The other season-long PGA Tour award on the line this week

Golf Digest

Scottie Scheffler and Wyndham Clark have dominated the conversation through two weeks of the FedEx Cup Playoffs and rightfully so. Scheffler’s eight-shot win in Memphis looked to be the knockout blow in the PGA Tour Player of the Year race until Clark’s counterpunch in St. Louis, setting up a dramatic finish to the award between these two players—and possibly others—at the Tour Championship. But there’s another piece of season-long hardware besides the Jack Nicklaus Award that’s up for grabs at East Lake.

That would be the Arnold Palmer Award for the tour’s top rookie. It’s a less-talked-about race, but it’s equally as debatable with two first-year players: Kristoffer Reitan and Alex Fitzpatrick. On paper, you’d probably give the edge to the Norwegian, based on the fact that his one win was a solo effort (while Alex won the Zurich Classic with older brother Matt) and he’s No. 20 in the FedEx Cup standings to the Englishman’s No. 24. HOWEVAH, Alex didn’t even earn his PGA Tour membership until that victory so he’s had three fewer months to produce his ROY résumé.

And while Reitan’s win came at a signature event, the Truist Championship, Fitzpatrick has finished in the top 10 of all four signature events he’s played in. So this race will likely come down to how these two finish at the season’s finish line. For everything you need to know about the Tour Championship, check out Shane Ryan’s weekly 10 Things column. And to Kristoffer and Alex, may the best (European) man win.

Wyndham's rise, Rory's re-animation and Lame Duck East Lake: 10 things for the Tour Championship

If Clark wins in Atlanta, he should definitely win POTY, and if Scheffler wins in Atlanta, he should definitely win POTY.

By Shane Ryan

What You Need to Know

Tod Leonard

The fallout continues in the Good Good/Callaway advertising controversy. Less than two hours before Golf Channel was to premiere “Big Break x Good Good” on Tuesday, the cable network put out a social media announcement that it had postponed the program until next Sept. 1. Golf Channel said in a post, which included the series’ logo, “This will allow for necessary production updates following a request from one of the show’s sponsors to remove its branding from the series.”

This new “Big Break” is set to be the first to air since 2015 and is the 24th edition of the competition franchise. The delay in its debut comes on the same day that Callaway and Good Good issued further apologies about an ad for a Good Good-logoed version of the new Quantum driver in which a male golfer shoves a female golfer to the ground. In a press conference on Tuesday, PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp expressed disappointment with the two companies’ handling of the ad and their initial handling of the reactions to it, and he deemed the standing of the upcoming inaugural Good Good Championship as “fluid.”

Alex Myers

Adam Schefter just broke some golf news regarding Brooks Koepka. ESPN's Senior NFL Insider took a break from breaking football scoops to deliver the news that the five-time major champ will be joining TGL's Motor City Golf Club. According to Schefter, Koepka was the first player selected by the league's first-ever expansion franchise.

Koepka re-joined the PGA Tour in 2026 as part of the Returning Member Program after spending three years on LIV Golf. On Tuesday, PGA Tour commissioner Brian Rolapp said there are no plans to revive that program for LIV players who missed that window. Motor City Golf Club will play its inaugural season in 2027, which will be the third overall season for TGL. The tech-infused golf league has yet to release its 2027 schedule.

Alex Myers

Scottie Scheffler has made even more money beating PGA Tour players this year than we thought. Adding together tournament prize money and FedEx Cup bonuses—including the $23 million one he just wrapped up by being No. 1 through the BMW Championship—the World No. 1 has made nearly $54 million (!) this year. But apparently, he's been cleaning up against his friend Si Woo Kim in practice rounds as well. Ahead of the Tour Championship, Kim was asked how much he's lost to Scottie this year. "I can't say how much I lost," Kim replied, "but I think I'm paying for his second son, all the diapers." On the bright side, Kim is assured another nice payout this week in the 30-man, no-cut event featuring a $40 million purse.