A testament to just how consistent Rory McIlroy has been over the last decade — in a season where he said he’d give himself a B grade, the Northern Irishman was still one of the nominees for the PGA Tour’s Jack Nicklaus Award, which is given to the circuit’s player of the year.
The nominations were announced Monday after the 2024 season’s conclusion at the RSM Classic.
“It would be a pass, it wouldn’t be a pass with flying colors,” McIlroy had said of his year during the DP World Tour Championship earlier this month. “But, um, probably a B.”
The voting is currently open for the award, and all Tour players with at least 15 starts in 2024 are eligible to weigh in. Voting closes on Dec. 4 and the winner will be announced just before the year’s end.
Also in the running for the award are Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele. Last year, Scheffler won the Nicklaus Award for a second straight time, becoming the first player to win Player of the Year honors in back-to-back seasons since Tiger Woods won it three straight years from 2005-2007 and 11 times overall. Scheffler said that PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan called him to tell him that he had won the award and that he was one of less than a handful of back-to-back winners.
“So I looked to see how many times Tiger won it and there was years from like 2000 to 2008 where he won it almost every year. I think Vijay clipped it one year and that was it. So he’s got some pretty absurd stats like that,” Scheffler said. “Anytime you can be mentioned in the same breath with Tiger it’s very special. I grew up idolizing him as a player, and any time you can get mentioned with him is very special.”
Back in August, after Schauffele ripped off wins at the PGA Championship and the British Open, Justin Thomas said he was prone to choose Schauffele, due to the major hardware. That was before Scheffler won the FedEx Cup, however.
“For me, personally,” Thomas said in August, “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I think I would take Xander’s just because of two majors. But yeah, talk about a no-lose situation, those are two pretty good ones.”
Here’s a look at each of the three nominees and their accomplishments this season, per the PGA Tour:
Rory McIlroy, 35
Rory McIlroy walks to the sixth green during the final round of the U.S. Open golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Katie Goodale-USA TODAY Sports
- Entered 19 events with wins (2) at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans and Truist Championship
- Finished No. 9 in the FedEx Cup
- Finished sixth in scoring average (69.914)
- Recorded a total of seven top-10s and missed one cut
Scottie Scheffler, 28
Scottie Scheffler celebrates winning the 2024 Tour Championship. (John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports)
- Entered 19 events with wins (7) at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard, The Players Championship, Masters Tournament (second career major championship title), RBC Heritage, the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday, Travelers Championship and Tour Championship
- Winner of the gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics
- Winner of the 2024 FedEx Cup
- Winner of the Byron Nelson Award for low scoring average (68.645)
- Recorded a Tour-best 16 top-10s and did not miss a cut
Xander Schauffele, 31
Xander Schauffele kisses the Claret Jug on the 18th green in celebration of victory at the 152nd Open Championship at Royal Troon. (Paul Ellis/AFP via Getty Images)
- Entered 22 events with wins (2) at the PGA Championship (first career major championship title) and Open Championship
- Finished No. 4 in the FedEx Cup
- Finished second in scoring average (69.137)
- Recorded a total of 15 top-10s and did not miss a cut
