Scottie Scheffler got the surprise of a lifetime on his alma mater’s campus Saturday morning.
Ahead of the Texas vs. Alabama game in Austin, ESPN’s College GameDay invited Scheffler up on stage to get his insights on this afternoon’s game. But before they ended the segment, Gene Wojciechowski had on last surprise for him.
“One of the perks of winning the Masters is you get to wear that green jacket,” Wojciechowski said. “You weren’t able to bring it today, but we don’t want you to go in the stadium empty-handed. We want to thank you for making the effort of coming out here. So we wanted to give you a little something.”
Texas men’s golf coach John Fields then walked on stage with a veiled item. When Scheffler took the fabric off the item, it revealed the Jack Nicklaus Award trophy underneath.
“There it is, the Jack Nicklaus Award,” Wojchiechowski said. “Given to the 2022 PGA Tour Player of the Year.”
Scheffler was overcome with emotion as he hugged his former coach.
“I don’t really have much to say,” Scheffler said as the crowd chanted his name. “I definitely was not expecting that. But that means a lot to me.”
According to the PGA Tour, Scheffler received 89 percent of the votes from his peers, beating out fellow finalists Rory McIlroy and Cameron Smith.
Scheffler earned four victories in 2022, including his first major victory at the Masters. He also notched 11 top-10 finishes and four runner-ups, and authored the most lucrative season in Tour history with $14,046,910 in official earnings.
“On behalf of the PGA TOUR, congratulations to Scottie on his remarkable season and his unprecedented achievements,” Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan said. “Undoubtably, one of the highest compliments a player can receive is the endorsement from his peers, and the fact that Scottie’s season was both dominant and consistent spoke volumes to the membership.”
With the honor, Scheffler becomes the first player to win Korn Ferry Tour Player of the Year (2019), PGA Tour Rookie of the Year (2019-20) and PGA Tour Player of the year.
