Tour News

Shocking News: Justin Thomas named the 2017 PGA Tour Player of the Year

Published

9 years ago

Oct 4, 2017

It was a foregone conclusion, but it was officially announced today that Justin Thomas beat out finalists Dustin Johnson, Jordan Spieth and Hideki Matsuyama to receive the Jack Nicklaus Award for 2017 PGA Tour Player of the Year.

Congratulations to @JustinThomas34 on receiving the Jack Nicklaus Award for @PGATOUR Player of the Year! ???????? pic.twitter.com/hrJOzTHwMT

— Jack Nicklaus (@jacknicklaus) October 4, 2017

Thomas, who was winless in his first 70 starts on the PGA Tour, recorded five wins in 2017 including the PGA Championship. His year included a round of 59 at the Sony Open in Hawaii, a record-setting 9-under par round at the U.S. Open, and a $10-million bonus for winning the FedExCup Playoffs.

JT left no questions unanswered about his game, or his ability to perform under pressure in 2017. But how does he continue to improve and stay motivated going forward?

“I’ll just continue to do what I have,” Thomas told Golf World. “I don’t know who I heard it from back in college or whenever it was, but you just have to break it up. You have to have two to four goals that are very achievable, two to four goals that are in grasp but will be tough, and two to four goals that are maybe a little bit out of the realm and are going to be very difficult to do, but are somewhat achievable if you have a great year like I did this year.”

I think that means he has his sights set even higher for 2018. Topping his 2017 efforts would be quite the feat.

See the clubs Justin Thomas had in his bag in 2017

With two wins in 2017, including the season-ending Tour Championship, Xander Schauffele was named Rookie of the Year.

2 wins. ????????
14 of 18 final rounds UNDER par. ????@XSchauffele, 2017 PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year. pic.twitter.com/lUZF730TbG

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) October 4, 2017

See the clubs Xander Schauffele had in his bag in 2017

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Andrew Tursky

He played on the Hawaii Pacific University Men's Golf team and earned a Masters degree in Communications. He also played college golf at Rutgers University, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism.

6 Comments

mb

Oct 7, 2017 at 6:48 pm

Why is this shocking? he played better than everyone on the PGA tour?.

Reply Report comment
cgasucks

Oct 5, 2017 at 9:29 am

It is amazing how much one can achieve when jealousy and drive are in play. Justin admitted that he was jealous after seeing his buddy Speith win the British Open and wanted to get his share of that glory. Now you know the rest of the story..

Reply Report comment
- Jon
  
  Oct 5, 2017 at 9:48 am
  
  Thank you Paul Harvey!
  
  Reply Report comment
Travis

Oct 4, 2017 at 3:53 pm

It’s a joke Philip….

Reply Report comment
- Philip
  
  Oct 4, 2017 at 5:08 pm
  
  I guess I have been tainted by too much “Enquirer” – funny how once the idea of it being a joke was put forth the title read differently. Goes to show the power of perception and how difficult it is to have everyone get the same meaning out of the same words.
  
  Reply Report comment
Philip

Oct 4, 2017 at 3:35 pm

Exactly how is this shocking?

Reply Report comment

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Tour Photo Galleries

Photos from the 2026 CJ Cup Byron Nelson

Published

2 weeks ago

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GolfWRX Staff

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Check out links to all our photos below.

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See what GolfWRXers are saying and join the discussion in the forums.

Tour Photo Galleries

Photos from the 2026 PGA Championship

Published

3 weeks ago

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GolfWRX is on site for the second major of 2026: The PGA Championship from Aronimink in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania.

The tournament’s location, just outside Philadelphia, and its status as a major championship mean GolfWRXers are in for a treat: WITBs from a strong field, custom gear celebrating the PGA Championship, and the rich culture of the City of Brotherly Love — we have noted a relative absence of cheesesteak-themed items thus far this week, but most of the rest of the usual suspects are well represented.

Check out links to all our photos below.