Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele and Rory McIlroy up for PGA Player of the Year
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American golfer Scottie Scheffler attending an NBA game between the Dallas Mavericks and the Phoenix Suns during his downtime.
PHOTO: AFP
MIAMI – Top-ranked Scottie Scheffler, two-time Major winner Xander Schauffele and DP World Tour Championship winner Rory McIlroy were named on Nov 25 as 2024 PGA Tour Player of the Year award nominees.
The Jack Nicklaus Award and the Arnold Palmer Award for the PGA Rookie of the Year will be voted on by PGA Tour members until Dec 4, with the winners announced by the end of 2024.
Scheffler and Schauffele are favourites in the top player race.
The former won Paris Olympic gold and took seven titles on the PGA Tour, including his second US Masters title in three seasons.
The 28-year-old American also won the Arnold Palmer Invitational, The Players Championship, the Heritage and Memorial tournaments, the Travelers Championship and the season-ending Tour Championship to capture the FedExCup.
He was the season money leader and took the Byron Nelson Award for lowest scoring average at 68.645 strokes. The world No. 1 had 16 top-10 PGA Tour finishes without missing a cut.
Schauffele secured his first two Major titles, winning the PGA Championship and the British Open, and the 31-year-old American was second in scoring average at 69.137. He had 15 top-10 efforts without missing a cut.
McIlroy won the Zurich Classic pairs event with Irishman Shane Lowry and his fourth Wells Fargo Championship on the PGA Tour. He had seven top 10s and missed one cut.
The 35-year-old from Northern Ireland almost captured his fifth Major title and first since 2014 but settled for second at the US Open to Bryson DeChambeau.
In other news, Tiger Woods announced that he will not compete in next week’s Hero World Challenge tournament in the Bahamas, with the 15-time Major winner having undergone back surgery in September.
The 48-year-old said fellow Americans Justin Thomas and Nick Dunlap and Australian Jason Day were the final competitors in the 20-player event, set for Dec 5 to 8 at Albany Golf Course.
“I am disappointed that I will not be able to compete this year at the Hero World Challenge, but always look forward to being tournament host and spending the week with @HeroMotoCorp,” he posted on X.
Woods, a five-time winner of the World Challenge, hosts the annual event but has played just once in the last three years due to health concerns.
He underwent the sixth back operation of his career in September with hopes of easing back spasms and pain he felt during starts in 2024, the most recent of which was at the British Open in July at Royal Troon.
Woods, whose 82 PGA Tour wins are level with Sam Snead for the all-time record, has made only 10 official starts since a 2021 car crash that caused severe leg injuries.
It will be the first time at the event for 20-year-old Dunlap, who became the first amateur in 33 years to win a PGA Tour event when he captured the American Express title in January.
He then joined the tour and went on to capture his second title in July at the Barracuda Championship, becoming the first PGA player to win as a pro and an amateur in the same season. AFP
