The PGA Tour recently announced Rory McIlroy as the winner of the Player Impact Program (PIP), with a prize of $15 million as the bonus of his season earnings. Other accolades up for grabs are the 2023 PGA Tour Player of the Year Award (Jack Nicklaus Award) and Rookie of the Year Award (Arnold Palmer Award), which will have PGA Tour members voting for it in December 2023. 

The title will be rewarded on the basis of majority votes. The PGA Tour has still not released the nomination of both categories. However, we have top 5 golfers who are closest to winning the Player of the Year for the 2023 season. 

The Top 5 contenders for PGAT Player of the Year

The PGA Tour Player of the Year Award is given on three factors: 1) Victories in that season 2) Performance in Majors and 3) Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR). We have based our selection of the Top 5 on these three factors as well. The first on the list is the World No.3 golfer, Jon Rahm. 

1. Jon Rahm: The golfer had the best year among the Top 5 players. He had his first victory at the Sentry Tournament of Champions in January and then won The American Express in the same month. Coming to mid-February, Rahm beat Max Homa with two strokes and triumphed at The Genesis Invitational. He carded the fourth victory of 2023 at the Augusta National, as he won the second Major of his career. Overall, Rahm had four victories, with 10 Top-10s out of the 20 events he played, and had a T2 finish at The Open. After earning $9 million from the PIP bonus, Rahm might just add another accolade to his name. 

2. Scottie Scheffler: The year 2023 has been incredible for Scheffler, as he won twice. One at the WM Phoenix Open and the next at THE PLAYERS Championship. Moreover, he finished as the runner-up in the PGA Championship and a solo 3rd in the U.S. Open. With 17 Top 10s out of his 23 runs in 2023, the World No.1 golfer may clinch the Player of the Year Award once again, as he did in 2022. 

3. Viktor Hovland: Hovland had his first multi-wins in a single season in 2023. The Norwegian golfer won the first title in June at the Memorial Tournament. The second came at the BMW Championship, while the third was his FedExCup title, the TOUR Championship, as he defeated Xander Schauffele by five strokes. He finished T2 at the PGA Championship, T3 at THE PLAYERS, and T7 at the Masters. Although his performance at The U.S. Open and The Open Championship was different, he still stayed in the Top 20. The European will be grabbing his first Jack Nicklaus Award as the 4th ranked in the world. 

The last two nominees

4. Max Homa: This year has been the second season of Homa’s career where he has had two victories. Once, he defended his Fortinet Championship, defeating Danny Willett with one stroke, as he birdied the last hole. Homa’s PGA Tour career 6th title was by beating Keegan Bradley at the Farmer Insurance Open. Making 13 Top 10s, higher than anyone’s on this list, and as the 7th ranked player in the world, Homa may get the most votes from the PGA Tour members. 

Read More: Including $9M From PIP, How Much Did Jon Rahm Earn During His 2023 Golf Career?

5. Xander Schauffele: Although Schauffele did not have any victories this year, he had plenty of Top 10s. Historically, he made cuts in all the 23 tournaments he played. Having 11 Top 10 finishes and 18 Top 25s, Schauffele is 6th on the OWGR (still higher than Homa), and last in the contender list.

Do you agree with our Top 5 list? Who do you think will come out victorious in the end? Tell us in the comments!

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