Our 2022 PGA Tour end-of-season awards | Golf Information and Tour Info

The PGA Tour season has come to a detailed, and given all of the existential angst that surrounded this yr, it seems like the game must take a collective cigarette break. However earlier than you mild that heater and this season falls into the previous, let’s hand out awards for the 2022 marketing campaign:

Shot of the Yr: Locals pooh-poohed it because the shot that was required from that spot; nonetheless, for Cameron Smith to burn the sting of the Street Gap bunker with the Open on the road takes a particular sort of conviction blended with a little bit little bit of loopy, and the eight-footer he cleaned as much as clinch the claret jug was simply as gutsy. Maybe extra spectacular was the strategy shot on the 72nd gap of the U.S. Open from Matt Fitzpatrick. Standing 15 away from his ball on the Nation Membership, it appeared the one end result was unhealthy and Fitz was merely making an attempt to not make it worse. As an alternative he hit the shot of his life from the sand to win the nationwide championship. Whereas we’re right here, Justin Thomas’ 3-wood touchdown on the seventeenth inexperienced throughout his three-hole playoff towards Will Zalatoris was not brief on gumption. Nevertheless the award goes to Hideki Matsuyama, for whereas the stakes have been a lot, a lot decrease, his 3-wood from 276 yards to the three toes in sudden dying to win the Sony Open was as filthy because it will get.

Controversy of the Yr: Phil Mickelson’s comments. Feedback being plural. Mickelson wasn’t completely fallacious with a few of his gripes in the direction of the PGA Tour, and a few of these have been validated by the changes introduced final week on the Tour Championship. However reasonably than being diplomatic or democratic (maybe as a result of he was already out the door), Mickelson got here off like a person with a private vendetta by trying to take a flamethrower to the tour solely to burn himself and his fame within the course of.

Greatest Rory Sabbatini Outfit of the Yr: This can be a cheat class, as a result of each reply is the precise reply. There was this gem from Hawaii, the place Sabbatini taped out a sponsor on his hat:

Or from San Diego, with a floral shirt,dotted, with what look like neon Skittles logos, coated up by a sleeveless jacket. It is a look that screams, “I ought to have regarded on the climate forecast and now I’m dropping $250 within the professional store to remain heat”:

However our private favourite is that this ensemble, which is ostensibly from the Wells Fargo Basic however may actually be from a profitable quail hunt in Slovakia:

Fortunately, because of a loophole, Sabbatini retained his card subsequent season. Can’t wait to see his fall vogue line.

Soundbite of the Yr: For all of the drama inflected by the battle between the tour and LIV Golf, there have been moments of levity. None extra so than one in every of LIV Golf’s attorneys referring to the FedEx Cup as “the Tremendous Bowl of golf.” Sadly the tour didn’t oblige with banners canvased with stated quote throughout its postseason occasions.

Guidelines Dispute of the Yr: There’s no scarcity of worthy candidates, however two stand above the remaining. In second place is Dylan Frittelli who tried, and failed, to persuade a guidelines official he deserved aid from his ball ending inside a tree due to a burrowing animal, and as dumb as that sounds the dialog was pleasant:

Frittelli: “OK but when that gap goes 5 toes beneath the bushes and my ball’s nonetheless 5 toes beneath the tree and I can’t attain it you then don’t get aid?”
Guidelines official: “That’s right. As a result of you’ll be able to’t make an argument that you just may have the ability to play the shot.”
Frittelli: “I perceive, but when this burrowing gap goes down one other six toes and also you’ve seen it go in that gap and it’s retaining the outlet, you’ll be able to’t play it, you continue to don’t get aid?”
Guidelines Official: “That’s right.”
Frittelli: “Are you certain about that?”
Guidelines official: “I’m optimistic.”
Frittelli: “So if there’s an ant hill…”
Guidelines Official: “You’re contained in the tree.”

However the award goes to Daniel Berger, who obtained right into a testy exchange with Viktor Hovland and Joel Dahmen relating to a drop on the sixteenth gap at TPC Sawgrass throughout the closing spherical of the weather-wrecked Gamers Championship. Berger was sad the place Hovland and Dahmen believed his ball had crossed into the pond and asserted he ought to drop farther up, solely to have Hovland reply, “I am probably not OK with [the drop] being up there.” We’re by no means one to take sides on issues like these, but when Hovland—the least confrontational participant on tour—has an issue along with your drop, it is a unhealthy drop.

Second of the Yr: The alternatives are 1) A battered and bruised Tiger Woods battling like hell on Friday to make the minimize on the PGA Championship, one thing that for as huge because it was wasn’t given its correct due and a pair of) Woods crossing Swilcan Bridge for presumably the final time as a aggressive participant, with a hat tip from Rory McIlroy bringing Tiger to tears. The latter is the mawkish choose, however St. Andrews is a kind of locations the place it’s OK to get sentimental, making it the precise choose.

Participant-Caddie Dialog of the Yr: Let’s simply rename this the Spieth-Greller Award, as a result of all of the candidates for this prize concerned Jordan Spieth and Michael Greller. Our favourite was this change at Colonial, with Spieth in a precarious spot and Greller doing his finest to persuade Spieth to take his medication. Spieth noticed one thing Greller didn’t, most likely as a result of Greller believes within the legal guidelines of gravity. “I simply do not see it Jordan,” Greller says, to which Spieth replied, “What don’t you see?” earlier than explaining how he was going to show a golf ball right into a magic bullet. Take a guess what occurs subsequent:

All that was lacking was Greller muttering, “I’m getting too outdated for this.”

Unluckiest Participant of the Yr: It was each a stellar exhibiting in his sophomore season for Will Zalatoris—main the tour in SG/strategy and SG/tee-to-green whereas bagging $10 million for his efforts—but additionally a season that would have been a lot extra. He misplaced twice in playoffs on the PGA Championship and Farmers Insurance coverage Open and a putt to ship the U.S. Open into additional time regarded proper your entire means till it wasn’t. Zalatoris did earn his first profession tour win (in a playoff, no much less) on the St. Jude Championship however the luster didn’t final as he pulled out mid-competition on the following week’s BMW Championship with harm that additionally saved him out of the Tour Championship, costing Zalatoris some severe cash. His future stays brilliant, but with three pictures retaining him from a four-win, two-major marketing campaign, 2022 has an air of what-if for the Wake Forest product.

Breakout of the Yr: In idea this might go to Scottie Scheffler, who received his first profession tour occasion on the WM Phoenix Open and saved on going, and the Rookie of the Yr goes to Cam Younger with out query. However our breakout choose is Sahith Theegala, the 2020 Haskins Award winner who grew to become an prompt fan favourite and solidifies that standing everytime he tees it up. There are a ton of tour of us rooting for Theegala, for they see what we see: the uncommon breed whose expertise and potential are solely surpassed by a magnetic persona. Yearly there’s at all times a brand new “subsequent huge factor,” and barely do these labels come to fruition. We are saying that to say this: Theegala is the true deal, and if he goes far he has the facility and attain to deliver the game alongside for the experience.

Tweet of the Yr: Bryson DeChambeau majored in physics at SMU, and apparently that diploma doesn’t require enterprise or financial programs. That’s the one clarification for DeChambeau’s pizza joint—LIV Golf analogy, a comparability that gave the impression of Bryson knew the place he was going solely to lose route midway by way of so he pulled out a map however saved speaking as he tried to determine the place he was at. Although it’s unclear if the pizza in query was deep dish or skinny crust, what is obvious is that Joel Dahmen determined to have some enjoyable at Bryson’s expense, serving this pleasant pie to social media:

Let this be a reminder that Dahmen and caddie Geno Bonnalie are nationwide treasures and must be protected as such.

Disappointment of the Yr: It’s a testomony to Jon Rahm {that a} season that includes a win and eight top-10s, together with ending seventh in strokes gained, might be thought of a letdown. However these are the requirements of stardom, and after reaching the highest of the sport final yr (highlighted by capturing the U.S. Open and being a tour de pressure on the Ryder Cup), this season was a small step again. After ending no worse than T-8 in any respect 4 majors in 2021, he failed to put within the high 10 within the Huge 4 in 2022. Two of his 4 top-five finishes on tour got here in January, he went from nice (eighth in SG/strategy) to good (thirty eighth) together with his irons and a usually dependable brief sport went south (143rd around-the-green). Conversely, if you happen to needed to choose which participant has the brightest future, Rahm—solely 27—is the smart selection, and anticipated him to reply with vigor in 2023.

Feud of the Yr: We thought Rory vs. Norman certified as a feud, however that relationship is extra alongside the strains of the connection shared by a linebacker and tackling dummy. We might go along with Kevin Na and Grayson Murray, which began when Murray tweeted that Na’s tempo was getting outdated and Na responded “U lacking cuts is getting outdated!” and we’d go additional however frankly that is making us miss the nice outdated days of Brooks towards Bryson. So our default selection is Scheffler against his sweater vest, which was the one factor that obtained within the Texan’s means in 2022.

Match of the Yr: The Open had the right script besides it forgot to jot down the ending. The Tour Championship had a stable end however the first three days have been devoid of juice. The RBC Canadian Open, that includes a final-round standoff between McIlroy, Thomas and Tony Finau was darn good leisure. However begin to end, the winner is the U.S. Open. After years of fear of what this match is meant to be and the way it’s supposed to attain an increasingly-challenging aspiration, the Nation Membership in Brookline turned this U.S. Open into a real U.S. Open, mucking up scorecards and breaking psyches and doing so in a means that was not nefarious or synthetic. Extra importantly at a time when the game has by no means felt extra divided, the U.S. Open gave us a present that doubled as a palette cleanser. Golf is meant to be a diversion from life’s woes, not a reminder of them, on the U.S. Open lived as much as that promise.

Cinderella of the Yr: This honor goes to Ryan Brehm, who used his lone begin on a minor medical exemption to play within the Puerto Rico Open earlier than heading again to the Korn Ferry Tour. Solely the 38-year-old—whose finest tour end earlier than that Sunday was a T-11—by no means returned to the feeder circuit, turning his Eleventh-hour bid right into a tour card because of a final-round 67 to win the event by six together with his spouse on the bag.

Participant of the Yr: No debate right here. 4 wins, highlighted by donning the inexperienced jacket. 4 runner-ups, one in every of which got here on the U.S. Open. He rose to World No. 1 within the OWGR, a place which he’s held since late March, and pocketed near $25 million (not counting some possible PIP money). Some could say he merely rode a heater, however the totality of his work signifies Scottie Scheffler goes to be a foul, unhealthy man for a while.

Particular person of the Yr: Rory McIlroy was keen to place himself on the road each week as a result of he believed in what he was preventing for. That braveness, alongside together with his imaginative and prescient that spurred wholesale modifications to the tour’s operations, may need single-handedly helped the PGA Tour climate the storm. And he did so whereas reinserting himself as essentially the most persistently nice participant within the sport. Sure, the main drought continues. However what McIlroy did this season will reverberate longer than any victory might.