Thomas, Spieth Duel In Race For PGA Player Of The Year Award

Justin Thomas

Justin Thomas (Photo/PGA of America)

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Florida (PGA of America) — PGA Champion Justin Thomas and Open Champion Jordan Spieth will carry their duel to the final points event of the season – The TOUR Championship – in determining the 2017 PGA of America Player of the Year, one of the season-ending awards presented by the PGA of America for excellence by a PGA TOUR professional.

Five-time winner Thomas saw his lead trimmed last weekend, 102-90 over Spieth, who returned to No. 1 in the season money list with a tie for seventh place in the BMW Championship. Dustin Johnson is next with 66 points, followed by Hideki Matsuyama with 56 and BMW Champion Marc Leishman with 44.

Johnson and Matsuyama have each won four times this season, while Spieth owns three victories.

Since 1948, the PGA of America has honored the game’s best players with the PGA Player of the Year Award. It is presented to the top TOUR professional based on a point system for tournament wins, official money standings, and scoring averages. Points for the 2016-17 season began with the Safeway Open on Oct. 16, and conclude Sept. 24, at the TOUR Championship.

Spieth maintains his lead in the Vardon Trophy race with a 68.845 adjusted scoring average based upon 81 complete rounds. Rickie Fowler is next at 68.914, followed by Leishman (69.380), Thomas (69.439) and Matsuyama (69.486).

Since 1937, the Vardon Trophy, named by the PGA of America in honor of legendary British golfer Harry Vardon, has been presented annually to the touring professional with the lowest adjusted scoring average. It is based on a minimum of 60 rounds, with no incomplete rounds, in events co-sponsored or designated by the PGA TOUR. The adjusted score is computed from the average score of the field at each event.

The PGA TOUR also recognizes its annual Player of the Year, with the winner announced in early October, determined by a vote of the membership.

2017 PGA Player of the Year Standings (Through 9/17/17)

Player Victory Points Money Points Scoring Points Bonus Points Total Points
1. Justin Thomas 70 18 14 -- 102
(CIMB Classic, SBS Tournament of Champions, SONY Open in Hawaii, PGA Championship, Dell Technologies Championship)
2. Jordan Spieth 50 20 20 -- 90
(AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, Travelers Championship; Open Championship)
3. Dustin Johnson 50 20 20 -- 90
(Genesis Open, WGC-Mexico Championship, WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play, The Northern Trust)
4. Hideki Matsuyama 30 14 12 -- 56
(WGC-HSBC Champions, Waste Management Phoenix Open, WGC-Bridgestone Invitational)
5. Marc Leishman 20 8 16 -- 44
(Arnold Palmer Invitational, BMW Championship)
6. Rickie Fowler 10 12 18 -- 40
(Honda Classic)
7. Brooks Koepka 30 6 -- -- 36
(U.S. Open Championship)
8. Sergio Garcia 30 -- 4 -- 34
(The Masters)
9. Jon Rahm 10 10 6 -- 26
(Farmers Insurance Open)
10. Si Woo Kim 20 -- -- -- 22
(The Players Championship)

2016 Vardon Trophy Final Standings (ending 9/17/17)

Player Total Rounds Adjusted Average
1. Jordan Spieth 81 68.845
2. Rickie Fowler 74 68.914
3. Marc Leishman 90 69.380
4. Justin Thomas 82 69.439
5. Hideki Matsuyama 79 69.486
6. Dustin Johnson 73 69.515
7. Paul Casey 90 69.520
8. Jon Rahm 86 69.596
9. Sergio Garcia 61 69.629
10. Justin Rose 62 69.738

Points are distributed based on the following:

A) Tournament victories Points
PGA Championship 30
U.S. Open 30
Open Championship 30
Masters 30
The Players Championship 20
All other PGA TOUR events, including World Championship events 10
B) Money winnings: PGA Tour official money list Points
1st 20
2nd 18
3rd 16
4th 14
5th 12
6th 10
7th 8
8th 6
9th 4
10th 2
C) Adjusted scoring average: min. 60 rounds Points
1st 20
2nd 18
3rd 16
4th 14
5th 12
6th 10
7th 8
8th 6
9th 4
10th 2