Player of the Year

[Dutch1008]

1 hour ago, Mr.Cleeks said:

I think it's a done deal honestly. Rory already said he's skipping Memphis.

 

I wouldn't be surprised if Scottie skips Memphis too. There is so much money on the line at Eastlake and Atlanta is a miserable hot slog in August. Why play two straight weeks leading up to that if you don't have to? 

 

In reality Scottie has this thing locked up. Rory's only chance is sweeping both the BMW and TC. That seems possible but very unlikely. Regardless of how it plays out, I hope we get a Scottie vs Rory duel at Eastlake. That would be a pretty poetic close to this season.  

[Mr.Cleeks]

15 minutes ago, Dutch1008 said:

 

I wouldn't be surprised if Scottie skips Memphis too. There is so much money on the line at Eastlake and Atlanta is a miserable hot slog in August. Why play two straight weeks leading up to that if you don't have to? 

 

In reality Scottie has this thing locked up. Rory's only chance is sweeping both the BMW and TC. That seems possible but very unlikely. Regardless of how it plays out, I hope we get a Scottie vs Rory duel at Eastlake. That would be a pretty poetic close to this season.  

Nah the fedex st jude website shows that Scottie committed to the event. I just think it's a complete indictment on how godawful of a tournament the tour championship is. If you get in, you win. I personally want Tommy to win the tour championship and the FEC just to show how stupid the entire thing is. No advantage to being the number 1 seed

[Dutch1008]

1 minute ago, Mr.Cleeks said:

Nah the fedex st jude website shows that Scottie committed to the event. I just think it's a complete indictment on how godawful of a tournament the tour championship is. If you get in, you win. I personally want Tommy to win the tour championship and the FEC just to show how stupid the entire thing is. No advantage to being the number 1 seed

 

I'll take the new iteration over the stupid staggered scoring.

[Titleist99]

1 hour ago, MidwestHacker said:

If a major victory is worth 2 minutes of fulfillment, does that mean POY win is like 15 seconds of fulfillment? 

Scheffler was right. People already are asking "What's next," and it's only been 48 hours. 😂

[isaacbm]

Two wins, a fourth, and a seventh in the majors is crazy work! 

 

Zero  missed cuts this season. 

 

50% top five in all events

Add the fact that he’s likely going to finish with at least one more win and likely top three in the FedEx cup if not a win there too and it becomes one of the best seasons in the last 20 years.

 

Rory basically has to win all of the playoff events and the FedEx cup and Scotty has to  finish in the bottom 10% of all of those tournaments to even have a discussion.

 

Remember last year when Xander won two majors and didn’t get player of the year?  It was basically because Scotty won eight tournaments, including a major and the players.

 

Rory has  won a major and The Players  so he basically has  to dominate in the playoffs and the FedEx cup. And by dominate, I mean, win everything.

 

 

 

[mosesgolf]

2 major wins & 4 wins total up to this point imo is auto POY.

[Golfnutgalen]

How many more events is Rory playing? Let's say he wins 3 more events making it 6 vs 4. I would give it to Rory considering he has a Players and a Masters in that total. 

 

Is that happening? Not a chance. 

[Hawkeye77]

Wins FedEx Cup and wins Race to Dubai, beats Scheffler in singles and a four ball at the Ryder Cup and the Euros win - there may be a chance for Rory. 

[ATXGolferGuy]

Since the Players Championship Scottie has had 11 top ten finishes in a row (13 for the year) including his 4 victories.  Rory was POY the first half of the season but Scottie took it to another level since the Players and I don't think he's done yet. 

 

Maybe if Rory sweeps the playoffs or gets two of the events the voting would be close, but Scottie is just a freak of a player right now.

 

Oh and in no reality is the Byron Nelson at TPC Craig Ranch anywhere close to the same win prestige wise as the ATT at Pebble.....which really should be called the Crosby.

Edited July 22 by ATXGolferGuy

[Mr.Cleeks]

1 hour ago, Dutch1008 said:

 

I'll take the new iteration over the stupid staggered scoring.

All of this could be solved if the tour just rebranded the FEC and stopped calling it "the season long race". They actually reduced how much the FEC winner gets, $10M instead of $25M and the winner of the comcast business top 10 (aka top 10 in fec after wyndham) gets $10M.

[Dutch1008]

42 minutes ago, Mr.Cleeks said:

All of this could be solved if the tour just rebranded the FEC and stopped calling it "the season long race". They actually reduced how much the FEC winner gets, $10M instead of $25M and the winner of the comcast business top 10 (aka top 10 in fec after wyndham) gets $10M.

 

Which I think is the right move. Nascar and F1 have season long races but they don't give Max Verstappen a 30 second lead on the last race as a reward. Its just a big ole check. 

[isaacbm]

2 hours ago, Dutch1008 said:

 

Which I think is the right move. Nascar and F1 have season long races but they don't give Max Verstappen a 30 second lead on the last race as a reward. Its just a big ole check. 

Agreed. Giving a Headstart of any kind to the guy who is already the best player of the year up to that point goes against everything that sport is supposed to be.
 

 

[PJE]

McIlroy has said Scheffler has set the bar that McIlroy and the other players are chasing. 
It seems reasonable to extend that sentiment to the POY deliberation. 
It’s Scheffler, no question. 
McIlroy hit one of the greatest shots in major championship history, the final round approach on 15 at Augusta, with not only the championship but his entire golfing life on the line. But ultimately he barely eked out the victory.  Nonetheless, it was an incredible,stirring, and historic, i.e., career GS, performance. 
Scheffler’s play this year has also been incredible, stirring, and historic, i.e., various stats about majors accrued by a certain date, winning margin, etc.  But his play has a different feel and quality than Rory Mcilroy’s play and McIlroy has essentially admitted this given the comment about Scheffler setting the bar. 

 

[Mr.Cleeks]

I know it doesn't apply to this debate, Scottie basically locked up POY. But it is definitely a popularity contest. I remember in 2019 Rory got it over Brooks even though Brooks had a better year then Rory.

[FootWedge16]

On 7/22/2025 at 11:33 AM, Dutch1008 said:

 

I'll take the new iteration over the stupid staggered scoring.

 Absolutely. The old scoring system was the dumbest idea in the history of golf. 

[Dutch1008]

18 hours ago, Mr.Cleeks said:

I know it doesn't apply to this debate, Scottie basically locked up POY. But it is definitely a popularity contest. I remember in 2019 Rory got it over Brooks even though Brooks had a better year then Rory.

 

Depends how you define better year. 

 

2019

Rory - 3 wins (Players, Canadian Open, Tour Championship) - +2.38 STG

Brooks - 3 wins (CJ Cup, PGA Championship, Fed Ex St Jude) - +1.82 STG

 

This is pre LIV so the Players and the PGA are pretty comparable victories. IMO. Each guy won 3 times and Rory was > 0.5 strokes better than Brooks across the season. That's a big margin. 

 

That said, Brooks won a major, was 2nd at the Masters and USO, and 4th at the Open. Rory had 2 MCs and 2 Top 10s. 

 

I'd personally vote for Brooks in that scenario but I can see where someone would reward Rory for consistent play through the season. Rory was a top 5 and top 10 machine in 2019. Brooks had 8-10 events where he was uncompetitive. Really just comes down to how you value the regular season. If you think it matters, Rory has a decent case. If it's purely about the biggest events, Brooks was the right choice.