Five candidates for the 2022-2023 PGA Tour Player of the Year award

Scottie Scheffler, Jon Rahm, Rory McIlroy, Wyndham Clark and Viktor Hovland are nominated for the Nicklaus Award for best player on the PGA Tour in 2022-2023.

Scheffler (left) puts the Green Jacket on Jon Rahm after the Spanish golfer won The Masters on April 9 at Augusta National. Photo: Reuters — Scheffler (left) puts the Green Jacket on Jon Rahm after the Spanish golfer won The Masters on April 9 at Augusta National. Photo: *Reuters*

The organization that governs the top golf arena in the US announced the latest list of "Nicklaus Award" candidates on December 4. This is a group of outstanding achievements on the PGA Tour, through the season from September 2022 to November 2023 in which each nominee has won the championship at least twice.

The winner of this prestigious individual award will be announced on December 15, based on the results of an internal vote among PGA Tour players who have played at least 15 events.

Last season, McIlroy won two regular-season titles. Clark won the US Open and the Wells Fargo Championship. Hovland won the FedEx Cup after winning the Memorial, BMW Championship and the Tour Championship grand final.

But according to Golf Channel , this season's Nicklaus Award is more likely to go to Rahm or Scheffler.

Last season, Rahm had the most trophies – four, including the Masters major – and six top-10 finishes for a combined $16.52 million in prize money. All four of Rahm's wins came in the first four months of the year.

Scheffler, meanwhile, has won two cups, added 15 top 10 finishes in 23 tournaments, and finished the season with the highest prize money (over $21 million) and average strokes per round (68,629). Last weekend, Scheffler won the Hero World Challenge, but it was not counted because the event was not an official event, even though it was on the PGA Tour calendar. Scheffler is currently in first place on the World Golf Rankings (OWGR), while Rahm is third. He was also the winner of the Nicklaus Award last season.

Scheffler, an American, is 27 years old this year, and Rahm is 29 and Spanish. Scheffler played professional golf since 2018, two years after Rahm.

The PGA Tour launched the Nicklaus Award in 1990, naming it after the legendary Jack Nicklaus, who won a record 18 majors in 73 PGA Tour tournaments. The record number of Nicklaus Awards is held by Tiger Woods (11 times).

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