It’s that time of year again when we start to think about who the best male golfer has been this year, and there are three standout candidates for that accolade in 2022.
Rory McIlroy might be the obvious choice for many after returning to the World No.1 position thanks to his successful title defences at the RBC Canadian Open and CJ Cup as well as winning both the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup and the DP World Tour’s Race to Dubai.
McIlroy also finished inside the top eight in all four of the year’s Majors and will go into 2023 with renewed hope of ending his eight-year barren stretch in golf’s big four events following his 2014 PGA Championship triumph. In a year dominated by LIV Golf money, McIlroy managed to take home some $40m+ in winnings and bonuses, and looks his vibrant, confident self again on the golf course.
McIlroy won his fourth Race to Dubai title, just three months after lifting the FedEx Cup for the third time
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Scottie Scheffler also has an almighty case thanks to four victories including his first Major title at Augusta National. It’s hard to believe that this time last year he was without a PGA Tour victory, but he found a purple patch to seal four trophies in just six starts between mid-February and early April.
It catapulted him to the World No.1 position but the talented Texan hasn’t managed to bag a win since, losing the No.1 spot to Rory McIlroy in the process, whom he squandered a six-stroke lead to on the final day of the Tour Championship to lose the FedEx Cup.
Scheffler sealed the Green Jacket in his fourth victory in just six starts
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Despite fantastic years from McIlroy and Scheffler in 2022, the player of the year simply has to be Cameron Smith. The Aussie has carried controversy with him since moving over to LIV Golf post-FedEx Cup but it cannot be argued that he hasn’t had an exceptional year on the golf course, where he has cemented himself as one of the finest players to have come out of Australia this century. Had he not joined LIV and continued on the PGA Tour, Smith might have found himself topping the world rankings over these past few months.
His year started out with victory at the Tournament of Champions, where he broke the PGA Tour scoring record with a 34-under-par total to edge out World No.1 Jon Rahm by a single stroke. Just two months later he then picked up golf’s ‘unofficial fifth Major’ at TPC Sawgrass, outlasting one of the strongest fields in…
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