Ryan Lavner shares what players kept telling him about Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele’s years at the BMW Championship

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The Tour Championship looks set to not only bring the curtain down on the FedEx Cup play-offs, but also the debate over whether Scottie Scheffler or Xander Schauffele has had the better 2024.

You can easily make the case that Scottie Scheffler or Xander Schauffele has had the best year after what has been a remarkable few months on the PGA Tour.

For some time, it appeared that Scheffler was absolutely nailed on to clinch the player of the year title in a landslide. Wyndham Clark recently noted that Scheffler’s dominance has not been since Tiger Woods, but the world number one has achieved something this year that Woods never actually managed.

Scheffler became the first player since Arnold Palmer in 1962 to win six times before the end of June in a single season. And it was the size of the events which particularly catch the eye, with The Masters, Bay Hill, The Players Championship and The Memorial all on the resume. Meanwhile, he went on to win Olympic gold at Le Golf National.

What players are saying about Xander Schauffele and Scottie Scheffler

So it says everything that Schauffele has even managed to create any sort of debate. The 30-year-old has not won a single PGA Tour event, but has clinched his first two major titles this year, with the PGA Championship and then The Open.

It has set up such an interesting hypothetical, and it seems that the players are largely divided on the discussion over which player has had the better year. Speaking on Golf Channel, Ryan Lavner claimed that there was a common theme emerging when he was asking their peers about Scheffler and Schauffele.

“Among the players that I talked to last week at the BMW Championship, by and large they told me Scottie Scheffler has played the best golf in 2024 and thus, he should be the player of the year,” he said.

“They would rather Xander Schauffele’s year, and I think that’s a reminder that in 10 years, players are going to care less about whether they won The Memorial or the Travelers Championship or any of the other signature events on the PGA Tour; they all know that their legacies are going to be defined by how many major championships they won.”

Many more chapters in this rivalry set to be written

It is a fascinating discussion which actually, is probably going to continue beyond The Tour Championship, because you could not tell someone that they are wrong, whether they opt for Scheffler or Schauffele.

What both players have achieved in 2024 is going to be talked about for years to come, particularly as they have managed to do it in the same year.

And it will be so intriguing to see what is next for both men. Schauffele has been backed to win as many as six majors in his career, while Scheffler is going to have to deal with the pressure of people wondering what he can go on and achieve.

What is in absolutely no doubt is the fact that golf is enjoying a golden era with some very special players hitting their peaks at the same time.