Why Wyndham Clark, Not Scottie Scheffler, Is PGA Tour's 2026 Player of the Year

Is the PGA Tour Player of the Year award worth arguing over? I’m not sure it is.

Can you tell me, for example, how many of them Tiger Woods has won? The answer is 11, but I had to look it up. I’m not even certain Tiger could give me that number off the top of his head. He measured his career with numbers, but that wasn’t one of them. Player of the Year, which has only been around since 1990, is not an award that carries a ton of weight in golf. You will never hear people debate it organically the way they do with MVPs in baseball, basketball, or football.

That said, if the Tour is going to hand it out every year, then I am ready to argue on behalf of Wyndham Clark in 2026, particularly after his Sunday win at the BMW Championship

Scottie Scheffler has won four straight Player of the Year awards. With a fifth straight, he would match the run Woods had from 1999 to 2003. Prior to the BMW, many of Scheffler’s peers were calling it a lock. I don’t think it should be anymore.

Clark is not on Scheffler’s level as a player. Even he was quick to concede as much after his win. “Scottie’s so consistent and he's far and away the best player in the world,” Clark said.

But has Scheffler had a better season? Not really. Scheffler has been more consistent, but I bet he’d trade his year (two wins, 12 top 10s, a FedEx Cup title, but no majors) for Clark’s (three wins, including the U.S. Open, and six top 10s). Scheffler’s season, as solid as it’s been, still feels like a bit of a letdown. Clark’s feels like a genuine rebirth.

I will admit I’ve been a Clark skeptic in the past. Even after his U.S. Open win at Los Angeles Country Club, he seemed like a sports car with only one gear. When he fell off hard in 2025, finishing outside the top 50 in the FedEx Cup standings, it seemed like he was there to stay. But he stood up to Scheffler and Sam Burns at Shinnecock to win his second major, and he didn’t fold when Rory McIlroy tracked him down at Bellerive this week. It wasn’t pretty — losing a five-shot lead on the front nine — but his finish was gritty.

Clark’s earned his status as a top 10 — maybe even top five — player in the world. If Scheffler wants another Player of the Year award, he needs to wrestle it away from Clark by winning at East Lake next week.