well, but Scheffler showed his class with the joint best round of the day alongside Xander Schauffele.

“The golf course got a bit firmer, there was some wind – I feel like for Atlanta this feels like a lot of wind,” Scheffler said. “With the way the rough is, when it gets firm the fair starts to play a little bit more narrow.

“Today was a day when I was able to get off to a good start and I was able to make some birdies late in the round to seal the deal.”

Hovland started the day with a three-shot advantage over Scheffler but opened with a bogey and quickly saw his advantage disappear as a number of near misses on the greens proved costly.

Rory McIlroy had given himself a chance of contending with a superb round of 63 on Saturday, but three bogeys in the first five holes quickly showed he was in for a more difficult final day.

The Northern Irishman reversed some of that damage with an outstanding eagle on the par-five sixth, hitting a superb second shot to within 12 feet of the hole, but another bogey followed on the fourth on a frustrating day as he finished five shots off Scheffler in a tie for fourth.

Justin Rose hit a superb hole in one on the par-three nine, but it was needed as damage limitation on a day when he carded five bogeys in a round of 71 that dropped him five places to a share of 18th.