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WATCH: Former Longhorns Golfer Scottie Scheffler Wins PGA Tour Player of the Year Honors on College Gameday
When the PGA Tour Player of the Year nominees were announced, the contenders were exactly who we thought they'd be. Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler, and Cam Smith were names that didn't surprise anyone.
On Saturday, in dramatic fashion, former Longhorns golfer Scheffler was announced as the winner of the coveted award, live during the College Gameday broadcast on ESPN.
Out of the three biggest contenders, it was perhaps Scheffler who had the best season of all. He won his first tour event this season at the Phoenix Open, then tacked on three more, including the Masters. His four wins were all at tournaments that ranked in the top 12 in the world in strength of field.
"Scottie Scheffler is going to win the Player of the Year," McIlroy noted after beating him at the Tour Championship. "There's no doubt about that. I think he ... deserves this maybe more than I deserve it. He played an unbelievable season."
The award is voted on by other PGA Tour members, and Scheffler is one of the most popular among the brotherhood of players. Combine that with the outstanding season he had, and the vote was just a formality.
Scheffler played in 25 events this past season, winning four events and finishing in the top 10 11 times. He added the Masters win, his first major in April, and finished in the top 10 twice in the other three majors.
He was fifth in strokes gained with 1.7 and earned $14 million in official money.
The 2022-23 PGA Tour schedule tees off with the Fortinet Championship Sept. 15-18 from the North Course at the Silverado Resort and Spa in Napa Valley, California.
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