Scottie Scheffler has enjoyed a sensational 2024 season, with the headline statistic being seven victories in 18 starts - including Olympic gold - adding up to a potential $60 million campaign, if he wins the FedEx Cup in two weeks' time.
The closest player to him, both in terms of FedEx Cup points and overall standard of play, is Xander Schauffele - with two wins from 20 starts as well as three runner-up finishes and 13 top-10s. He is set for a season of around $30 million earned if he can remain in second place.
Yet, the one barometer by which Schauffele is undoubtedly ahead of his world-leading rival is number of Majors won. Scheffler picked up the first of the season at The Masters before Schauffele broke his duck at the PGA Championship and then doubled up at The Open.
Nevertheless, the incredibly grounded 30-year-old says the pair's ultimate number of wins this year - regardless of prestige - is the fairest way to rank them.
Ahead of the BMW Championship at Castle Pines, Schauffele said: "I’ve won two times and he’s won seven. We both have a lot of top 10s. That’s kind of how I’m drawing it up. I know that’s how you guys draw it up [in the media].
"But for me, as a competitor, I just have a lot of respect for him. It was cool to get to know him and Meredith a little bit more at the Olympics, and even Teddy, too.
"He’s been playing unbelievable golf. I feel like we’re all just chasing him. I’ve done probably the best job of getting the closest to him, but it’s still very far away. Just a lot of credit to him and his team for putting together a really special year."
California-born Schauffele has arguably enjoyed an equally-spectacular season, with a 100% record of cuts made (which actually stretches back to the 2022 Masters) and only one result outside of the top-25 all campaign.
Despite this, he is likely to miss out on the PGA Tour Player of the Year award in favor of his friendly rival.
Schauffele acknowledged that it may take a sustained period of record golf - similar to Vijay Singh's 2004 season where he won nine times to wrestle the award away from Tiger Woods - if he is to surpass Scheffler to that prize.
Keeping your cool on the course can be tough. @XSchauffele discusses how his time on the @KornFerryTour taught him patience and led to his success. pic.twitter.com/Zj8LOLryyFAugust 20, 2024
Asked if he could have imagined a scenario where he would win two Majors and not win Player of the Year, Schauffele replied: "Yeah. I mean, I think -- didn't Vijay have to win nine times to take Tiger in whatever year that was?
"I think when you're trying to -- Scottie has made himself very dominant and very known in this world of golf we're in, and everyone knows what they have to do now to sort of get on the top of that mountain, and it's going to look like probably something what Vijay did, something crazy like that, to take him."
