Credits: skysports

Rory McIlroy & LIV Golf’s Cameron Smith nominated for PGA Tour Player of the Year award

Rory McIlroy has been nominated for the PGA Tour’s Player of the Year award alongside world number two and recent LIV Golf recruit Cameron Smith.

World number one Scottie Scheffler, who won four tournaments in the 2021-22 season, has also been shortlisted.

Northern Ireland’s McIlroy last month became the first player to win the FedEx Cup three times.

Smith won the Players Championship and Open Championship before defecting to the LIV series last week.

The 29-year-old Australian, who also won the PGA Tour’s Sentry Tournament of Champions in January, tied for fourth on his debut in the Saudi-backed LIV circuit in Boston on Sunday, earning $1.5m (£1.3m).

Smith joined LIV Golf following the culmination of the FedEx Cup, becoming the highest-ranked player to link up with the controversial tour.

Players competing in the LIV series are currently barred from playing in PGA Tour events, although the DP World Tour has temporarily lifted suspensions.

World number three McIlroy, who has been one of LIV’s most vocal critics, won the season-ending Tour Championship to claim his third FedEx Cup having also won the CJ Cup and Canadian Open.

American Scheffler won the Phoenix Open, Arnold Palmer Invitational and the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play before clinching his first major title at the Masters.

The Player of the Year award will be determined by a vote of tour members who played in at least 15 FedEx Cup events during the season, with voting to close on Friday.