MIAMI (AFP) — Top-ranked Scottie Scheffler was voted PGA Tour Player of the Year for the third consecutive year, the tour announced Tuesday, after a campaign where he captured nine titles worldwide.

Scheffler won his second Masters green jacket, Paris Olympic gold, the PGA’s season-ending Tour Championship and FedEx Cup playoffs and The Players Championship this year in a trophy haul for the ages.

The 28-year-old American captured the Jack Nicklaus Award with 91 percent of the vote from PGA Tour members who played at least 15 tour events this year, defeating four-time major winner Rory McIlroy and Xander Schauffele, who won two majors this year.

The voting period ran from 25 November through 4 December, so Scheffler defending his title at last week’s Hero World Challenge invitational unofficial event in the Bahamas didn’t even factor into the ballots.

Scheffler’s other PGA Tour wins came at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, the Heritage a week after the Masters, the Nicklaus-hosted Memorial Tournament and the Travelers Championship.

He became the only player other than Tiger Woods in 2005-2007 to win the Player of the Year award three years in a row. Woods also took the award five consecutive times from 1999-2003.

The only other player to win it three times overall was Northern Ireland’s McIlroy, who took the honor in 2012, 2014 and 2019.

“Congratulations to Scottie Scheffler on a truly historic season, capped off with his first FedExCup title and today a third consecutive Jack Nicklaus Award as PGA Tour Player of the Year,” PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan said.

“Scottie took on challenges from the best players in the world on the biggest stages all season, and being honored as PGA Tour Player of the Year is the ultimate sign of respect from his peers.”

Scheffler has captured 13 career PGA Tour triumphs, seven of them this year, and became the first player to defend his title at The Players as well as taking his second Masters crown in three seasons.

Not since Woods in 2007 had a player win seven PGA Tour events in one season and Scheffler did so while staying atop the rankings all year, a run that has reached 82 weeks in a row since he took over on 21 May 2023.

Scheffler had 16 top-10 finishes in 19 PGA starts this year without missing a cut and also helped the United States retain the Presidents Cup by defeating the Internationals at Montreal.

Scheffler also captured the Byron Nelson Award for lowest tour scoring average on 68.65 strokes.