The professional golfers’ association announced Wednesday the contenders for the two annual distinguished awards: the most valuable player and the top first-year player. Names like, Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, Tommy Fleetwood, and Ben Griffin are the four in consideration for the esteemed Jack Nicklaus Award, whilst Michael Brennan, Steven Fisk, William Mouw, Aldrich Potgieter, including Karl Vilips, are battling for the Arnold Palmer Award.
Scheffler has familiarity with being awarded the Jack Nicklaus Award in the past few years. The world No. 1 joined Tiger Woods as the only golfer to hold the title three years consecutively after winning last season’s honor. Woods achieved five straight seasons from 1999-2003 and three straight from 2005-07.
By doing so himself in 2024, Scheffler became the third golfer to be named Player of the Year three times in his career, putting him alongside Woods (11 times) and McIlroy (three).
Scheffler possesses a superb opportunity to acquire four in a row through the 2025 season which experienced some difficulties early. Sidelined during the onset of the season due to a holiday injury, the right-hander aimed to return strong at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. He entered 20 competitions, ended in the top 25 in all of them, and claimed six more wins along the way.
Furthermore, with his wins at PGA Tour locations like the CJ CUP Byron Nelson, Procore Championship and BMW Championship, Scheffler was successful in defending his win at the Memorial. His other victories came during major championships as he raised the Wanamaker Trophy at the PGA Championship and became the Champion Golfer of the Year at The Open as he moved ahead of the pack at Royal Portrush.
It is difficult to compare Scheffler’s season, but if anyone could, it would be McIlroy. The world No. 2 began 2025 by winning the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and The Players Championship for the second time during his career.
This all resulted in the Masters, in which McIlroy was victorious during a playoff to be only the sixth player within men’s professional golf to complete the career grand slam. The Northern Irishman had a great back half of his season, having a win at the Irish Open on the DP World Tour. As a member of the victorious European Ryder Cup squad at Bethpage Black; however, these achievements are not officially counted when deciding on the award.
Scheffler and McIlroy have both been nominated for four consecutive seasons, Fleetwood and Griffin are making their first-ever appearances within the ballot. Fleetwood grabbed the Tour Championship, and by accomplishing that, he claimed the FedEx Cup title at East Lake to conclude an extremely consistent season. Griffin won three times through 30 tournaments, which included a recent victory at the World Wide Technology Championship during the FedEx Cup Fall.
|
Events |
20 |
16 |
19 |
30 |
|
Wins |
6 |
3 |
1 |
3 |
|
Top 10s |
17 |
8 |
8 |
12 |
|
Major wins |
2 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
|
Major top 10s |
4 |
2 |
0 |
2 |
|
Scoring average |
68.13 (1st) |
69.08 (2nd) |
69.36 (3rd) |
69.69 (4th) |
The Rookie of the Year competition is not so straightforward. Five players are in the running, with Aldrich Potgieter being the only player who qualified for the FedEx Cup Playoffs. The South African won the Rocket Classic during a playoff over Max Greyserman and Chris Kirk towards the end of the season and ended No. 52 within the season-long race.
The other nominees were able to end inside the top 100 of the FedEx Cup standings largely in part due to their display during FedEx Cup Fall. Steven Fisk claimed the Sanderson Farms Championship and finished No. 73, while Michael Brennan went from being a sponsor exemption to becoming a PGA Tour member at the Bank of Utah Championship. Brennan’s win in Utah made him the seventh player since 1970 to have a PGA Tour win within his first three career starts.
Karl Vilips ended Mr. 100, but his ranking in the standings was irrelevant due to his win at the Puerto Rico Open earlier that spring. William Mouw also gained entry into the winner’s circle during an opposite field event, having a victory at the ISCO Championship.
|
Events |
4 |
27 |
24 |
20 |
21 |
|
Wins |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
|
Top 10s |
1 |
2 |
3 |
3 |
2 |
|
Major wins |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Major top 10s |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Scoring average |
— |
70.75 (77th) |
70.79 (82nd) |
71.15 (122nd) |
71.32 (137th) |
These honors will be awarded via a voting process that includes PGA Tour members who participated in at least 15 official FedEx Cup competitions during the 2025 season. Voting concludes on Friday, Dec. 12, and the winners will be revealed at a later date.
