Scottie Scheffler joined Tiger Woods on Monday as the only players to win PGA Tour Player of the Year at least four times consecutively.
Scheffler claimed another Jack Nicklaus Award after a season that included a tour-leading six victories — double that of any other player — and two majors, the PGA Championship and the British Open, leaving him one major shy of a career Grand Slam. He became the first player since Woods in 2000 to lead the PGA Tour with the lowest scoring average in each of the four rounds and closed the season with 15 consecutive top-10 finishes.
“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 to in these tournaments and being prepared as I need to in order to perform well week in and week out.”
Scheffler was on the ballot with Rory McIlroy, Tommy Fleetwood and Ben Griffin. The award is voted on by players; the PGA Tour did not disclose vote percentages or the number of voters.
Woods has won the award 11 times and recorded five straight wins from 1999 through 2003. McIlroy also enjoyed a big year, capturing the Masters in a playoff to complete the career Grand Slam and adding wins at Pebble Beach and The Players Championship.
Since his first PGA Tour title in 2022, Scheffler has shown remarkable consistency. He has 19 victories in his last 80 PGA Tour events (not including his Olympic gold in Paris) and has finished in the top three in just over 46 percent of his starts. This season he led the tour in 17 statistical categories, from tee-to-green accuracy to the frequency of following a bogey with a birdie or better (36 percent), and he topped official earnings at more than $27m.
Scheffler overcame an injury scare after slicing his right hand cutting ravioli with a wine glass at Christmas, which sidelined him for nearly two months. He began regaining form with a runner-up finish in Houston a week before the Masters, then did not finish worse than a tie for eighth for the remainder of the year. He closed out his final six PGA Tour events without a round over par and recorded a stretch of 21 consecutive rounds in the 60s.
He also won his hometown CJ Cup Byron Nelson by matching the PGA Tour record for 72 holes at 253, an eight-shot victory. His two major wins this year 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 British Open), he has held at least a four-shot lead 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. He was one of five rookies to win this season, but the South African was the only one to win a tournament offering full FedEx Cup points and to qualify for the postseason.