When the complete stories of Scottie Scheffler and Nelly Korda are written, each will have at least one chapter devoted to their accomplishments in 2024.
Not only did they dominate their respective tours – Scheffler and Korda each had seven official victories, including one major championship – they became more than the sum of their achievements.
In constructing one of the best PGA Tour seasons in history, Scheffler grew in terms of public perception into more than the world’s top-ranked golfer. Through a strange twist of fate at the PGA Championship and his emotional reaction to winning the gold medal at the Paris Olympics, Scheffler offered heartfelt responses to both that endeared him to fans who found an emotional connection with the Texan.
For Korda, her brilliance coincided with a growth spurt in women’s sports, and her increased visibility beyond the golf course enhanced her profile as the face of women’s professional golf.
Because of what both did on and off the course, Scheffler and Korda have been chosen players of the year in men’s and women’s professional golf by Global Golf Post.
“I really don’t know how to put it into words,” Scheffler said of his season at the Tour Championship. “It’s been a very eventful year, but it’s been really fun. You had the one weird spot there at Valhalla, which – I just don’t really know what to say about it, but everything else has been pretty special.”
Scheffler’s Valhalla moment was his early-morning arrest as he attempted to drive into the PGA Championship on Friday morning while law enforcement officers worked an accident scene outside of the club in Louisville, Kentucky. Scheffler was released shortly after his arrest and all charges were dropped but the incident – including a mug shot with Scheffler in an orange jail jumpsuit – was one of the defining moments of the season.
If fans admired Scheffler for his skill before the arrest, they appreciated him even more after the graceful way he handled a difficult situation. When his eyes glistened as he accepted the Olympic gold medal in August, Scheffler further endeared himself to the public.
By any measure, Scheffler’s season was extraordinary.
Coming off consecutive PGA Tour player-of-the-year awards, Scheffler raised his own bar this year, winning four of the seven signature events in which he played and capturing the FedEx Cup for the first time.
To put Scheffler’s success in perspective, only Vijay Singh and Tiger Woods (three times) have won more than seven tour events in a season since 1983.
“I still feel like there’s areas of my game that I can continue to improve without making drastic changes to the DNA of what I do.”
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER
Scheffler is likely to be named player of the year by his peers for a third consecutive time, a feat last accomplished by Woods in 2005-07. Scheffler had 41 consecutive rounds in which he shot par or better, and he had 16 top-10 finishes in 19 tour starts without missing a cut.
How good was Scheffler? He led the tour in 25 statistical categories including strokes gained total, strokes gained tee to green, strokes gained approach, stroke average, birdie average, first- and second-round scoring average and money won.
Though he ranked 77th in strokes gained putting, that’s an improvement of 85 spots from a season ago, and he ranked first in putting average (based on greens hit in regulation).
“I think once he gained some confidence with his putting, then the ball-striking even got better, which is hard to imagine,” Davis Love III said. “But statistically, tee to green for the last four or five years, it’s just been incredible. Then, I think putting and confidence is hard to beat. If a guy’s making putts and he’s really confident, it’s incredible.”
Scheffler believes there can be better golf ahead.
“It’s more of just continuing to improve on and enhance the things that we’ve worked on for years now,” Scheffler said at the Hero World Challenge last week. “Getting better is not something that happens overnight. It takes a lot of time, and I still feel like there’s areas of my game that I can continue to improve without making drastic changes to the DNA of what I do.”
Korda’s season also had a unique story arc. She won five consecutive starts beginning in January, had the streak stopped by a T7 finish, then she won again, giving her six wins in seven starts. The five-win streak ties an LPGA record shared with Hall of Famers Nancy Lopez (1978) and Annika Sörenstam (2004-05).
Though she didn’t rival the celebrity of basketball star Caitlin Clark, Korda became the face of women’s professional golf, drawing attention with her appearance at the fashion-forward Met Gala in New York City in May.
For all of her victories, Korda’s most dramatic on-course moment came in the first round of the U.S. Women’s Open at Lancaster (Pennsylvania) Country Club when she made a 10 on the par-3 12th hole (her third) in the first round en route to an opening 80.
“... in the world of sports when someone is going through a hard time, a.k.a. the player, people tend to search for something better. My people stuck with me and grinded out the hard times, and for that I’m super grateful.”
Nelly korda
It was the first of three consecutive missed cuts for Korda, whose form seemed to vanish for a time. After the lost stretch in her summer, Korda rebounded to win again in November to cap her career year.
“The middle of the year was a very, very tough part of the year, but I’m so grateful to have people that I can lean on,” Korda said. “That will be with me through the hard times. I feel like in the world of sports when someone is going through a hard time, a.k.a. the player, people tend to search for something better. My people stuck with me and grinded out the hard times, and for that I’m super grateful.”
Two stars. Two stories. Two unforgettable seasons.
E-MAIL RON
Top: Nelly Korda
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