Scottie Scheffler on Monday joined Tiger Woods as the only players to win PGA Tour Player of the Year at least four times in a row.
Scheffler picked up another Jack Nicklaus Award after a dominant season that featured a tour-leading six victories — twice as many as any other player — and two majors, the PGA Championship and the Open. He now sits one major short of a career Grand Slam. He was also the first player since Woods in 2000 to post the lowest scoring average in each of the four rounds and he finished the season with 15 consecutive top-10s.
“Overall the thing that I’m most proud of when I look at the last couple years is just consistency,” Scheffler said. “It’s not very easy to just show up and finish in the top 10 each week. That’s something that’s very difficult to do and something I’m very proud of, bringing the intensity that I need in these tournaments and being prepared as I need to in order to perform well week in and week out.”
Scheffler was on the Player of the Year ballot with Rory McIlroy, Tommy Fleetwood and Ben Griffin; the award is decided by players and the PGA Tour did not disclose vote totals. Woods has won the honor 11 times and recorded five straight wins from 1999–2003. McIlroy also had a big season, capturing the Masters in a playoff to complete his career Grand Slam and adding victories at Pebble Beach and The Players Championship.
Since his first PGA Tour title in 2022, Scheffler has kept up remarkable form: 19 victories in his last 80 PGA Tour starts (not including his Olympic gold in Paris) and top-three finishes in just over 46 percent of those events. This season he led the tour in 17 statistical categories, from tee-to-green metrics to his ability to follow a bogey with a birdie or better (36 percent), and he led the money list with more than $27 million in official earnings.
Scheffler also overcame a freak injury after cutting his right hand on a wine glass while preparing ravioli at Christmas, an episode that sidelined him for nearly two months. He regained form with a runner-up showing in Houston a week before the Masters and then did not finish worse than a tie for eighth the rest of the year. He closed his final six PGA Tour events without a round over par and posted a stretch of 21 consecutive rounds in the 60s.
He captured his hometown CJ Cup Byron Nelson by matching the PGA Tour 72-hole record at 253 for an eight-shot victory. His major wins were decisive: a five-shot victory at the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow and a four-shot win at the Open Championship at Royal Portrush. Across his four major titles (The Masters 2022 and 2024, the PGA Championship and the Open), Scheffler has held at least a four-shot advantage going to the final hole.
“I’m not really picky, if I’m holding the trophy at the end, it doesn’t really matter,” Scheffler said with a laugh.
Aldrich Potgieter was voted PGA Tour Rookie of the Year. Potgieter was one of five rookies to register a win this season, and the South African was the only rookie to win an event that awarded full FedEx Cup points and to qualify for the postseason.