Perhaps it is recency bias, but the accomplishments of both Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele make 2024 one of the most unique years on the PGA Tour for some time, with the two some way ahead of most of the field heading into The Tour Championship.
You could arguably make a strong case in saying that either has had the better year. What Scottie Scheffler achieved before the halfway point was remarkable, with the 28-year-old becoming the first player since Arnold Palmer to win six times on the PGA Tour before the end of June in a single season.
The world number one has since added an Olympic gold medal to his collection, and he has finished just two events outside the top 20 all year.
Xander Schauffele certainly cannot compete when it comes to wins on the PGA Tour this year, but there is one area where he has the advantage over Scheffler – having won two majors to Scheffler’s one.
There has been so much talk over who the player of the year really is. Billy Horschel has suggested that he plans to vote for Scheffler, while Justin Thomas has said that he would rather Schauffele’s year.
What Scottie Scheffler is fed up of hearing concerning Xander Schauffele
The Tour Championship brings the debate back into focus. Not only does it mark the finale of the FedEx Cup, but it sees Scheffler start two shots clear of Schauffele, while everyone else in the field is within 10 shots of The Masters champion. For those who believe that the starting scores at East Lake should more accurately reflect the season, Scheffler is nowhere near far enough ahead.
It seems that there is one player who is fed up of hearing the discussions over the two – and that is Scheffler himself. Speaking in his press conference ahead of The Tour Championship, Scheffler suggested that he is so happy for Schauffele and does not see the need to always rank the two.
“One of the things I appreciate about him as a person in terms of his golf is how hard of a worker he is. It’s one of the things I admire about him. Those are the types of guys you love seeing have success because after I won the Masters this year, he’s one of the first people when you see him in the training room the next week, big old hug, smile on his face, and it’s genuine. He’s not just sitting there saying, congratulations. He’s genuinely happy for me to be able to accomplish something I’ve dreamed of accomplishing,” he said.
