Justin Thomas has made a surprising admission about Scottie Scheffler’s chances of winning the 2026 Player of the Year award. The 33-year-old admitted that Scottie Scheffler has played better than anyone else on the PGA Tour this season, but he is not convinced that makes him the clear choice for Player of the Year.

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Thomas shared his thoughts on the award while discussing the growing debate between Scheffler and Wyndham Clark. He explained that players have different ideas about what makes a season worthy of the award.

For Thomas, wins have always been one of the biggest measures of a great season. However, he believes the final decision will depend heavily on what happens at the Tour Championship.

Thomas Weighs Scheffler Against Clark

Thomas pointed to the difference between Scheffler’s remarkable consistency and Clark’s stronger record in terms of victories. Scheffler has won twice this season, taking the American Express in January before claiming the FedEx St. Jude Championship in August.

Despite having fewer wins than some of his main rivals, Scheffler has rarely been far from the top of the leaderboard. He has made 19 starts, missed only one cut and recorded 12 top-five finishes.

That record includes five runner-up finishes and two third-place results. Scheffler also leads the PGA Tour in several key areas, including overall performance, play from tee to green and greens hit in regulation.

Thomas acknowledged that Scheffler has been the best player on the course throughout the season. However, he questioned whether voters would prefer Scheffler’s consistency or Clark’s collection of major victories.

Clark has three wins this season, including the U.S. Open, the RBC Canadian Open and the BMW Championship. He has also missed five cuts in 22 starts and recorded six top-five finishes.

“I think the best way to really debate it is which season would the players themselves actually rather have,” he said in a post on X.

Would they rather have more top 5’s, better scoring avg, consistency, wins, etc. 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 Wyndhams which includes a major and one more W. A lot of this award also includes recency bias vs the entire season.”

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Tour Championship Could Settle POY Race

Thomas believes the debate becomes even more difficult because voters can place different levels of importance on wins, consistency, scoring and performances in major tournaments.

He also pointed out that recent results can influence voting. A strong finish late in the season can remain fresh in voters’ minds, while performances from earlier in the year may receive less attention.

For that reason, Thomas does not believe there is one obvious answer. Instead, he wants to see how the final tournament of the season unfolds before deciding who deserves his vote.

The Tour Championship could therefore play a major role in determining the 2026 Player of the Year. Scheffler enters the final event with an impressive record of consistency, while Clark has a stronger case based on his three victories and major-championship triumph.

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