The ultimate battle for the player of the year will begin on Thursday. Although the top 30 players will be competing to make their way through the Tour Championship, the cup will either be raised by Scottie Scheffler or Xander Schauffele, based on the standings on the list. The two have undoubtedly had one of their best journeys this season.

Be it Scottie Scheffler breaking all records and grabbing six wins on the Tour, which includes the Masters, and also a gold medal for the USA. Or Xander Schauffele, winning two majors in one season (the PGA Championship and the Open Championship). Their journey has been often referred to since the inception of the FedEx Cup Playoffs 2024. At every post-round presser, be it the St. Jude Championship or the BMW Championship, the players were asked whose season they would like to have: Schauffele or Scheffler.

Most of the PGA Tour players, from Chris Kirk to Jason Day, chose to have the world’s No. 2 career over Scheffler’s. And well, he is proud of the amount of effort that he has been putting into his game this season. In the Smylie Show, the 9X PGA Tour winner said, “There’s been a sort of mixed bag.” He believes that while a lot of the players who have already established themselves might have more focus on winning the Majors, winning signature events too adds a lot to the bag.

“But you know, if you’re someone that hasn’t won much on tour, I mean, shoot, you’re not taking my ear, you’re taking Scotty’s ear. You know what? I mean, you’re knocking off all these, all these big events, you know, invitationals, players masters, so to each his own,” he said, explaining why Scottie Scheffler should be the inspiration the golfers must look for to ignite the fire in themselves.

Well, it was not just Xander Schauffele who seemed to be rooting for Scheffler. There are some other Tour Pros who, despite being in a dilemma of choosing between two buddies, chose the 28-year-old over Schauffele.

Other than Xander Schauffele, Rory McIlroy and Wyndham Clark chose Scottie Scheffler’s career

Scottie Scheffler has more odds of winning the Player of the Year title because Schauffele is 1193 points away from him. Only if Schauffele ends up winning the Tour Championship and Scheffler drops down below the top 10 will he have a chance of winning the title. Seeing his invincible form throughout the season, Wyndham Clark and Rory McIlroy chose to go with Scheffler.

While Wyndham Clark said that Scottie might turn out to have a run as great as Tiger Woods, who is still regarded to be one of the greatest golfers. That was true; the last time any player won the PLAYERS, Masters, and 3 or more events was Tiger Woods in 2005 before Scheffler matched it in the 2024 season. Rory McIlroy first opted to choose both; however, not having the option, he said, “Scottie’s. I think winning the Masters, an Olympic gold medal, winning, whatever it is, six times, it’s pretty hard to top that.”

Whose 2024 season would you choose? Scottie Scheffler or Xander Schauffele? Let us know in the comments section below!