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Mark Schlabach, ESPN Senior Writer
World No. 1 golfer Scottie Scheffler, whose seven victories on tour this past season were the most since Tiger Woods in 2007, won the Jack Nicklaus Award as PGA Tour Player of the Year.
Scheffler, who won a second green jacket at the Masters, a gold medal at the Paris Olympics and a FedEx Cup title, is the first golfer since Woods (2005 to 2007) to win the honor in three consecutive seasons.
“On behalf of the PGA Tour, 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,” commissioner Jay Monahan said in a statement Tuesday. “Scottie took on challenges from the best players in the world on the biggest stages all season, and being honored as PGA Tour Player of the Year is the ultimate sign of respect from his peers.”
On Sunday, Scheffler won his second straight title at the Hero World Challenge, an unofficial tournament that Woods hosts in the Bahamas, which gave Scheffler nine victories worldwide this year.
But he laughed off any comparisons to Woods, calling them “a bit silly” when he spoke with the media Tuesday night.
“There’s really only one Tiger, that’s just kind of it,” he said. “I’m trying to get the best out of myself and that’s really all I’m focused on. I’m not chasing records or chasing history or anything like that, I’m just trying to day in and day out continue to improve a little bit, just go out there and compete, have fun.”
Remarkably, Scheffler finished first in 43% of his 21 starts in 2024, including the Olympics and the Hero. He also was runner-up twice. He made more than $29.2 million in on-course earnings this past season.
According to the PGA Tour, Scheffler received 91% of the vote by his peers. Xander Schauffele, who won the PGA Championship and The Open Championship, and Rory McIlroy were the other golfers who received votes.
PGA Tour members who competed in at least 15 tournaments were eligible to vote on the award from Nov. 25 to Dec. 4.
The result certainly wasn’t a surprise given Scheffler’s dominance in 2024. In addition to winning the Masters and the Tour Championship, he became the first player to successfully defend his title at the Players Championship. He is the first golfer to win the Players, a major championship and the FedEx Cup in the same season.
The 28-year-old also won titles at four signature events against elite fields: Arnold Palmer Invitational, RBC Heritage, Memorial Tournament and Travelers Championship. He had a tour-best 16 top-10 finishes in 19 starts and didn’t miss a cut.
Scheffler was the first golfer since Arnold Palmer in 1962 to have six PGA Tour victories in a season before July 1.
“I mean, it’s tough to compare seasons, but I think in terms of the amount of tournaments I won and with having a major championship, The Players and the Olympics, I think when you look across the whole season I think it’s the best golf that I’ve played in my career,” Scheffler said. “Look at a year like 2022, I won a lot at the beginning of the year, but I wasn’t able to win much the second half of the year. Then last year I played such great golf the whole year and I wasn’t able to get a ton of wins out of it. I still won three times last year, but it felt like I left some left some there that I could have won.
“Then this year I felt like there’s maybe only a couple events that I really had a good chance of winning that I didn’t and for the most part this year I felt like I capitalized on those opportunities and made the putts when they really mattered.”
Scheffler also received the Byron Nelson Award for having the lowest scoring average on tour (68.65). He finished first in shots gained: total (2.496) and approach (1.269) and was second off the tee (.816).
“I think the biggest thing that I see is that he’s always trying to get better,” Kim said Sunday. “Despite winning nine times this year, he’s always finding little ways, and I think it’s really, really cool to see and you can take a lot from that. He wins 95% of the time.”
