Thomas, Spieth Duel In Race For PGA Player Of The Year Award
- Details
- Category: Inside Golf
- Published: 2017-09-20
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 |