Why Scottie Scheffler winning PGA Tour's Player of the Year over LIV defector Jon Rahm isn't controversial

For starters, Joel Beall of Golf Digest points out that the voting for PGA Player of the Year took place prior to Rahm's announcement that he would join LIV. 

"Granted, rumors were rampant following the Ryder Cup that the Spaniard was bound for the Saudi-backed circuit, so we can’t discount that influence on a membership that continues to be at odds with the possible integration of LIV’s financial backers," Beall wrote. "The truth behind Wednesday’s announcement, however, is much more simple, and far less controversial."

Beall goes further to show that Scheffler's win could also be due to him being a statistically better player, even though he had fewer wins on the season and didn't capture a major victory.

"Scheffler led the tour in strokes gained/overall (2.34) and SG/tee-to-green (2.62)," Beall continued. "The latter mark was the second-best figure in the PGA Tour’s strokes-gained era, bested only by Tiger Woods in 2006 (2.98). Anytime your name is mentioned in the same breath as Woods, you’re doing something remarkable."

Plus, even when you take away the fancier stats, Scheffler still played better down the stretch. Over the three events of the FedEx Cup Playoffs — the FedEx St. Jude, the BMW Championship and the Tour Championship — Scheffler finished T31, T2 and T6. Rahm T37, T31 and T18.

Of course, now there will be extra attention on how both Scheffler and Rahm kick off their 2024 campaigns on their respective circuits. Things will get extra interesting come April when the two will face off at Augusta National in the 2024 Masters.

For those wondering: Scheffler and Rahm are the favorites at DraftKings with 8-1 odds to wear the next green jacket. We'll just have to wait and see whether the 2023 PGA Player of the Year or the runner-up finishes better.