Scottie Scheffler has enjoyed one of the all-time PGA Tour seasons with six victories - including his second Major - and an Olympic gold medal to boot.
During an extraordinary 2024 so far, Scheffler has achieved a number of feats such as becoming the first six-time victor since Arnold Palmer in 1962, chaining together 41 consecutive rounds of par or better, and breaking his own PGA Tour money record in a single season - a number that continues to rise exponentially.
And, after one round of the 2024 Tour Championship, he has set another benchmark - with a little assistance from the FedEx Cup regulations.
The World No.1, who began the four-day event at East Lake two strokes in front of Xander Schauffele on 10-under as a result of leading the FedEx Cup coming into the final tournament, is now on 16-under heading into the second round after carding a 65 at the revamped Georgia layout.
Scheffler's closest rival, Schauffele makes up one of the two players closest to him in the standings on nine-under, with Collin Morikawa the other after becoming one of multiple golfers to fire a 66.
Scottie Scheffler cards a 6-under 65 and holds a seven-stroke lead after the first round of the TOUR Championship.Scheffler is the first player to hold a lead of seven strokes or more after 18 holes of a TOUR event on record (1983-present).August 29, 2024
But Scheffler's low round of the day means he is the first player to hold a lead of seven strokes or more after 18 holes of a PGA Tour event since records began in 1983.
Asked about the size of his advantage and what his approach was, given he began two strokes ahead, the two-time Major champion insisted there was no reason to think about anything other than attempting to score as low as possible on day one.
He said: "Just like any other tournament, if I came out here and shot two-over par and this was a regular stroke play event, I'd be sitting pretty far back from the lead.
"So treating it like I would any other tournament, just staying in my lane and doing the things I'm good at and that's just trying to focus on the task at hand and let all the other stuff take care of itself."
Should Scheffler go on to close out the Tour Championship ahead, he would earn the $25 million top prize and increase his earnings in 2024 alone to in excess of $60 million. That number will likely rise later in the year, too, once the Player Impact Program calculations are completed.
But, even if Scheffler managed to land a seventh PGA Tour triumph, it would leave him off the honors board in terms of 'most PGA Tour wins in a single season.'
Seven players - including the likes of Tiger Woods, Johnny Miller, and Gene Sarazen - have managed eight victories in one campaign, while Woods, Vijay Singh, and Paul Runyan each have a season with nine wins on their resume.
Ben Hogan achieved 10 in 1948, two years on from claiming 13, and Sam Snead took 11 titles in 1950. Yet, it is Byron Nelson who stands well clear at the top with 18 wins in one season - managed in 1945. That is a record that not even Scheffler is likely to beat.
