World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler voted 2024 PGA Tour Player of the Year

MIAMI – Top-ranked Scottie Scheffler was voted PGA Tour Player of the Year for the third consecutive year, the tour announced on Dec 10, after a campaign in which he captured nine titles worldwide.

The American won his second Masters green jacket, Paris Olympic gold, the PGA’s season-ending Tour Championship, the FedExCup crown and the Players Championship in 2024 in a trophy haul for the ages.

The 28-year-old claimed the Jack Nicklaus Award with 91 per cent of the votes from PGA Tour members who played at least 15 tour events this season, defeating the other finalists Rory McIlroy and Xander Schauffele.

“Congratulations to Scottie Scheffler on a truly historic season, capped off with his first FedExCup title and today a third consecutive Jack Nicklaus Award as PGA Tour Player of the Year,” said PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan.

“Scottie took on challenges from the best players in the world on the biggest stages all season, and being honoured as PGA Tour Player of the Year is the ultimate sign of respect from his peers.”

The voting period ran from Nov 25 till Dec 4, so Scheffler retaining his title at last week’s Hero World Challenge, an unofficial event in the Bahamas, did not even factor into the ballots.

His other PGA Tour wins came at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, the Heritage a week after the Masters, the Nicklaus-hosted Memorial Tournament and the Travelers Championship.

He became the only golfer other than Tiger Woods in 2005-2007 to win the Player of the Year award three times in a row. Woods also took five consecutive awards from 1999 to 2003.

The only other player to win it three times overall was McIlroy, who took the honour in 2012, 2014 and 2019.

Scheffler has captured 13 career PGA Tour triumphs, seven of them this year, and became the first player to retain his title at the Players Championship as well as taking his second Masters crown in three seasons.

Not since Woods in 2007 had a player won seven PGA Tour events in one season and Scheffler did so while staying atop the rankings all year, a run that has spanned 82 weeks.

He also had 16 top-10 finishes in 19 PGA starts in 2024 without missing a cut and also helped the United States retain the Presidents Cup by defeating the Internationals in Montreal.

Scheffler also captured the Byron Nelson Award for lowest tour scoring average on 68.65 strokes.

Meanwhile, Woods, who has not competed since missing the cut at the British Open in July, will play with his son Charlie at next week’s PNC Championship in Orlando, Florida, the tournament organisers said on Dec 10.

The Dec 21-22 event at Ritz-Carlton Golf Club is a 36-hole tournament with a field consisting of 20 Major champions and a family member.

Woods, who underwent microdecompression surgery for nerve impingement on his lower back in September, and his son have competed in the PNC Championship in each of the last four years and finished runners-up in 2021.

“I’m very excited to head back to the PNC Championship next week with Charlie,” said Woods. “Playing together is something we look forward to and it’s always more special when you’re surrounded by friends and family.”

Woods recently sat out the Hero World Challenge which he hosts, saying he was not tournament sharp but the PNC Championship is a more laid-back event that allows players to use golf carts.

In other news, LIV Golf has yet to officially poach a marquee name away from the PGA Tour ahead of the 2025 season, but the Iron Heads Golf Club did announce the signing of Jang Yu-bin, the No. 1 golfer on the Korean Tour.

He will join captain Kevin Na’s team, who have also re-signed Danny Lee and Jinichiro Kozuma.

Jang, 22, is a three-time winner on the Korean Tour, where he is coming off a season in which he led the tour’s money list while also posting the most top-10 finishes.
AFP, REUTERS