The PGA Tour announced the nominees for the Player of the Year Award. Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele, and Rory McIlroy square off the top three. McIlroy’s name, however, has divided fans, who believe the Ulsterman shouldn’t be there. 

Scheffler, obviously, is a clear favorite to win the race. The World No. 1 has raked in seven titles in addition to nine top-tens. Scheffler donned the green jacket for the second time earlier this year and then went on to win an Olympic gold medal as well. Whereas Schauffele, in addition to his two majors, has netted 13 top-tens and three runner-up finishes. 

On the other hand, Rory McIlroy netted two titles this year, the Zurich Classic and the Wells Fargo Championship. However, Ulsterman’s season has been marked by near misses more than his triumphs, nothing more significant than the US Open disaster. Moreover, other than his two victories, the four-time major winner has bagged only five top-tens this season.

If we look at the OWGR table, Scheffler has raked in almost double the amount of points that McIlroy has, and Schauffele netted almost 100 points more than McIlroy. So, some fans took exception to the Ulsterman being nominated for the Jack Nicklaus Award. 

Fans question Rory McIlroy’s form and consistency this year

Interestingly, the Ulsterman was spectacular in DP World Tour events. In addition to his two titles, Rory McIlroy broke inside the top five four times. But on the PGA Tour, his best run of form came in May-June, when the 35-year-old won once and netted a T4 at the RBC Canadian Open. Noting that, one user wrote, “Was Rory even that great this year on the tour? He played elite golf over a 4-week period, and that was it.” 

It was quite expected that questions would be raised on McIlroy’s nomination. Other than a runner-up in the US Open, McIlroy’s major record reads T12, T22, and MC. Another user wrote, “Why is Rory an option? You shouldn’t win POY without one major.”

Some users presumed Rory McIlroy perhaps wouldn’t want to be on this list. One of them tweeted, “I’m guessing Rory didn’t even want to be a nominee against those two. Tough look.” Perhaps McIlroy would agree. 

Back in August, the four-time major winner said, “You know, seeing what Scottie [Scheffler] and Xander [Schauffele] have done this year – I’m third in the world rankings, but I feel like a distant third. You know, they’ve had great years, and I look at my year compared to them, and, I mean, it doesn’t compare.”

But then, McIlroy has been the best player on the PGA Tour after Schauffele and Scheffler. While Collin Morikawa showed impressive form in the last couple of months, the former Open champion hasn’t made a podium finish. The case is the same with Ludvig Aberg, Sahith Theegala, and others. So even though many questioned, “Why is Rory on this,” the answer is pretty obvious.

Other than McIlroy, fans also debated over who should win the POY and Rookie of the Year Awards. “Scottie & [Nick] Dunlap. Anyone else would be criminal,” one user wrote. Many shared the sentiment on social media.

Should Scottie Scheffler win, he will be the first player to make a three-peat since Tiger Woods did in 2005-07. Rory McIlroy has won the Jack Nicklaus Award thrice in his career, the last time in 2019. Xander Schauffele is yet to etch his name on this, however.

Player of the Year is determined by a member vote from the PGA Tour pros who teed off in at least 15 events this season. The voting will close on December 4 at 5 p.m. ET. By the end of the year, the PGA Tour will announce the winners.