Analysis: Xander Schauffele is now in the conversation with Scheffler for best year in golf

TROON, Scotland — Xander Schauffele is the British Open champion, and the PGA Tour must be thrilled.

The FedEx Cup is as meaningful as ever, a three-tournament stretch in August that could go a long way toward deciding who gets the players’ vote for PGA Tour player of the year.

Schauffele or Masters champion Scottie Scheffler?

Schauffele is only the ninth player in the last 40 years to win two majors in the same year (Tiger Woods did it four times), having won a thriller at Valhalla to claim the PGA Championship in May.

Since the Jack Nicklaus Award began in 1990, only one of those players was not voted player of the year. That was Nick Faldo, and there was a reason — he wasn’t a PGA Tour member, playing only seven tour-sanctioned events that year.

But do two majors — Schauffele’s only two wins this year — trump the astonishing season that Scheffler has produced?

It’s easy to look at Sunday at Royal Troon when Schauffele played what he called “the best round of my life.” In a wind that made the rough look thicker, the pot bunkers deeper and the gorse bushes even more prickly, Schauffele played bogey-free for a 65 in which he missed only two greens, none on the back nine.

The lasting images of Scheffler? Turning a 6-foot par putt into a three-putt double bogey on the ninth hole that effectively knocked him from contention, and then topping a tee shot on 18 that was swallowed up by thick grass just 176 yards off the tee.

But that would be to forget what Scheffler has done this year, not just last week.

He won the Masters from ahead and The Players Championship from behind, coming back from a neck injury that nearly caused him to withdraw on Friday and erasing a five-shot deficit on Sunday.

His other four victories were all at signature events, with the $20 million purses and the strongest fields — Bay Hill and Harbour Town, the Memorial and the Travelers.

The six wins are the most in a season since Tom Watson in 1980, and the most before the calendar turned to July since Arnold Palmer in 1962. That’s not easily overlooked, particularly since Scheffler has had only two finishes out of the top 10 — a tie for 17th at The American Express in the California desert and a tie for 41st in the U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2.

But it’s 2-1 in the majors, and Schauffele has history on his side with players historically leaning toward the majors.

Some years it was an easy choice, whether it was Nick Price in 1994 or Rory McIlroy in 2014.

Players in 1998 preferred Mark O’Meara winning the Masters and British Open over David Duval winning a tournament in each season — winter, spring, summer and fall — along with the money list when the PGA Tour used to hand out an award for that.

They chose Padraig Harrington in 2008 over Vijay Singh, who won a World Golf Championship, two playoff events and the FedEx Cup.

There is also history on Scheffler’s side. He was chosen last year over Jon Rahm, the Masters champion who had four wins to only two by Scheffler. The difference was Scheffler being so statistically powerful that he won the Vardon Trophy for the lowest scoring average. It took him until July to have a result worse than 12th.

Schauffele was the only player to finish in the top 10 in all four majors. Scheffler had three top 10s in the four biggest events, and the PGA Championship probably should have an asterisk because of the week was marked by Scheffler getting arrested and booked into jail.

Scheffler is virtually assured of becoming the first player since Woods in 2009 to start the year at No. 1 in the world and stay there until the end of December.

Schauffele isn’t getting enough credit for making the cut in 52 consecutive PGA Tour events. He is assured of getting to 55 through the end of the season, sixth on the all-time list (and just over one-third of the way to Woods’ astounding record).

That’s what makes the next month a potential deal-breaker for the players.

Both will be in the Olympics outside Paris next week. A gold medal still doesn’t have the weight of a silver trophy or a green jacket. But it would embellish a big year.

And then come the FedEx Cup playoffs. Scheffler will start the postseason at No. 1, but with points quadrupled, Schauffele could catch him by the season-ending Tour Championship.

As for that finale at East Lake, Schauffele has 25 of 28 rounds under par in the Tour Championship and has never shot worse than 70. Scheffler shot 73 in the third round when tied for the lead, and he lost a six-shot lead with a closing 73 that cost him the FedEx Cup in 2023. He still considers that the loss that burns him the most.

All that is certain now is that both players have had astounding years and separated themselves from the rest of golf.

The bronze of Jack Nicklaus that goes to the winner won’t take precedence over a green jacket for Scheffler, a Wannamaker Trophy and a silver claret jug for Schauffele.

The majors are over. Scheffler still has had a superior year to Schauffele, though this gets the 30-year-old Californian in the conversation. That’s not a bad thing for the PGA Tour.

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