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The PGA Tour Player of the Year race has been incredibly closely contested this season.

Wyndham Clark is surely the frontrunner, having won three times, including the US Open.

However, Scottie Scheffler has enjoyed another remarkably consistent season, with two wins to his name as well as 12 top-5 finishes.

Now Justin Thomas has given his take on the PGA Tour Player of the Year race, while discussing the merits of Clark and Scheffler‘s chances of winning the award.

Scottie Scheffler alongside Wyndham Clark during THE CJ CUP Byron NelsonPhoto by Mike Mulholland/Getty Images for The CJ Cup

If anyone else but Scheffler wins the Tour Championship, the award will surely be heading Clark’s way.

Rory McIlroy recently commented on the Player of the Year race, suggesting that it very much depends on what you value more out of wins in big events or consistency.

And Thomas has echoed a similar sentiment.

Justin Thomas on whether Scottie Scheffler would swap his season with Wyndham Clark’s

Thomas took to his official X account on Tuesday and delivered his opinion on the Player of the Year race.

The two-time major champion highlighted how tough it is to call, with just one event remaining this season.

“My random opinion nobody asked for on the POY race,“ Thomas began.

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“What makes it so interesting to me from talking to different guys about it is how everybody’s definition of what makes a “player of the year” is different. That being said, nobody is right or wrong in that. It’s what is important to that specific person.

“Personally, I always view the difference of a good and great season is how many tournaments or majors a person has won. I think the best way to really debate it is which season would the players themselves actually rather have. Would they rather have more top 5’s, better scoring avg, consistency, wins, etc?

Justin Thomas issues statement on social media after being knocked out of the PGA Tour playoffs For the first time in two seasons, Justin Thomas’ season is over before the Tour Championship. Thomas won for the first time since 2022 last year at the RBC Heritage, but underwent surgery on the back end of 2025, and only returned to the PGA Tour at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. Since then, he contended at the PGA Championship and has been remarkably consistent throughout the year. He hasn’t had the season-defining result that would have booked his place at East Lake for the Tour Championship, however. Despite this, Thomas is encouraged by the season, as he explained in a social media statement after his season ended early. Justin Thomas reacts to missing the Tour Championship A T16 at the BMW Championship meant Thomas was outside of the top 30 in the FedEx Cup standings by the end of the tournament, and therefore did not qualify to play in the playoff finale at the Tour Championship. But the two-time PGA Championship winner is still proud of his season given the circumstances. He posted to X: “Well, my season ended a week sooner than I would’ve liked… I’m always one who doesn’t give myself much grace and am too hard on myself. “While this year doesn’t feel much different, a part of me (albeit a small part 🤣) is proud of comfortably making it the @BMWchamps. Most of the season felt like I was one round or stretch of holes away from holding a trophy come Sunday. “It’s wild to think I’m a little over 9 months removed from my microdiscectomy surgery, and was very pleased with how everything in my body felt this season. A lot of hours and trust in my team to help me every step of the way. Massive thanks to them! “All that being said… I’m one day removed from my “season” being done and I’m already itching to get back. I’m ready to get back to the quality golf I know I’m capable of and winning tournaments. I’m extremely appreciative of my fans for all their support. Bigger and better things ahead!” Thomas’ return started with a +14 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, but he immediately recovered and played some great golf throughout the year. If he played a full schedule, it’s hard ot imagine he misses out on East Lake. Now that Thomas is back to full health, expect to see him back in contention in 2027.Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

“Who has played better? Scottie has “played better” than anybody on the planet this season. No doubt. But, I find it hard to believe he would rather have his season (right now, pre Tour Champ) than Wyndham’s which includes a major and one more W.

“A lot of this award also includes recency bias vs the entire season. The timing is important to be fresh in people’s minds vs remembering what may have happened early in the season.

“At the end of the day, it’s not like an argument on other items where it’s a clear cut “this or that” kind of answer with stats to back it up. It’s all dependent on what an individual claims most important to make them the POY.

“All that being said, what happens at the Tour champ will be a deciding factor on who I vote for personally. Thanks for reading my rant that nobody asked for, everybody carry on with their day.“

What Brandel Chamblee has said about the Player of the Year race

“Wyndham Clark’s win at BMW seems to have enlivened the POY talk,“ he wrote.

Chamblee then went on to list six reasons why Scottie Scheffler has ‘objectively’ been the PGA Tour’s best player this year.

“Since it is a vote of the players, some subjectivity will creep into the vote, but there are several objective ways to define who has had the best year on the PGA Tour in 2026,“ he explained.

He then listed all six reasons why he believes the world number one has been on another level to everyone else.

1) Scoring Average (adjusted for course and strength of field) – Scheffler leads with 68.654 almost 7/10ths of a stroke better than 2nd place McIlroy.

2) Scoring Average (actual, no adjustments made, so favors those who play easier courses) – Scheffler leads with 67.96, more than one stroke better than Jake Knapp’s 68.98.

3) Strokes Gained Total – Scheffler leads with 2.263 almost 8/10ths of a stroke better than Matt Fitzpatrick.

4) FedEx Cup points – Scheffler has 4,986, some 1500 points more than Fitzpatrick.

5) World Ranking Points for 2026 – Scheffler has gained 468.64040, some 166 points more than Cameron Young in 2026 and 155 more than Wyndham Clark.

6) Money Scheffler has won – $20,937,535, some $6.5 million more than Cameron Young.

“Objectively, it is not much of a conversation as to who has had the best year in 2026 on the PGA Tour,“ Chamblee insisted.

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