Tag: Scottie Scheffler

Categories
PGA Tour

Three Times in a Row: Scottie Scheffler Is Once Again Player of the Year

Scottie Scheffler is PGA Tour Player of the Year 2024. (Photo: Getty Images)
Scottie Scheffler is PGA Tour Player of the Year 2024. (Photo: Getty Images)

Scottie Scheffler has made golfing history by becoming only the second player after Tiger Woods to win the prestigious Jack Nicklaus Award for Player of the Year on the PGA Tour for the third time in a row. The 28-year-old American and current world number one received an impressive 91 percent of the votes from his fellow players. While Rory McIlroy has won the award three times, Scheffler and Woods are the only two players to have won it three times in a row.

Seven Tour Titles and Olympic Gold for Scheffler

Scheffler won a total of seven titles in the 2024 season, including his second Masters title at Augusta National in April. He is the first player since Woods in 2007 to win seven titles in a single season. In addition, he capped off his outstanding season by winning the gold medal at the Olympic Games in Paris. Scheffler says he reserved his best golf for his victory at the Olympics, calling that triumphant moment the highlight of his career.

“I think we’re always looking to compare somebody to Tiger Woods,” Scheffler said after receiving the award. “I saw it a lot growing up, but there’s really only one Tiger – that’s just kind of it.” Woods has won the award 11 times in his career, including five in a row between 1999 and 2003 and three in a row from 2005 through 2007.

The Player of the Year award was determined by a member vote. PGA Tour members who participated in at least 15 events during the 2024 season were eligible to vote. The voting period ran from November 25 to December 4. Scheffler won an impressive 91 percent of the votes from his fellow players, underlining his undisputed status in the golf world.

Categories
Panorama

Scottie Scheffler and the Spirit of Christmas: Money in Golf is Just a Bonus

Scottie Scheffler’s Hero World Challenge win brings Christmas cheer with triumph, faith, and heartfelt giving for a greater cause. (Photos: Getty)

Title defense? Check. Ninth victory of the year? Check. Another million dollars earned? Check. The opening story in this section rightfully belongs to Scottie Scheffler, who dominated the Hero World Challenge 2024 for most of the tournament—using a newfound claw grip for short putts, no less.

 
Sieh dir diesen Beitrag auf Instagram an
 

Ein Beitrag geteilt von PGA TOUR (@pgatour)

This sets the perfect stage for what the 28-year-old shared in his media appearance before the event. When journalists pressed him for details on his conversations with the inactive host, Tiger Woods, during the Pro-Am, Scheffler was in a playful mood. “I think most of the time we just talk about money and how the purses need to be bigger,” he joked. “Today we really grinded on the Ryder Cup and how it’s just such BS that we’ve never gotten paid. Tiger was really frustrated, he feels like he hasn’t made enough money in his career. I feel the same way, I feel like last year I didn’t get paid enough for what I did. Mostly that, just a bunch of griping.”

 
Sieh dir diesen Beitrag auf Instagram an
 

Ein Beitrag geteilt von Golf Digest (@golfdigest)

The laughter wasn’t necessary to signal that Scheffler wasn’t being serious. Yet, when it came to the topic of money later, the devout Christian and good-hearted Texan turned reflective—and honest. “As far as I’m concerned, I don’t play golf for money. I’ve been playing golf my whole life for free and the money’s just a bonus. If somebody wants to pay us to come out here and play golf, that’s great, I’m not going to say no to it. I’m going to do the best I can in my community to steward that money well.”

It sounded like a Christmas sermon on the true values of the game and a tribute to its “Spirit of the Game.” Amid the greed often seen in professional golf and the obsession with money, one is inclined to believe the modest and grounded world No. 1. After his latest triumph in the Bahamas, Scheffler surpassed $30 million in prize money for the year.

A prime example of his humility is his trusty old GMC Yukon XL, which he’s driven since 2012 and is now auctioning off for pediatric cancer care. The arrival of baby Bennett prompted the realization: “I definitely drove it for too long,” Scheffler told Golfweek. Incidentally, the first bid of over $50,000 for the GMC came from CBS broadcasting legend Jim Nantz.

 
Sieh dir diesen Beitrag auf Instagram an
 

Ein Beitrag geteilt von Golf Digest (@golfdigest)

Categories
Equipment What's in the Bag

Hero World Challenge 2024: Scottie Scheffler’s Winning WITB

Scottie Scheffler's WITB 2024 with TaylorMade. (Image: Getty)
Scottie Scheffler's WITB 2024 with TaylorMade. (Image: Getty)

After an exciting season start, Scottie Scheffler secured the win back at the Players Championship 2024, the Masters Tournament 2024 and the RBC Heritage and finally the FedExCup. He know ends the season with a ninth win at the Bahamas and the Hero World Challenge. Scheffler continued to rely on TaylorMade and the new Spider Tour X putter, which his Tour colleague and TaylorMade staff player Rory McIlroy recommended to him in March and won back to back. 

The Tour Championship Leaderboard

WITB Scottie Scheffler for the Olympics 2024

(Image: TaylorMade)

Driver: TaylorMade Qi10 (8°)

(Image: TaylorMade)

3 wood: TaylorMade Qi10 (15°)

(Image: Srixon)

Driving Irons: Srixon ZU85 (3, 4)

(Image: TaylorMade)

Irons: TaylorMade P7TW (5-PW)

(Image: Titleist)

Wedges: Titleist Vokey SM8 (50, 56)

Titleist Vokey WedgeWorks Proto (60.5)

(Image: TaylorMade)

Putter: TaylorMade Spider Tour X

(Image: Titleist)

Ball: Titleist Pro V1

Categories
Live

Prize Money: How much LPGA Stars earn Compared to the PGA

(Photo: Getty)
(Photo: Getty)

The LPGA Tour made history in 2024: Jeeno Thitikul became the top earner with annual earnings of over 6 million US dollars. Her victory at the CME Group Tour Championship, which was worth USD 4 million, marked a historic moment. Never before had there been such a high individual prize in women’s golf. But while Thitikul topped the tour’s prize money list, Nelly Korda also achieved an impressive record with just under 4.4 million dollars. Nevertheless, a look at the PGA Tour shows how far there is still to go to achieve equality.

The superstar gap: Korda and Scheffler in a prize money comparison

The year 2024 brought exceptional performances for both Scottie Scheffler on the PGA Tour and Nelly Korda. Scheffler triumphed in seven tournaments, including several prestigious events, and finished the season with record prize money of 29.2 million US dollars. His victory at the Players Championship alone earned him $4.5 million – more than Korda’s entire season.

Nelly Korda had a season to rival the best in LPGA history in 2024, becoming only the third player to break the $4 million mark before the season finale. With seven titles, including a major, she recorded earnings of $4.39 million – yet she remains only second in the annual rankings behind Jeeno Thitikul. A further comparison shows the dimensions of her achievement: on the PGA Tour prize money list, Korda would ‘only’ rank 39th despite her outstanding year, 38 places behind the men’s top earner, Scottie Scheffler.

New records, old differences

The history of prize money in women’s golf nevertheless shows progress. What began in the 1950s with sums of a few thousand dollars has developed into millions, especially through events such as the CME Group Tour Championship – the LPGA season finale set a mark with Thitikul’s $4 million victory. Never before has there been such a large prize in women’s golf.

The gap between the tours

On the PGA Tour, however, such a sum has long been standard. The financial explosion triggered by LIV Golf has drastically increased the prize money on the men’s tour and forced the PGA Tour to massively increase its payouts – a development from which players like Scheffler benefit. Since his PGA Tour debut four years ago, Scheffler has already earned 71.79 million US dollars, while the women are still waiting for their big breakthrough.

Categories
LIV Tour PGA Tour Top Tours

„The Showdown“: New Details on the PGA Tour versus LIV Golf Duel

Brooks Koepka (left) will team up with Bryson DeChambeau against Rory McIlroy (right) and Scottie Scheffler. (Image: Getty)
Brooks Koepka (left) will team up with Bryson DeChambeau against Rory McIlroy (right) and Scottie Scheffler. (Image: Getty)

As was announced at the beginning of September, PGA Tour players Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler will compete in a team duel against LIV stars Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau. Now there are more details about the clash: The event will take place on December 17, 2024 at Shadow Creek Golf Club in Las Vegas, and could pave the way for more similar competitions.

PGA Tour versus LIV Golf: Who, when, where and how? – All details

The duel of the tours is called “The Showdown”. It will be a first for four of the biggest names in golf: McIlroy and Scheffler for the PGA Tour, as well as Koepka and DeChambeau for LIV Golf. The format of the duel has not yet been fully determined, but a kind of match play over 18 holes is expected. There will also be no prize money.

It will be broadcast by the US channel TNT, which is already known for the series “The Match”, in which prominent golfers such as Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson competed against each other. Despite the similar concept, “The Showdown” is not part of this series, but is an independent event.

Plans for the future

“The Showdown” could be the first of several matches between PGA and LIV players. There are already plans to expand this format in the future, with larger teams of possibly six or eight players per side. It is also planned that the duel will take place at least once a year and be played alternately in the USA and internationally.

This match offers fans a rare opportunity to see the best players from both tours come together more often than just at majors. Since the inception of LIV Golf, the question of whether the world rankings accurately reflect the skill levels of all players has been raised time and time again: As LIV events do not provide world ranking points, the LIV players slip further and further down the rankings.

PGA Tour players and LIV Tour players hardly ever meet in their regular tournament calendars. This year, they only competed in majors and at the Olympic Games: World number one Scottie Scheffler won the Masters and the gold medal at the Olympics. Bryson DeChambeau also won another major this year, narrowly beating Rory McIlroy at the US Open in Pinehurst. Koepka secured his fifth major victory last year at the PGA Championship.

Matches between players on the PGA Tour and LIV Golf could help to resolve uncertainties about playing strength. This is also the hope of Bryson DeChambeau, who spoke at an LIV Golf event in Chicago: “I think it’s going to develop over the course of time and hopefully give the people what they want.” It is possible that the match will become a regular feature of golf, regardless of the ongoing negotiations between the PGA and the LIV financiers.

Categories
PGA Tour

Scottie Scheffler – A Season Of Superlatives

Scottie Scheffler at what will probably be his greatest triumphs in 2024: the US Masters and the Olympic Games. (Photos: Getty)
Scottie Scheffler at what will probably be his greatest triumphs in 2024: the US Masters and the Olympic Games. (Photos: Getty)

By winning the Tour Championship, Scottie Scheffler underlined his incredible season on the PGA Tour, which he also ended as FedEx Cup winner for the first time. The 28-year-old played a season of superlatives that brought back memories of a certain Tiger Woods. A look back at great triumphs, prize money records and a scoring average that is second to none.

Title No. 7 – Scottie Scheffler follows in the footsteps of Tiger Woods

For Scottie Scheffler, the triumph at the Tour Championship 2024 was not only the brilliant end to an exceptional season, but also his seventh victory on the PGA Tour 2024 – an achievement that had not been equaled since Tiger Woods in 2007. The 28-year-old also secured all of his tournament victories at prestigious events with well-known competitors. Scheffler’s first triumph of the calendar year at the Arnold Palmer Invitational at the beginning of March was followed by a victory at the Players Championship just one week later. In April, the American recorded his third and biggest triumph of the season on the PGA Tour at the US Masters 2024, followed by a victory at the RBC Heritage a week later. In June, Scheffler finally triumphed at two more signature events: the Memorial Tournament and the Travelers Championship. The Tour Championship victory marks the crowning glory of this impressive season on the PGA Tour, including prize money of an incredible 25 million US dollars – the biggest individual prize money in the history of the PGA Tour.

TournamentPrize Money
Arnold Palmer Invitational$4.000.000
Players Championship$4.500.000
US Masters$3.600.000
RBC Heritage$3.600.000
The Memorial Tournament$4.000.000
Travelers Championship$3.600.000
Tour Championship$25.000.000

Including the FedExCup victory, Scottie Scheffler’s earnings on the PGA Tour this year amounted to an incredible 62.3 million US dollars – unsurprisingly another record. For comparison: Tiger Woods’ 2000 season is considered one of the greatest in history – he won three of his 15 major championships by a total of 24 strokes, won nine times in 20 tournament starts and collected around 9.2 million dollars that year. So much for the increasing prize money on the PGA Tour.

Olympic gold: Scheffler’s crowning glory at the gates of Paris

Scottie Scheffler did not celebrate possibly his most important victory of the year on the PGA Tour. On the outskirts of Paris, the 28-year-old was crowned Olympic champion for the first time after a final-day thriller. In his gold triumph, Scheffler set a course record at Le Golf National and beat Tommy Fleetwood from England (silver) and Hideki Matsuyama from Japan (bronze).

Scheffler delivers historic scoring record on the PGA Tour

Scottie Scheffler set another record with the lowest scoring average in the history of the PGA Tour. His average score of 68 strokes for the entire season is the lowest ever recorded in the PGA Tour statistics. This is also reflected in his season statistics: Scheffler leads the field on the PGA Tour in the ‘Strokes Gained’ category, as well as in ‘Greens in Regulation’ and the ‘Putting Average’, to name just a few statistics.

Arrest and baby happiness – “I feel like I’ve lived almost a full lifetime in this one year”

In addition to all the major triumphs, statistics and prize money, Scottie Scheffler also caused quite a stir off the golf course this season. While the birth of his son was the big highlight in the life of the world number one, many golf fans will probably remember Scheffler’s curious arrest at the PGA Championship. Following his Tour Championship victory, Scottie Scheffler summed up his year 2024 appropriately: “I feel like I’ve lived almost a full lifetime in this one year. It’s been nuts.”

Categories
Panorama

Scottie Schefflers Cap Sold for Impressive Price

This white cap by Scottie Scheffler was last auctioned for a four-figure sum. (Image: Getty)
This white cap by Scottie Scheffler was last auctioned for a four-figure sum. (Image: Getty)

Do you remember May 17, 2024? – That’s right, that was the Friday on which world number one Scottie Scheffler was arrested. Pictures of Scheffler in prison garb went around the world and it was unclear whether he would even make it to his second round tee time at the PGA Championship. As is well known, he did make it and even played an impressive – for the circumstances – round of 66. The white Nike golf cap he was wearing that day was auctioned off at a Kids Cancer Alliance charity event along with three golf balls signed by Scheffler for 2,375 dollars.

Image: Getty

Scheffler had signed the cap and donated it to the organization along with the golf balls. The event took place in Louisville, where the 2024 PGA Championship was also held.

Scottie Scheffler: His white cap was worth almost as much to the bidders as the bat of a famous baseball player

To put it in perspective: Scheffler’s simple-looking white cap fetched almost as much money as Shohei Ohtani’s signed baseball bat, at just under 2,400 dollars. Ohtani, of the Los Angeles Dodgers, is currently the most popular baseball player in the world. The baseball exhibit was auctioned for 2,750 dollars.

Categories
PGA Tour

Scottie Scheffler Battling Back Tightness in First Round of the BMW Championship

Scottie Scheffler on the 17th hole of Castle Pines GC. First Round of the BMW Championship. (Image: Getty)
Scottie Scheffler on the 17th hole of Castle Pines GC. First Round of the BMW Championship. (Image: Getty)

Scottie Scheffler dealt with back problems during the first round of the BMW Championship on the PGA Tour. After a high draw on the Par-5 17th, Scheffler grabbed his back seemingly in pain. In the post-round interview, the Masters champion spoke about the back issues.

Scottie Scheffler: “I was laboring most of the day to get through the ball”

“With it [back] being a little bit tight, it was hard for me to get through it, and I was laboring most of the day to get through the ball. On 17 I was trying to hit a high draw, and that’s a shot where I’ve really got to use a big turn, big motion. Really just felt it a little bit. But other than that, all good. Maybe I hit a few too many balls yesterday or something. It was just a little sore. I’m sure I’ll get some ice on it and stuff and I’ll be totally fine tomorrow.”

Bad ball-striking perfomance from Scheffler

Scottie Scheffler leads the Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green for the season. In the first round of the BMW Championship though, he lost strokes to the field in SG: Tee-to-Green. This time his putting, which is normally Schefflers weak spot, saved his round. He holed over 100 feet of putts.

Categories
PGA Tour

PGA Tour: The Race to the FedExCup Playoffs – Why Even a Victory Is Not Enough

PGA Tour: Davis Riley misses the playoffs despite winning a tournament. (Photo: Getty)

The Wyndham Championship marked the end of the 36-event regular season of the PGA Tour, determining the top 70 players who will advance to the FedExCup Playoffs. These Playoffs, consisting of three tournaments, begin with the FedEx St. Jude Championship and continue with the BMW Championship. Only the top 50 players from the St. Jude Championship will move on to the next stage, and this group will also earn spots in all Signature Events in 2025. The season then culminates at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, where the top 30 players will compete for the FedExCup title and a significant $25 million prize. This article takes a closer look at who secured their place, who missed out, and why even a tournament victory doesn’t always guarantee a spot in the Playoffs.

The Top 10 Players: Leading the Standings

Leading the charge into the Playoffs are the season’s standout performers, Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele, occupying the first and second spots, respectively. Following closely are Rory McIlroy, Collin Morikawa, and Wyndham Clark, all of whom have shown exceptional form throughout the year. Ludvig Aberg, making waves in his debut full season on the PGA Tour, impressively holds the sixth position. He is trailed by Sahith Theegala and Hideki Matsuyama. Perhaps the most unexpected presence in the top 10 is South Korea’s Sungjae Im, who clinched the ninth spot. Rounding out the elite group is Ireland’s Shane Lowry.

Notable Players Missing the Playoffs

Not surprisingly, Tiger Woods is absent from the Playoffs roster. The legendary golfer, who now selectively participates in Majors and his own Genesis Invitational, wrapped up the season in 220th place. For Woods, the result holds little consequence as his focus has long shifted to the bigger stages of the sport. Rickie Fowler, a recent father, also failed to make the top 70, finishing 106th, far from the qualifying mark. Europe’s Ryder Cup stalwart Nicolai Hojgaard, who played a pivotal role in Rome, finds himself on the outside looking in after finishing 81st in the standings.

Matt Kuchar’s remarkable streak of 17 consecutive Playoff appearances came to a halt this year, as he finished 103rd. Similarly, Kevin Kisner, who will once again lend his insights as an NBC commentator during the Playoffs, ended his campaign in 196th place.

The Davis Riley Scenario: When a Win Isn’t Enough

Davis Riley’s situation underscores the unforgiving nature of the FedExCup Playoffs qualification process. Despite claiming victory at the Charles Schwab Challenge, earning a hefty 500 FedExCup points, Riley narrowly missed the cut, finishing 71st—just one spot shy of advancing. This scenario highlights that a single win, no matter how significant, doesn’t guarantee a Playoff spot. A comparison with Sepp Straka, who has yet to secure a win in 2024, further illustrates this point. Straka’s consistency, particularly in the Signature Events, propelled him to 18th in the standings. His two top-five finishes at the RBC Heritage and the Memorial Tournament earned him more points than Riley’s lone victory.

Categories
Panorama

What the Golf Stars Are Doing Off the Course at the Olympics 2024

Olympic Golf Stars in Paris. (Photo: Instagram.com/@scottiescheffler and @golfdigest)
Olympic Golf Stars in Paris. (Photo: Instagram.com/@scottiescheffler and @golfdigest)

Early childhood moulding: Bennett Scheffler is less than three months old and already a cosmopolitan. Because dad Scottie and mum Meredith have been taking their little boy, who was born on 8 May, with them almost everywhere ever since. Even to the Olympic Games 2024. Baby Bennett has been to the Louvre and made the Mona Lisa smile a little more, strolled along the banks of the Seine with his parents, watched the Olympic table tennis tournament and witnessed the Olympic comeback of exceptional gymnast Simone Biles. In short: an American in Paris.

 
Sieh dir diesen Beitrag auf Instagram an
 

Ein Beitrag geteilt von Scottie Scheffler (@scottie.scheffler)

“It felt like we only saw a tenth of the museum. We were there for two hours, but I could have spent days looking at all the old paintings and reading the descriptions. I can get very interested in this kind of thing: The talent of the artists is absolutely stunning – and just great that their work has made it through time and survived.”

Scottie Scheffler about the visit to the Louvre
 
Sieh dir diesen Beitrag auf Instagram an
 

Ein Beitrag geteilt von Olympic Golf (@olympicgolf)

Golf Olympics 2024: Olympians off the Course

Speaking of which, a lot of the golfing Olympians used the free time between the play-in rounds for excursions and visits to other sporting venues. Shane Lowry and Rory McIlroy, for example, watched Rafael Nadal’s doubles appearance with Carlos Alcaraz, presumably the last appearance of the Spanish tennis hero and 14-time French Open winner at Stade Roland Garros; and in view of the snapshot from the stands, we can only hope that the expression on McIlroy’s wife Erica’s face is merely due to the snapshot. Hey guys, you’re in the city of love.

 
Sieh dir diesen Beitrag auf Instagram an
 

Ein Beitrag geteilt von Flushing It (@flushingitgolf)

Live Scores of Golf at the Olympics 2024