Is it just me, or does it feel like the PGA Tour season is getting shorter every single season? For some reason, I haven’t felt entirely connected to this year’s PGA Tour season.
Perhaps I’ve been a little too distracted by the day-in, day-out melodrama of the LIV fiasco (call it journalistic rubbernecking). Maybe it also has to do with the fact that Rory McIlroy- one of the de facto faces of the tour- has been largely MIA. You get the feeling that he might end up just living at Augusta, coming out of seclusion once a year just to play The Masters.
My personal feelings aside, this has undoubtedly been a fascinating year of PGA Tour action. We have had wildly contrasting major champions, with the completely expected (Rory McIlroy) balanced out by the inexplicable (Aaron Rai and Ryan Fox). You also had the Wyndham Clark’s comeback arc come to fruition at Shinnecock. Major championship glory eluded some of the year’s standout players (Scheffler, Fitzpatrick, Young). In trying to sort through the season, I thought it would be interesting to rank the PGA Player of the Year contenders. Scottie Scheffler is in the mix again, looking to become the only the 2nd man (after Tiger, of course) to win five straight awards. Is there anyone who can stop the Scheffler machine?
5. Cameron Young
Currently sitting in 4th in the FedEx Cup standings, Cameron Young is enjoying another fine season on the PGA Tour. He has completely exorcised the memories of being the best player on tour without a title, claiming a further two crowns at the Players Championship and Cadillac Championship. He competed fiercely at the Masters and has secured automatic qualification for the upcoming President’s Cup. I still think that Young will look back at this season with some regret after starting in such dominant fashion. Still, he shouldn’t complain too much after reaching a career-high ranking of 3rd in the world.
4. Chris Gotterup
Burly Chris Gotterup currently sits 6th in the FedEx Cup standings (the lowest of any player on this list). He pips Young to the post by virtue of three PGA Tour wins. Lest we forget, Gotterup only earned his PGA Tour card in 2024. It’s quite something that he has already earned the reputation as a serial winner. He started the year on fire, winning the Sony Open in January before conquering Matsuyama in a playoff at the Phoenix Open in February. He then fell off a bit before claiming a 3rd title at last month’s John Deere Classic. A middling set of major results do work against him (a T10 finish at Aronimink was his best outing). Still, victory at the season-ending Tour Championship will give voters something to think about.
3. Matthew Fitzpatrick
Fitzy has really come a long way this season, improving his club head speed and overall distance to become one of the most consistent players on the tour. He and Cameron Young were really pushing the agenda in the early stages of the season. Fitzpatrick won the Valspar in March and then secured his 2nd RBC Heritage title with a lionhearted playoff win over Scottie Scheffler. He was then the beneficiary of some brotherly love, claiming the Zurich Classic of New Orleans playing alongside brother Alex. He has also placed high in several events, finishing runner-up at the Players Championship and RBC Canadian Open. The huge blot against him is that he failed to register a single top-ten finish in a major championship.
2. Scottie Scheffler
In terms of pure consistency, nobody can match world No.1 and FedEx Cup points leader Scottie Scheffler. The silent assassin has finished inside the top 25 in 18 of 19 events this year, winning the American Express and the recent FedEx St. Jude Championship. However, the most dominant force in the men’s game has become a victim of his own success, and many (himself included) will look back at 2026 as a bit of a failure. He has five runner-up finishes this season, including three successive solo runner-up finishes at The Masters, the RBC Heritage and The Cadillac Championship. He was the most consistent golfer at major level, picking up three top-five finishes and a T14 at Aronimink. If he doesn’t win at East Lake, Scheffler could fall foul of voter fatigue (something that Shohei Ohtani might be facing in the MLB this year, but I digress).
1. Wyndham Clark
I think that voters are going to be swayed by the undeniable Wyndham Clark narrative. The 2023 US Open endured an abominable 2025 campaign, missing five cuts and registering just two top-five finishes. He also cemented his bad-boy status, haphazardly tossing his club into a signage board at the PGA Championship before damaging an Oakmont locker after missing the cut at the US Open. But as Scottie Scheffeler can testify: a putting change can go a long way. Clark changed to the Scottsdale TEC Alley Blue Onset putter, and he hasn’t looked back since, winning a 2nd career US Open title at Shinnecock while also winning the CJ Cup Byron Nelson and last week’s BMW Championship. A solid outing at East Lake could be enough to push voters over the edge. Whether it’s fair or not, a triumphant comeback narrative is more compelling than a ‘could have been sensational’ narrative (and the major victory obviously carries massive weight).
