Rory McIlroy has missed out on the PGA Tour Player of the Year award
Scottie Scheffler celebrates winning The Open at Royal Portrush
Rory McIlroy may have enjoyed a 2025 to savour, but it wasn’t enough for him to prevent Scottie Scheffler from winning his fourth straight PGA Tour Player of the Year award.
The Holywood maestro’s memorable year, capped off by his crowning Masters glory in April that saw him become just the sixth golfer in the modern era to complete the career Grand Slam, had him in the running for the prestigious honour.
McIlroy also won the Irish Open at The K Club in September shortly before inspiring Team Europe to a first Ryder Cup victory on American soil in over a decade at Bethpage Black in New York, while he also clinched his seventh Race to Dubai title and was only denied victory in the season-ending DP World Tour Championship via a Play-Off defeat to Matt Fitzpatrick.
However, World No.1 Scheffler, who himself won McIlroy’s home Open at Royal Portrush and The Open Championship, pipped him to the post to clinch yet another Jack Nicklaus Award.
The American (29) became just the second golfer ever, after countryman Tiger Woods, to win four consecutive PGA Tour Player of the Year prizes having won six of his 20 starts in 2025 and only missing out on a top-10 finish in three of them.
PGA Tour Chief Executive Brian Rolapp hailed Scheffler in a statement, commenting: “Scottie’s consistent level of success has been nothing short of spectacular as he continues to chase history on the PGA Tour, and we’re excited to see what he will deliver in 2026.”
Scottie Scheffler celebrates winning The Open at Royal Portrush
In a teleconference with reporters on Monday, Scheffler said: “I think overall, the thing that I’m most proud of when I look at the last couple years is just consistency.
“It’s not very easy to just show up and finish in the top 10 each week. I think that’s something that’s very difficult to do and something I’m very proud of, bringing the intensity that I need to in these tournaments and being prepared as I need to in order to perform well week in and week out.”
South African Aldrich Potgieter, meanwhile, was named the PGA Tour Rookie of the Year.
The 21-year-old scooped up the Arnold Palmer Award having won the Rocket Classic through a Play-Off in Detroit in June, while he also secured a runner-up finish in the Mexico Open at VidantaWorld in February.
