Scottie Scheffler was voted PGA Tour player of the year on Wednesday over Masters champion Jon Rahm, a player vote that raises questions of whether Rahm was penalized for defecting to LIV Golf.

Scheffler is the first back-to-back winner since Tiger Woods in 2006-07. The world's No. 1 player had the best statistical season since Woods by leading the tour in all the important categories from the tee to the green, along with scoring.

He had the seventh-lowest adjust scoring average [68.63] in PGA Tour history – the top six belong to Woods – and finished out of the top 10 only six times in 23 tournaments from a season that began in September 2022. At one point, Scheffler went 18 consecutive starts where his worst finish was 12th.

“Anything that you receive voted on by your peers is very special to me and being able to go home with this trophy two years in a row now is very special,” Scheffler said. “I think the body of work I put in last year. I was very proud of that consistency.”

What he lacked, compared with Rahm, was winning.

Scheffler won The Players Championship and the Phoenix Open. Rahm, however, won four times, including his second major when he captured the Masters.

The PGA Tour said voting took place from December 1 through December 15. Rahm, who for 18 months had been an ardent supporter of the tour, donned a LIV letterman's jacket and announced he was joining the Saudi-funded rival league on December 7.

The tour said Scheffler received 38% of the vote in what was believed to be a tight race. It did not disclose the voting percentage received by Rahm, FedEx Cup champion Viktor Hovland, U.S. Open champion Wyndham Clark or Rory McIlroy.

In another close race, Eric Cole was voted rookie of the year over Ludvig Aberg of Sweden. The award comes 50 years after Cole's mother, Laura Baugh, was the LPGA rookie of the year. Cole was the only player to reach the second round of the FedEx Cup playoffs. A longtime player in golf's minor leagues, he made US$5 million in his first year on tour. (AP)