Smylie Kaufman picks who is ‘in the driving seat’ to win the PGA Tour Player of the Season over Scottie Scheffler
· Yahoo Sports
The conclusion of the Open Championship is the official end of major championship season, and Scottie Scheffler has gone majorless in 2026.
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Scheffler was in the mix at all four majors, but while he finished in the top five at The Masters, the US Open, and The Open, he couldn’t get a win over the line.
That’s been the story of Scheffler’s season. The man who won 15 events in two years has won just once in 2026, but has eight top fives and four runner-up finishes. Last year’s Scheffler would likely have gotten all of those wins over the line, but the magic has been missing this year.
While he’s not been at his dominant best, Scheffler is still in the conversation for being the player of the year in 2026. But Golf Channel analyst Smylie Kaufman believes there’s a player who is ahead of the world number one to this point.
Photo by Oisin Keniry/R&A/R&A via Getty ImagesSmylie Kaufman says Scottie Scheffler is ‘absolutely not’ the player of the season
Scheffler has put together a season that most players on the PGA Tour would be proud of, but while he’s still the world number one and has played like it all year, Kaufman says there’s another player who should be Player of the Year ahead of him.
Speaking on the Smylie Show, he said, “How do you chalk up the year? He’s still the best player in the world. When he tees it up, just by his results, like he’s going to be there. The consistency, the high level of consistency, the bar he has set is what everybody’s trying to chase, which is to know when you tee it up ahead of events, is that you’re going to find your way in the mix.
“So, Scottie’s year, how would you sum it up? I mean, it’s a surprise that he didn’t win a major championship this year. I think when you and I talked about, prior to this entire calendar year, and we set up the major season, we both are going to pick them to win once, and we’re like trying to pick him to win twice because you just think that one’s a shoo-in.
“So I think it is a surprise coming off of two major win season that he didn’t win, but it doesn’t mean that he’s done winning major championships. I certainly don’t believe that. But it’s been a very, very solid year.
“He’s just been a little bit off at certain at, I would probably say the beginning of his year, struggling with the driver a little bit. That came into form, the iron game was kind of a little bit all over the place, and then eventually came into form, and then the putter all of a sudden kind of disappears.
“So it’s just having all of the parts of his game be at that upper echelon level that we expect him and that’s when he goes out and dominates tournaments. When everything is firing on all cylinders. And I don’t think he’s quite done that yet this year.
“He’s been good across the board, but he’s had something that’s not been quite to the Scottie Scheffler level, but which by the way, if you go look at the stats and everything, you’re like, well, like he’s only won once, but the stats say like he kind of is the best player in the world.
“So, does that mean he’s Player of the Year? My take is absolutely not. He’s got to win a couple more times to even be considered for player of the year at this point. I find that Cameron Young is in the driver’s seat.”
Cam Young finished second at The Open after Ryan Fox made a birdie on the 18th hole to win it. His third round of 73 cost him a chance to win, but his Sunday performance showed why he could well be named the Player of the Year.
Comparing Cameron Young and Scottie Scheffler’s 2026
There was a moment earlier in the season where it felt like 2026 would be the year of Young. He’s had a breakout year, and one that took off before the major championship season really began.
Young beat Matt Fitzpatrick down the stretch at The Players for the biggest win of his career so far. That came after a top 10 at Riviera and a top five at Bay Hill. Young was in the final pairing at The Masters alongside Rory McIlroy, finishing T3, then won the Cadillac Championship at Doral.
At that point, he looked like a favorite to win a major championship, but Young lost form at the PGA Championship and didn’t really recover until The Open. So far this year, with a few events to go, he has two wins and four top fives to his name. A highly successful season.
Meanwhile, Scheffler won his first PGA Tour event of the year at the American Express and has been hammering on the door ever since. He was a runner-up finisher three events in a row between The Masters and the Cadillac Championship, and he’s lost two playoffs this year.
Should he have beaten Fitzpatrick at the RBC Heritage and Viktor Hovland at the Travelers Championship in those playoff holes, he’d have three wins to his name. Instead, it’s just the one win, but nine top fives compared to Young’s four.
Judging by consistency over the course of the season, Scheffler has had a better year than Young. But he’s a victim of his past success in that sense. If you give Scheffler the award this year, he’ll get it every year he plays.
With that said, it will likely not be given to the world number one this year.