Scottie Scheffler wins 2022 PGA Tour Player of the Year award

It’s been quite a year for the 2022 Masters winner and now that’s been officially recognized by his peers from across the world of professional golf.

Scottie Scheffler named 2022 PGA Tour Player of the Year

After what has been a sensational season for the 26-year-old American, the curtain finally comes down with perhaps the shining glory of it all, the 2022 PGA Tour Player of the Year award. Indeed, Scottie Scheffler was given the confidence of his peers - the accolade is voted on by PGA Tour players - and held off credible challenges from the likes of Rory McIlroy and Cameron Smith. In the end, however, Scheffler’s four wins at tournaments that rank among the premier 12 in the world in terms of strength of field, made the difference.

Rory McIlroy’s take on big earning Scottie Scheffler

Fans will remember the performances that Scheffler put in at the Phoenix Open, Arnold Palmer Invitational and WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play, before going big with a standout win in his first career major championship at the Masters. With that, Scheffler was on to four wins in six starts. What’s more, aside from becoming the world’s top-ranked golfer, Scheffler also turned heads by finishing the season with more money earned than any golfer in a single season in PGA Tour history - winning $14.05 million to be precise. In addition, Scheffler also earned $5.75 million in FedEx Cup bonus funds and $4 million from the Comcast Business Tour Top 10, bringing his total earnings for the season to $24.8 million. If you’re wondering, the new POTY received 89% of the vote ahead of McIlroy and Smith.

“Scottie Scheffler is going to win the Player of the Year,” said McIlroy after beating him at the Tour Championship. “There’s no doubt about that. You know, it would have been fitting for him to end his breakout season with a FedEx Cup title. I think he...deserves this maybe more than I deserve it. He played an unbelievable season. He didn’t have his best stuff today, and I played well and took advantage of that.” McIlroy added: “Scottie will have plenty more chances to win FedEx Cups. Hell of a player, hell of a competitor. Even better person. Love his family. Look, it’s hard. You don’t really know what to say on the 18th green because he’s had such a great year, but he’ll be back, and he’s a great player, and I told him this certainly isn’t the last time that we’re going to have these battles on the golf course.”

The PGA Tour looks ahead with Scottie Scheffler

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An interesting piece of trivia to note is the fact that each of the prior three PGA Tour Player of the Year award recipients were also the FedEx Cup and Tour Championship winner, however, we can safely say that run has now come to end. On the other hand, Scheffler is now the first golfer to win Player of the Year on the Korn Ferry Tour (2019), PGA Tour Rookie of the Year (2020) and PGA Tour Player of the Year since the awards were first established in 1990. Needless to say, the future is bright for Scheffler and that’s something the PGA Tour hopes to capitalize on.

“On behalf of the PGA Tour, congratulations to Scottie on his remarkable season and his unprecedented achievements,” said PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan. “Undoubtably, one of the highest compliments a player can receive is the endorsement from his peers, and the fact that Scottie’s season was both dominant and consistent spoke volumes to the membership. And as gratifying as it has been to see his development on the course over the last several years, we are equally thankful that Scottie has embraced the role as an ambassador of the PGA Tour and the game of golf. With young stars like Scottie leading the way, the PGA Tour is in great hands for many years to come.”