World number one Scottie Scheffler on Tuesday tied Tiger Woods’ record as he won the PGA Tour Player of the Year award for the third consecutive season, Afrosport reports.
Scheffler became just the second man to achieve the feat, having enjoyed a spectacular season that saw him win seven titles, including a gold medal at the Paris Olympics.
The American golfer, who got 91% of the vote from his peers, was handed the Jack Nicklaus award. The 28-year-old in his acceptance speech, paid homage to Woods, saying: “I think we’re always looking to compare somebody to Tiger Woods. I saw it a lot growing up. … There’s really only one Tiger, that’s just kind of it.”
Scheffler edged two other top golfers to the award, beating two-time major winner Xander Schauffele and Rory McIlroy, who is the only other player to win the Jack Nicklaus Award three times.
He won his second Masters trophy this year and also became the first man to win seven titles in a year since Woods in 2007.
“I would say the nine holes that kind of sticks out to me the most maybe would be the back nine at the Olympics,” Scheffler said when asked about his best performance of the year. “The way that Teddy [caddie Ted Scott] and I kind of finished off that tournament was pretty cool.
“It had been a frustrating front nine. I birdied the first three holes and I had good looks on the next six holes, basically, and wasn’t able to hole any of them.
“Teddy just did a great good job of keeping me in the right head space and we had a great back nine. I think it was a back nine 29 to win by one. I think it was maybe a 63 or 64 on Sunday.”
Scheffler, however, still has some catching up to do as he trails Woods for the longest consecutive winning streak for the most player of the seasons award, which the latter won five times from 1999 to 2004.
The 48-year-old Woods has won the award 11 times in his career, including winning three in a row for a second time from 2005 to 2007.
