Scottie Scheffler caps big year with Hero World Challenge win - ESPN

NASSAU, Bahamas — Scottie Scheffler returned from a two-month break and nothing changed. He won the Hero World Challenge on Sunday with a 9-under 63 to tie the tournament record at Albany Golf Club and win by six shots.

Scheffler, the first player since Tiger Woods in 2009 to spend an entire calendar year at No. 1 in the world, won for the ninth time in 21 starts, a tally that included a second Masters title, an Olympic gold medal and the FedEx Cup.

He started the final round one shot behind Justin Thomas, took the lead on the par-5 third hole, stayed in front with a 50-foot birdie putt on No. 4 and never looked back.

Tom Kim tried to stay close until he missed a 19-inch par putt on the par-5 11th. He birdied the final hole for a 68 and was runner-up when Thomas, whose faint hopes ended with a bogey on the 18th, drove into the water on the 18th for another bogey. He shot 71 and finished third.

Scheffler finished at 25-under 263 to tie the tournament record at Albany first set by Bubba Watson in 2015, and his six-shot victory was the largest in the nine years Tiger Woods' holiday tournament has been held in the Bahamas.

Jordan Spieth holds the tournament records for 72-hole score (262) and margin (10 shots) the one year it was held at Isleworth in 2014.

«Very satisfying,» Scheffler said. «I did a lot of good stuff today on the course. It feels nice to take a break and come back and continue to play some really solid golf.»

Already the best in golf, Scheffler brought a new «claw» putting grip to the Hero World Challenge in a bid to get even better. He used the grip on putts from about 15 feet and in, and he finished the week third in the key putting statistic against a 20-man field.

«He really doesn't do anything wrong,»