By Alan Watson, President, GOLF+ Dothan and PCB
With the 2024 FedEx Cup wrapped up on the PGA Tour, several questions have been raised. Who had the better season? Was this the best season on tour in modern golf for one player? How does this compare to incredible seasons in the past? And so on.
Only a few weeks ago the golf world was buzzing after Xander Schauffele won his second major of the 2024 season. Rarely does one player win two majors in the same season. However, Scottie Scheffler had also won a major and then won a golf medal at the Paris Olympics. Since golf is relatively new to the Olympics this type of accomplishment has yet to be qaulified and quantified as to where it fits into the pantheon of golfing accomplishments but to say that it is nothing would be very wrong. So we had Xander with two majors against Scottie and his Masters win and Olympic Golf medal. Now having completed the Tour Championship at East Lake with Scheffler as the champion it is clear that not only is he the top player in the World Rankings but he is also the top player on the PGA Tour with the most impressive resume for 2024. No disrespect to Xander but over sixty million in course winnings, a Fedex Cup, a green jacket, and an Olympic golf medal has to be one of if not the most impressive seasons of professional golf every played.
So where does this amazing season for Scottie Scheffler rank among the all time “best” seasons on tour? Well let’s look at Jack, Tiger, and Nelson’s best seasons to compare.
2024 Scottie Scheffler: 7 Wins, 1 Majors, 16 Top 10s
1972 Jack Nicklaus: 7 Wins, 2 Majors, 3 2nd Place
2000 Tiger Woods: 9 Wins, 3 Majors, 17 Top 10s
1945 Byron Nelson: 18 Wins, 1 Major
Naturally we cannot begin to compare prize money as the purses for events have changed far too dramatically over the years but looking at Tiger’s 63% win total and 17/20 Top 5s most likely will never be duplicated. When Byron Nelson won 18 times in 1945 we would have to assume the competition wasn’t as crowded as it is today since nothing like that has ever been seen again. Regardless of that, he won 11 in a row at one stretch and won 18/30 golf tournaments equating to a winning percentage of 66% for the season. Jack Nicklaus, arguably the GOAT (Greatest of All Time), had several magical seasons but his 1972 7 wins, 2 majors and and 3 runner ups is all too impressive.
Has Scottie Scheffler done enough this year to etch his name into the wall of greatness? Only time will tell however, it seems that 2024 is a season to remember and that his scoring average, driving distance, and overall dominance against his peers may not be seen again soon. Scheffler leads the tour in 2024 in most statistical categories including Scoring Average, Birdies, Strokes Gained and Greens in Regulation. No wonder even the likes of Collin Morikawa and Xander Schauffle couldn’t beat this guy!
The golf world is chasing former Texas Longhorn Scottie Scheffler and most likely will continue to for a few years. His run of dominance and steady play haven’t been seen in a while. His cool, calm demeanor on and off the course help him stay a fan favorite and his play keeps his Official World Golf Ranking at Number 1.
Was 2024 the best season ever on the PGA Tour? Probably not but it was most impressive and now the golf world knows what the benchmark for incredible golf looks like – Scottie Scheffler.
