From ‘Best Shot’ to ‘Worst Meltdown,’ here are your PGA Tour season-end awards

It's over! The 2026 PGA Tour season is a wrap, it was glorious, and while the players will deliberate in a few months in their vote on Player of the Year, we aren't waiting. It's time to hand out some awards of our own, from the serious to the tragic to the comic. Here we go!

Best Shot

In March, when Cameron Young hit his drive on the 18th hole at the Players Championship under intense pressure, I thought to myself, "we're not going to see a better shot all year." And I was right. His 375-yard draw was the longest record on the hole in the post-2004 Shotlink era, which means it's almost definitely the longest in human history. And he did it in a tense duel with Matt Fitzpatrick while trying to nab the biggest win of his career. When the rollback finally goes through, this will be the shot they use to show how things used to be.

Best Moment

There are so many to choose from, but when push comes to shove, I'm giving this Matt Fitzpatrick and Alex Fitzpatrick winning the Zurich team event. You had a contender for best shot of the year with Matt’s bunker shot on 18, but it was also just generally a great story for Alex, who proved afterwards that he definitely belonged on the PGA Tour.

Worst Extended Meltdown

This one, sadly, has to go Ludvig Aberg, who took the lead into the final round of the Players and had a godawful Sunday. It's not just that he shot a final-round 76 when the rest of the top 10 were even or better, but it's the quality of the shots on the back nine that so clearly betrayed his nerves. To his credit, he admitted it when he was done, and he's too good not to figure this out eventually. But this one has to sting.

Worst Immediate Meltdown

Shane Lowry led the Cognizant Classic by three shots with three holes to play, and then hit two of the most shocking tee shots you'll ever see on the next two holes at PGA National to somehow blow it. It seemed to mess him up for the rest of the season, too; it doesn't get much worse than this.

Funniest Moment

It just has to be Garrick Higgo missing his first-round tee time at the PGA Championship by seconds, and then trying to redefine time with his classic "I was there on time, but the rule is, if you're one second late, you're late. So if you think about it, I was there on time, if you know what I mean." The entire interview is worth watching.

RELATED: Garrick Higgio doesn't want to know how much his missed tee time cost him

Best (and Worst) Protest

Lucas Glover taking his shoes off at the 3M Open because he was annoyed that people were complaining about spike marks from metal shoes and was angry enough to make a whole thing of it. The best part of this, though, is that before he commented, everyone assumed it was about AimPoint, and that story took hold until he could quash it.

The Resilience Award

This one goes to Gary Woodland for fighting through his unique form of PTSD, a symptom of which is a fear of big crowds, and not only managing to perform in front of big crowds on a regular basis, but winning a tournament and making the Tour Championship. It's mind-blowing to have that kind of composure.

Best Sequel

Rory McIlroy winning his second Masters was a “Godfather Part 2” level follow-up, where maybe it's not quite as stunning as the original, but retains all the quality you remember from the first and adds beautifully to the larger story.

Happiest Narrative Reversal

Look, maybe we heard it a little too often after the PGA, but Aaron Rai's story of why he uses iron covers—he grew up without a lot of money, he wanted to preserve what he had, and now he does it to maintain perspective—was so heartwarming that it immediately changed the temperature from "iron covers are annoying" to "this man is awesome."

Most Ridiculous Story

Everything about Bryson DeChambeau in the tall grass at the Open Championship. I refuse to revisit this in any greater depth.

Best International Relations Story

There is a lot of suspicion between the U.S. and China these days, but Haotong Li cut through it all with an incredibly humanizing story about all the time he spent on the toilet Thursday night at the Masters. "Kind of I live in the toilet," he said on Friday. We've all been there, Haotong.

The Unsung Hero Award

You know who won three times this year? Chris Gotterup! For someone who puts a lot of wins together, and almost bagged the Tour Championship too, he doesn't get enough love.

Most Stirring Speech Award

Jordan Spieth did not have a top 10 all season—in fact, he was the only guy to make the playoffs without one—and after a very Spiethian back nine in Memphis, he failed to make the second playoff event. But then, after his round, he said this: "This will be the last time I'll finish like this for a while. I'm very, very confident in what's coming." YES! That's what we need. Watch him, and even if you don't believe him, I know you'll be stirred.

The Legend-in-the-Making Award

This goes to Sudarshan Yellamaraju, who briefly led the Players and whose story is all kinds of crazy: born in India, moved to Winnipeg at age 4, never had a lesson, learned golf largely through YouTube, spent hours as a child practicing in a dome, said no to college because his family didn't have the money. To be anywhere near the PGA Tour is amazing, and to finish T-5 at TPC Sawgrass is somewhere beyond that.

Best Old Guy

RELATED: How Brandt Snedeker beats the younger guys. And you can, too

You may have missed it while Kristoffer Reitan was winning the Truist, but none other than Brandt Snedeker took down the Myrtle Beach Classic, and in the same year that's going to be Presidents Cup captain, no less. Now, Snedeker is only 45, but he hadn't won on tour in eight years, and to do this in the same year as he's virtually guaranteed to lead Team USA to victory, that's a heck of a year for an oldster.

Most Exciting Story

Some of you will hate me for this, but it's Jackson Koivun. I thought he'd be a generational talent when he came on tour, and the fact that it took him exactly three starts to win just proved it. If you're not pumped to see what he can do in 2027, check your pulse.

Most Aggravating Pronunciation of a PGA Tour Winner's Name

I'm sorry, I can't get past how Ricky Castillo's last name is pronounced Cast-eel-ee-o (aggravating part in bold). THERE'S NO EXTRA 'I' IN THERE! IT'S NOT CASTILLIO! Everything I ever learned in high school Spanish revolts each time Hicks or Nantz says this name.

Saddest On-Course Season

I have to give this to Sam Burns. He played so well at the U.S. Open on Sunday but fell just short of Wyndham Clark, and it reduced him to tears because he wanted to win for his dad. Then he seemed to have the story of the year at the Open when he took the 54-hole lead when he wasn't even supposed to be there after the birth of his child … only to have a lackluster Sunday and lose that, too. I'm sure his life off the course is great, but those were some sad finishes.

Most Impressive Win

Maybe Woodland deserves this, too, but man, I was on Long Island watching Wyndham Clark, and the fact that he managed to absorb outright disdain verging into hate for five hours and still found the composure to win a major remains incredible to me.

Worst Addition to the Golf Lexicon

Sorry, Wyndham, but it's "open some grape." I'm far from a wine snob, but I do believe that if you refer to it as "grape," you should only be allowed to drink it out of a box.

Golf Media Member of the Year

Me, again.

And finally...

Player of the Year

Yes, it's Scottie Scheffler. Clark made it dramatic at the end, but Scottie capturing two of three playoff events to shed the baggage of his silver medal season, along with being far and away the best golfer statistically, makes this a no-brainer. Prediction: In 2027, he wins the career slam.