Who has had the better year, Xander Schauffele or Scottie Scheffler?

The golfing world is currently debating which golfer has had the better year, Xander Schauffele or Scottie Scheffler. The two Americans have been excellent this year and currently occupy the top 2 FedEx Cup Playoff spots, with Schauffele in 2nd and Scheffler in 1st. This puts both in a great position to claim the season-ending FedEx Cup and, with that, $18 million. It would be the first time either man wins the FedEx Cup playoffs. The FedEx Cup has become a very important tournament for all PGA tour players, not only because of the paycheck, but also because if you win the playoffs, it shows that you have been consistent throughout the whole year, which is something that is difficult to do in the game of golf.

Xander Schauffele’s Year

Xander Schauffele has had an excellent year in 2024. It has been a year where he has proved his doubters wrong, showing he is no longer the near man after a host of 2nd place finishes in the majors and PGA tour tournaments over the last few years.

Schauffele got his major championship breakthrough in May at the PGA Championship, shooting -21 to defeat Bryson DeChambeau by one stroke. He followed this up two months later with a two shot victory at the Open Championship. In total, from these two events, Schauffele earned a staggering $5.46 million. Schauffele also had a strong Olympic showing, but he was not in the medals.

Scottie Scheffler’s Year

Scottie Scheffler is the current World Number 1 golfer, and he is there on good merit. Scheffler has 6 PGA tour wins this season and a gold medal at the Olympics. He claimed his second Masters title back in April, defeating Ludvig Aberg by four strokes. He was also victorious at the Players Championship, ironically defeating Xander Schauffele by one stroke. These are three huge tournaments that Scheffler has won.

It is very much a matter of opinion on who you believe has had the better year. Some golfers would rather have two major victories, while some would prefer a major victory and an Olympic gold medal. Rory McIlroy prefers Scheffler’s year, stating, "I think winning the Masters, an Olympic gold medal, winning, whatever it is, six times, it's pretty hard to top that." Viktor Hovland disagreed, opting for Schauffele’s year, stating, "I mean, two majors. That sounds pretty nice to me."

Their fellow golfers can’t decide, so let’s look at the statistics. We will look at % of fairways hit, birdies, eagles, top ten’s and % of cuts made to determine who has had the better year, as these show consistency over a year. Schauffele has hit 61.9% of fairways, while Scheffler has hit 66.8% of fairways. Schauffele has 309 birdies in 22 events (14.04 per tournament), whereas Scheffler has 326 birdies in 17 PGA Tour events (19.2 per tournament). Schauffele has 11 eagles (average of 0.50 per tournament), while Scheffler has 10 eagles (average of 0.59 per tournament). Schauffele has 13 top tens while Scheffler has 15, which makes them the top 2 for the season in this stat. Schauffele has made 19/22 cuts, which is an impressive statistic of 86%. Scheffler has made 17/17 cuts, which is 100%. He is the only player who has played more than 1 event to do this, with Darren Clake, Vijay Singh and Jose Maria Olazabal making 1/1 cuts. The stats point to a better year for Scottie Scheffler.

The stats point to Scottie Scheffler’s year being better. Not only does he have 6 PGA Tour victories and an Olympic victory to Schauffeles 2 wins, but he hits more fairways, averages more birdies and eagles per tournament, has made more top 10s and has a better cut-made percentage. Scheffler had one major victory in 2024 compared to Schauffele’s 2, but he collected Olympic gold and won the Players Championship, which is often referred to as the 5th major. I believe Scheffler had a better year based on tournaments won and statistics, but it is very much open to your own interpretation. If either man wins the FedEx Cup, that could settle the debate.

Stay tuned for more news content.