Who was the Best Player of the PGA Tour in the 22-23 season? Some believe it was Scottie Scheffler for being a powerhouse with 14 top 5s (and two victories: Phoenix Open and THE PLAYERS), others think Jon Rahm deserves it for his four wins (Sentry, American Express, Genesis and Masters) at the beginning of the year and some may consider the final sprint of Viktor Hovland, winning the Memorial in June and the BMW and Tour Championship in August, is bounty enough to take the distinction.
Certainly, the World Number One has a clear choice. And, it may surprise some, but it won’t be himself, but his main rival in recent years: Jon Rahm. In the preview of the Hero World Challenge, where he returns after his holidays following the Ryder Cup, the American showed his nobility when asked about this matter.
“I don’t think it’s in good taste to vote for oneself,” he said firmly. “Honestly, the way Jon played at the beginning of the year with his four victories and one of them in a Major, I think they are very nice and we play golf to win. Yes, consistency is excellent, but what you want is to add victories, and Jon was able to do it at a very high rate at the beginning of 2023,” admits Scottie.
Scheffler believes that doubts arise from the part of the course in which the Spaniard achieved his victories: “If he had ended the year that way, there probably wouldn’t even be a debate,” he points out, “but as it was six, seven, eight months ago, people don’t think so much about it, but Jon was quite unstoppable at the beginning of the year,” he praises.
The player residing in Texas showed that he is a gentleman in the American defeat in Rome, when he congratulated the European team and specifically Rahm on Sunday: “I have been fortunate that Jon has been a guy with whom I have played in almost all the Ryder Cup matches. I thought I played a lot against him in this format and I think I played five matches against him, with three draws, one win for him and one for me. One of the great joys of our sport is being able to have those battles. They are the things that I will surely remember most fondly at the end of my career: the friendships that are forged through that and the joy of competition. When the tournament ended and they won, take off your hat, shake their hand and congratulate them. There really is nothing else to do. They beat us and as a sign of respect, take off your hat and say, good job, that’s all,” concludes Scheffler, a gentleman both inside and outside the ropes.
