Tiger Woods reacts as Scottie Scheffler breaks his 26-year PGA Tour record

Tiger Woods has congratulated Scottie Scheffler after the World No.1 completed another remarkable PGA Tour season by winning the Tour Championship and claiming a second FedEx Cup title in three years.

Scheffler closed with a 4-under 66 at East Lake to secure a three-shot victory on 16-under par and put the finishing touches to a season in which he once again established himself as the dominant force on the PGA Tour.

The 30-year-old's victory was his third of the season and, unofficially for now, all but confirms another PGA Tour Player of the Year award – which would be his fifth consecutive honour.

Scheffler's latest FedEx Cup triumph also came with a significant financial milestone.

The $10 million first prize, combined with his earnings throughout the season, saw Scheffler move beyond Woods at the top of the PGA Tour's all-time career money list.

Woods had occupied first place for 26 years, but Scheffler's career PGA Tour earnings have now reached $130,390,661, compared with Woods' $120,999,166.

Woods was among those watching Scheffler's latest achievement and took to X to congratulate his fellow TaylorMade staffer.

"Three wins, five runner-ups and finishing the season No.1. Those are some numbers to be proud of. Incredible consistency all season long. Congrats on a historic season, Scottie," Woods wrote.

The milestone comes with an obvious caveat, it must be said. 

Scheffler is competing in an era of vastly inflated prize funds compared with the period when Woods dominated the sport, meaning the raw career earnings figures do not provide a perfect comparison of their respective careers.

Nevertheless, Scheffler's rise to the top of the money list is another remarkable marker of his consistency.

Rory McIlroy, meanwhile, is hot on the heels of Woods after his tie for fourth at the Tour Championship. McIlroy's finish earned him almost $1.7 million and lifted his career PGA Tour earnings to $119,555,515.

PGA Tour career earnings (after 2026 Tour Championship)

Scheffler's season was about much more than prize money.

He finished first in a remarkable number of statistical categories, including official money with $30,937,525, a record season scoring average of 67.86, strokes gained total at 2.249 and strokes gained tee-to-green at 1.674.

The World No.1 also led the Tour in ball striking, final-round scoring average, greens in regulation, scrambling, birdie average and par-4 scoring average.

His 72.86% greens-in-regulation mark underlined the consistency of his long game, while a 66.4% scrambling rate showed that he was equally capable of salvaging pars when he did miss the target.

Perhaps even more impressive was Scheffler's final-round scoring average of 67.32, illustrating how rarely Scheffler's performance level dropped when tournaments reached their decisive stages.

He also ended the year with a 29-round streak of shooting par or better.

All of which helps explain why Woods was so keen to praise Scheffler's season.

Scheffler now has 22 PGA Tour victories, although he remains some way behind Woods' joint-record 82 wins, which he shares with the late Sam Snead.

The major championship gap is also significant, with Scheffler currently on four major titles compared with Woods' 15.

But at just 30 years old, Scheffler continues to add milestones at an extraordinary rate.

Breaking Woods' long-standing career earnings record is the latest one – and, judging by Woods' message, it is an achievement even one of the greatest players in golf history can appreciate.