Most Times Leading PGA Tour in Scoring Average
The PGA Tour's award for leading the tour in season-long scoring average is called the Byron Nelson Award. It has been awarded since 1990. Below is the list of all the award's multiple winners, plus we'll also look at the most-frequent winners of the now-defunct PGA of America award for low scoring average.
The Byron Nelson Award was created by the PGA Tour in 1990 with a requirement of 50 or more rounds played on tour in a given season to qualify. (That's compared to 60 or more rounds required by the PGA of America's older, and once more-prestigious, Vardon Trophy). The Byron Nelson Award is based on adjusted scoring average, rather than actual scoring average. (You can read a little more about that on our list of yearly leaders in PGA Tour scoring average.)
Most Times Winning PGA Tour Byron Nelson Award
These are all the golfers who led the PGA Tour in season scoring average more than once since the tour's own Byron Nelson Award was introduced in 1990:- 9 seasons — Tiger Woods, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
- 5 — Greg Norman, 1988, 1990, 1993, 1994, 1995
- 4 — Rory McIlroy, 2012, 2014, 2019, 2022
- 2 — Fred Couples, 1991, 1992
- 2 — Dustin Johnson, 2016, 2018
- 2 — Tom Kite, 1981, 1982
- 2 — Jordan Spieth, 2015, 2017
- 2 — Scottie Scheffler, 2023, 2024
Most Times Winning PGA Vardon Trophy
Awarded by the PGA of America from 1937 through 2022, the Vardon Trophy was, for much of its history, one of the biggest awards in golf. Once the PGA Tour created its own award, however, the Vardon Trophy gradually lost cachet until the PGA of America stopped awarding it after 2022.The PGA of America award for lowest scoring average on tour required a minimum of 60 rounds played, compared to the 50 rounds later instituted with the tour's own Byron Nelson Award. In the Vardon Trophy's long history, these are the golfers who win it four or more times:
- 9 seasons — Tiger Woods, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2013
- 5 — Billy Casper, 1960, 1963, 1965, 1966, 1968
- 5 — Lee Trevino, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1974, 1980
- 4 — Arnold Palmer, 1961, 1962, 1964, 1967
- 4 — Sam Snead, 1938, 1949, 1950, 1955
- 4 — Rory McIlroy, 2012, 2014, 2019, 2022
