Andy’s Golf Lab Weekly

Scheffler answers the FedExCup question, Dean produces a Sunday for the ages, and women’s golf heads towards the Solheim Cup

Last week I asked a question: with the majors finished and no Ryder Cup this year, does the FedExCup genuinely retain our interest when so much of the narrative appears to revolve around money?

Well, the final round at East Lake gave us at least part of the answer.

Scottie Scheffler started Sunday three behind Viktor Hovland, shot 66 and won the Tour Championship by three. It was his second FedExCup title in three years and another reminder of why he has become the benchmark in men’s golf.

But perhaps the more interesting question remains: did we care because of the enormous prize fund, or because two of the world’s best golfers were competing on Sunday?

For me, it is overwhelmingly the latter.

PGA Tour — Scheffler finishes the job

Scheffler began the final round three shots behind Hovland. By the 13th, he had taken the lead. A bogey at 14 briefly left the door ajar, but Hovland couldn’t take advantage and Scheffler completed another outstanding final round.

Yet I still return to the question we raised last week.

The PGA Tour can keep increasing prize funds, but spectators don’t emotionally invest in bank transfers. We invest in players, rivalries, jeopardy, history and moments.

Scheffler chasing Hovland was interesting. The money was incidental.

The FedExCup doesn’t need to become worth more money. It needs to become worth more emotionally.

LPGA — Ruoning Yin is back

At TPC Boston, Ruoning Yin claimed the FM Championship, finishing 14-under and beating Hyo Joo Kim by two.

At only 23, it is easy to forget how much she has already achieved. The decisive sequence demonstrated an interesting piece of tournament management: sometimes winning means recognising that you don’t need to force anything.

Stay there. Keep giving yourself opportunities. Wait. Then take the one that matters.

And now women’s golf changes gear completely. The next major event is not stroke play. It’s the Solheim Cup.

DP World Tour — from delivering groceries to winning the British Masters

This is comfortably my favourite story of the weekend.

Joe Dean began Sunday at The Belfry seven shots behind. He finished it three shots ahead.

Dean produced a bogey-free nine-under 63, equalling the course record and claiming his first DP World Tour title at the British Masters.

Nine birdies. No bogeys. And one extraordinary Sunday.

But the backstory makes this considerably better. Dean is a 32-year-old former supermarket delivery driver from Sheffield. Now he is a British Masters champion — with his wife on the bag.

Golf loves stories about prodigies, but professional sport needs stories like Dean’s too. The vast majority of sporting careers aren’t straight lines. They involve setbacks, financial pressure, jobs, uncertainty and periods when continuing to chase the dream probably looks slightly irrational to everyone except the person doing it.

Then occasionally everything comes together.

Ladies European Tour — Alexander finally converts the form

Casandra Alexander demonstrated another version of persistence at The K Club.

Alexander had already finished runner-up five times this season. This time there was no near miss.

The South African led from start to finish, opening with a course-record 63 and finishing 20-under, three clear of Sara Kouskova.

For the home crowd, Leona Maguire provided plenty to enjoy too, and that performance arrives at an excellent time because her next job is wearing European blue.

LIV Golf — the season is over, but the questions aren’t

There was no LIV Golf tournament this weekend. Its 2026 season concluded in Indianapolis, where 22-year-old Michael La Sasso won the individual tournament and Jon Rahm completed another season as LIV’s individual champion.

But LIV enters an important off-season. I’ve said before that I have no problem with an alternative tour. More opportunities for professional golfers can be healthy.

But any sporting product ultimately needs clarity.

What is the pathway? What is the competitive purpose? What are players actually trying to win? And why should spectators care?

Interestingly, those are not questions exclusive to LIV. They are exactly the questions we have just been asking about the FedExCup.

Andy’s Coaching Takeaway — Stop trying to force the good golf

Two performances stood out from a coaching perspective this weekend.

Scheffler began Sunday three behind. Dean began seven behind.

Neither could control what the leader was going to do. They could only control the next shot.

Yet watch club golfers when they are three down in a match, four over handicap after six holes or suddenly trailing in a competition. They start trying to manufacture birdies. They swing harder, attack flags they wouldn’t normally attack and change tempo.

Essentially, they abandon the game that gave them a chance in the first place.

Dean didn’t need to shoot 63 when he stood on the first tee. He needed to hit the first shot. Then the second. The 63 emerged from the process.

That distinction matters.

Don’t chase the score. Build it.

The bigger story coming — Solheim Cup

There is now a brief pause before the biggest women’s team event in golf.

The 2026 Solheim Cup takes place at Bernardus Golf in the Netherlands from September 11–13. Europe will be captained by Anna Nordqvist and USA arrive as defending champions.

And this brings me neatly back to where we started.

The FedExCup offered an enormous financial reward to its winner. The Solheim Cup offers no individual winner’s cheque.

Yet I suspect many golf supporters will feel considerably more emotionally invested in a tight Sunday singles match in the Netherlands.

Why?

Because sport ultimately isn’t about the money.

It’s about meaning.

And that could be one of the most interesting themes in golf over the next few weeks.