PGA Tour’s Player of The Year Announcement Mired in Controversy

The PGA Tour has announced Scottie Scheffler as the Player of the Year, but the matter has become a subject of controversy. Jon Rahm had a total of four triumphs throughout last year. Whereas, Scottie Scheffler won two titles on the PGA Tour. Also, Rahm was a part of the European Ryder Cup team that won over Scottie Scheffler’s American Ryder Cup gang.

Despite these achievements, Scheffler was named the Player of the Year, not Rahm. But how could this happen? Let’s dig into the matter.

How Scottie Scheffler Defeated Rahm, Clinching the Player of the Year Title

The award is based on a voting system by the PGA Tour golfers who played in a minimum of 15 events. Scheffler received 38% more votes than Rory McIlroy, Rahm, and others. There’s another reason why Rahm couldn’t seal the title.

Jon Rahm moved to LIV Golf, and thus, was suspended from all PGA Tour events. He will not appear at Sentry Tournament. The voting for the title occurred from December 1-15, and Rahm switched on December 7th. Thus, it’s clear that he lost the votes there. 

Scheffler has retained his World No. 1 position throughout the year, so he clinched the honor. He is the only golfer to win the Jack Nicklaus Award in 2022, after Tiger Woods. 

Scheffler had 15 top-ten finishes throughout the year, with two triumphs at the Phoenix Open and Players Championship. He’s been a consistent player. The golfer was bestowed with the Byron Nelson Award for having the lowest scoring average. This average (68.63) was the seventh-best score in the golf lookbook. He also bagged the highest payouts—$21 million—from PGA Tour events. 

On the other hand, Rahm won the first two events on the PGA Tour roster, the Sentry and the American Express. Then, he won the Genesis Invitational and finished his trophy cabinet with a major win at the Masters. But since then, he hasn’t had any such triumphs.

The golf world might see a new era with the framework agreement, as there are plans to bring the PGA Tour, LIV Golf, and the DP World Tour under the same group. The date of finalization has been extended until March. Only time can tell what the future of the sport holds.

About the author

Suchita Chakraborty

Suchita Chakraborty is a senior golf writer at The SportsRush. She did her post-graduation at St. Xavier's University. For a year now, she has developed a riveting inclination toward golf, with Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy being her top-tier motivational figures to indulge in the sport. She even lives by the words of the Hall of Famer, "You can always become better", which impels her to excel every day. Her strong suit in golf is covering the LPGA Tour, especially the nooks and crannies of the international event, the Solheim Cup. As a pastime amusement, Suchita also engages herself in reading about golf controversies. Her favorite pick is ‘LIV and Let Die’ by Alan Shipnuck, which covers the PGA-LIV beef.

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