Scottie Scheffler (left) and Wyndham Clark are each leading candidates for PGA Tour Player of the Year.
RICK ULREICH, ICON SPORTS IMAGES VIA GETTY IMAGES
With his victory Sunday in the BMW Championship, Wyndham Clark added intrigue to the PGA Tour Player of the Year discussion.
With three victories including the U.S. Open, Clark has a compelling case for the award voted on by his peers, some of whom began last week touting Scottie Scheffler as a virtual shoo-in for the honor for the fourth consecutive year.
Asked last Wednesday whether he might win the award if he were to add the FedEx Cup title to his Masters victory in April, Rory McIlroy responded unequivocally.
“No, I’m not the player of the year,” he said. “No chance. Scottie is.”
Added Matt Fitzpatrick, who like Clark has won three times this season: “Obviously, it would be amazing to be able to achieve [player of the year],” Fitzpatrick said. “I think a certain someone’s sewed it up last week.”
The Englishman was alluding to Scheffler’s eight-stroke victory in the FedEx St. Jude Championship two Sundays ago, his second victory of the season and first since January’s American Express tournament. Scheffler has displayed unparalleled consistency in 2026, finishing in the top 25 in all but one of his 18 starts, including five runner-up finishes and two thirds. Moreover, Scheffler’s triumph at TPC Southwind ensured that he would lead the FedEx Cup standings heading into this week’s Tour Championship, thereby guaranteeing him a $23 million bonus.
Still, as they round the turn for home at East Lake, Clark appears to have made it a two-horse race, though he downplayed his Player of the Year prospects as he marched toward victory at Bellerive.
“That I have not thought about,” he said. “Obviously everyone says, you know, focus here on the moment. That would be amazing.” READ MORE
“Coming out of the hotel this week I got stopped going to dinner like five times to sign an autograph. … So there’s no more kind of flying under the radar.”
Ryan Fox, commenting on his newfound fame after winning the Open Championship at Royal Birkdale last month. READ MORE
MATTHEW MAXEY, ICON SPORTSWIRE VIA GETTY IMAGES
Lauren Coughlin and Allisen Corpuz secured berths on the U.S. Solheim Cup team via the points standings.
Coughlin punched her ticket to the Netherlands next month by virtue of her T18 finish in The Standard Portland Classic two Sundays ago, while Corpuz locked up her spot when Andrea Lee, the only player who could pass her in the standings, missed the cut at the CPKC Women’s Open last Friday.
Lee still figures to make the team as one of the top two players in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings following the CPKC Women’s Open who are not otherwise qualified, as does Alison Lee, who finished T13 on Sunday.
The top five qualifiers on points were Nelly Korda, Angel Yin, Jennifer Kupcho, Yealimi Noh and Auston Kim. The two world rankings qualifiers and captain Angela Stanford’s three captain’s picks were to be announced today. READ MORE
As expected, the Memorial Tournament will be part of the new PGA Tour Championship Series in 2028, it was announced last Tuesday.
Jack Nicklaus’ annual showcase at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Ohio will join The Sentry at Torrey Pines, the Arnold Palmer Invitational, the Cadillac Championship, GO by Raymond James (formerly the Wyndham Championship), the Travelers Championship and a new tournament sponsored by Japanese insurer Sompo in the tour’s top-tier series. READ MORE
Tap-Ins
Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan’s embarrassment over the lackluster performance of LIV Golf competitors in this year’s Masters and a fit of anger that resulted in LIV’s Sergio García breaking his driver on the second tee at Augusta National during the final round helped lead to his decision to pull PIF funding from the league, the Financial Times reported last Thursday, citing unnamed sources familiar with the matter. Al-Rumayyan also found a PGA Tour offer of $500 million to $700 million to take over LIV in 2023 unacceptable, the report said, citing people close to the negotiation. READ MORE
Gary Woodland was named the fourth captain’s assistant for the U.S. Presidents Cup team that will face the International squad at Medinah Country Club next month, it was announced last Wednesday. READ MORE
Content creator Good Good Golf, the title sponsor of a new PGA Tour event that will debut in Austin, Texas, in November, issued an apology Saturday after deleting a video it had posted for a Callaway driver in which a man shoves to the ground a woman who was reaching for his new driver, according to multiple reports. Good Good and Callaway deleted the video after it drew criticism for depicting violence against women, per the reports. READ MORE
Compiled by Mike Cullity
