ATLANTA — During the final round of the Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club on Sunday, world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler looked like us.

With the FedEx Cup and a massive $25 million bonus on the line, Scheffler had just bogeyed the par-4 seventh hole. He mis-hit his tee shot to the left and his ball nearly went out of bounds before landing in pine straw.

Scheffler had to stand in a tree to take his second shot when his 4½-foot par putt went out of bounds — his only miss from inside 8 feet in 72 holes. Collin Morikawa made par, cutting Scheffler’s lead to four strokes.

On the next hole it got even smaller.

On the par-4 eighth hole, Scheffler’s tee shot fell short and landed in a bunker at the front of the green, about 24 yards from the hole.

Somehow, the world’s best golfer botched his bunker shot — his ball went way to the right and stopped about 36 yards short of the hole. Scheffler chipped to 24 feet and needed two putts for another bogey — his third in four holes.

Morikawa made an 8-foot birdie to cut Scheffler’s lead to just two. After two holes, it was seven.

“Yeah, honestly, it was surprising,” Morikawa said of Scheffler’s shank. “Look, I made the putt and I was two down, but he’s not going to just make bogeys after that. He’s going to do the opposite and he’s going to hit golf shots. It took his focus back almost half a second, and that’s something you can’t teach. You either have it or you don’t.”

After one of the worst shots of his career, Scheffler did what he’s done so many times over the past three years: He closed the door on Morikawa and everyone else.

He birdied each of the next three holes. On the par-3 ninth, he hit a 4-iron shot to 5 feet, 2 inches. His approach shot on the par-4 10th stopped at 3 feet, then he hit a 15-footer for birdie on the par-3 11th.

Just like that, Scheffler’s lead was back to five strokes. He added an eagle on the par-5 14th.

Scheffler won his first FedEx Cup with a total score of 30 under (he started at 10 under and had been the season-long points leader in the staggered scoring format), beating Morikawa by four strokes and Sahith Theegala by six.

It was the third year in a row that Scheffler began the Tour Championship with a two-stroke lead over everyone else. Two years ago, he blew a six-stroke lead in the final round, losing to Rory McIlroy by one stroke. Last year, he was 1 under through 72 holes (excluding starting strokes) and tied for sixth.

“I try not to think too much about the past or the future, but I think two years ago was pretty tough, having a good lead going into the last round and not playing my best and then losing, and then last year I just had a pretty bad week, so that was pretty disappointing,” Scheffler said. “So to come out with a lead for the third time and finish it off is definitely pretty cool.”

Scheffler, along with Tiger Woods (1999 and 2007) and Dustin Johnson (2020), are the only golfers to have won the Tour Championship while ranked No. 1 in the Official World Golf Ranking.

With his first FedEx Cup playoff victory, Scheffler became only the fourth PGA Tour golfer since 1980 to win at least seven majors in a single season, joining Tom Watson (1980), Woods (1999, 2000, 2006 and 2007) and Vijay Singh (2004).

After Scheffler’s debacle on the eighth hole, his caddie, Ted Scott, pulled him aside for a pep talk before he teed off on the ninth hole.

“Yeah, nine was a huge turnaround,” Scheffler said. “Teddy gave me a nice pep talk on the back eight green, because I looked at him like, ‘Man, I don’t know. This doesn’t look good right now.’ He gave me a little pep talk and then I was able to hit a really nice iron and get things rolling.”

Scheffler refused to reveal what Scott told him.

“I’m not going to give away all of our secrets,” Scheffler said. “Teddy has always been my biggest supporter. I think the results speak for themselves after he was able to pick up my bag and start helping me. He’s really a big part of the team. I don’t know if I could do any of this without him on my bag. We have a great relationship.

“He has a habit of saying the right things at the right time, which keeps me in the right mood.”

Scheffler’s 2024 season will be remembered as one of the greatest in golf history. Each of his victories came against elite fields in four signature events (Arnold Palmer Invitational, RBC Heritage, Memorial Tournament and Travelers Championship), Players Championship, Masters and the Tour Championship.

Last month, the 28-year-old from Texas added a gold medal to his career at the Paris Olympics. Scheffler is unsure why the Olympics aren’t counted toward his PGA Tour win total.

“I don’t think people understand how hard it is when you’re expected to win, when you’re the favorite to win, when everything you do on the golf course is being watched — good and bad — and how hard it is to get into your own zone and your own little world and really calm the crowd down,” said Justin Thomas, who finished tied for 14th at 14 under par.

“It’s something that’s as much of a skill as being able to hit a driver down the fairway or an iron on line. He’s clearly got that down really well.”

Along the way, Scheffler collected approximately $62.2 million in on-court earnings and season-long bonuses.

And even better, Scheffler and his wife Meredith welcomed their first child, Bennett, on May 8.

“I feel like I’ve lived almost an entire lifetime in this one year,” Scheffler said. “It’s been crazy.”

Scheffler’s seven wins came in just 19 starts. He was second twice and finished in the top 10 in all but three of his starts, never missing a cut.

Woods’ 2000 season is considered one of the best in history — he captured three of his 15 major championships by 24 strokes and won nine times in 20 starts. He finished second four times. Tiger earned about $9.2 million that year.

The only thing that has held Scheffler back somewhat over the past eight months was the Louisville police officer who arrested him after a traffic incident outside the gates of Valhalla Golf Club in Kentucky prior to the second round of the PGA Championship.

Remarkably, Scheffler shot a 5-under 66 just hours after being released from prison. He appeared to run out of fuel over the weekend, finishing in a tie for eighth place. Louisville prosecutors dropped Scheffler’s charges on May 29.

“I think his consistency, his attitude,” said McIlroy, who finished tied for ninth at 16 under. “I feel like he brings the same attitude to the course every day, no matter where he is on the scoreboard. It’s just amazing to see how he’s managed himself on the golf course. Yeah, we look back at 2024 and it’s clearly one of the best individual years a player has had in a long time.”

Scheffler’s win at East Lake should end any debate over who is the PGA Tour Player of the Year. Xander Schauffele was in contention after winning his first two majors at the PGA Championship and The Open.

Even Schauffele admits that everyone is still after Scheffler.

“I think he’s literally been in that position by the definition of dominance,” Schauffele said. “I don’t know how many weeks he’s been the No. 1 player in the world. Since I’ve been out, I think Dustin’s had a run, Brooks (Koepka) has had a run, Jon (Rahm) has had a run, Rory has had a run. They’ve kind of been bouncing back and forth between 1, 2 and 3. Scottie’s been on top of the mountain for two years now, it seems.”

Scheffler also doesn’t seem to be planning on coming down anytime soon.