Scottie Scheffler could lament a few missed putts on the weekend, or a shakier-than-normal short game at the Hero World Challenge, but the world No. 1 chose to be optimistic as he signed his last scorecard for 2025 and began to look ahead to the new year.

“Did a lot of good things,” he said Sunday. “I definitely felt like some of the stuff I've been working on the last few weeks, I saw some progress here, and the stuff I was focused on in the offseason, definitely saw some progress here as well. Good place to be.”

Scheffler finished tied for fourth in his final start of 2025, falling a bit short at Albany GC after beginning the day in the final group. Scheffler managed a 3-under round, but Hideki Matsuyama and Alex Noren raced past him with dueling 8-under 64s that sent the tournament into a playoff. Matsuyama won with a birdie on the first playoff hole. Scheffler finished two strokes off the playoff.

Scheffler’s 2025 will be remembered as remarkable and the continuation of a dominant run that has kept the American at the top of the game for almost four years running, with no end in sight. Yet, despite that stature, there’s still a little bit of drama left to play out.

The 2025 PGA TOUR season was carried not only by Scheffler, but also by Rory McIlroy. Collectively, the two golfers won three of the four majors and THE PLAYERS Championship. They combined for nine wins and 26 top-10s and enveloped the golf world's collective consciousness. And while both have played their last tournaments of the year, the consensus top two players in the game have one duel left before the calendar flips to 2026. It’s taking place outside the ropes and will be decided by everyone but them.

Nominees for the PGA TOUR Player of the Year Award were announced last week, and while there are four nominees, the race is almost certainly down to two: Scheffler and McIlroy. The voting will close on Friday, Dec. 12, with the winner announced at a later date.

Should Scheffler win again?

Scheffler boasts gaudier statistical markers. He won six times, including two majors – the PGA Championship and Open Championship. He hasn’t finished outside the top eight of an event since March. He led the PGA TOUR in Strokes Gained: Total and Scoring Average, along with a litany of other metrics, big and small. Meanwhile, McIlroy won three times, though that included his second PLAYERS Championship and an enthralling Masters victory that secured McIlroy the career Grand Slam and his place in sporting lore. That alone has given McIlroy an emotional edge in the proceedings. Scheffler might’ve been more accomplished in 2025, but did anyone have a better year than McIlroy, who also added an away Ryder Cup victory to his coffers in September?

That’s the task their fellow PGA TOUR members face, who make up the voting body.

If Scheffler does win, he will be just the second player to win the award four times (Tiger Woods won it 11 times). Woods is also the only golfer who has won it three times in a row. This would be Scheffler’s fourth consecutive year winning the award. McIlroy has won Player of the Year twice before.