5 facts that make Scottie Scheffler's 2024 season one of the best
Scottie Scheffler is the 2024 Player of the Year for golf, and that should come as no surprise. The golfer was the single-most dominant force in perhaps all of the sports during 2024, winning at an impressive rate and performing at a level not replicated by many. It was a truly historic year for the 28-year-old star. Here are five stats and facts that showcase this best.
What made Scottie Scheffler's season so impressive
5) The most birdies
The way to score better in golf is simply to make birdies (or eagles). When a golfer makes a birdie, they shave one stroke from their scoreline, so winning golfers get a lot of birdies. No one made more birdies than Scheffler, who went below par an average of 4.88 times per round per the PGA Tour. He also made the second-fewest bogeys, so he wasn't just brazen with his attempts. Overall, he was 239 under par for the year, the best mark on tour by a very wide margin.
4) He made all cuts
19 starts were made by the American golfer this season and he made the cut in all of them. It is difficult to have a good outing every single time one plays golf. Scheffler didn't necessarily have good outings, but they were all at least good enough to play all four rounds. His worst performance was a T41 at the US Open, but he was otherwise nowhere near the cut every other time he played.
3) Prize money
Scottie Scheffler earned $29,228,357 in total money this year. That doesn't include his $25 million bonus for winning the Tour Championship. It pushed Scheffler to third all-time on the PGA Tour's Career Money Leader rankings, but what's truly impressive is the fact that his 2024 season alone would rank fairly highly all-time. His $29.2 million would slot in 51st in the PGA Tour's history, just below Kevin Kisner's career earnings.
2) Total wins
Scheffler took home a trophy seven times in official PGA Tour events. He also won the Hero World Challenge and the 2024 Olympics for good measure. His seven Tour wins are more than anyone has had since Tiger Woods in 2007. Woods didn't add an Olympic gold medal to his tally, and Scheffler's win at the Hero World Challenge, hosted by Woods, only adds to the impressive nature. Additionally, those seven wins were all either Signature Events or a Major (the Masters).
1) OWGR gap
The American is now the World No. 1 and has been so for some time. The gap between himself and the second-ranked golfer is astounding as Xander Schauffele is 6.6401 points behind him. That's roughly the same margin that separates number two Schauffele with world number 24 Sungjae Im. Scheffler would have to go on an impressive losing streak to allow anyone to catch up to him in the world rankings.