Luke Donald and Keegan Bradley win the Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year awards respectively
PGA Tour officials finally announced the much-awaited Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year awards and the verdict was more than evident as the current world number one on the official World Golf Rankings (OWGR), Luke Donald and PGA Championship winner Keegan Bradley were nominated for the coveted accolades respectively. Donald probably had the best year of his career so far as he surged to the top of the OWGR midway through the year when he took over Lee Westwood in the BMW PGA Championship. Bradley, also a two-time winner on the tour, was awarded the Rookie of the Year title which he rightfully deserved.
"On behalf of the PGA TOUR, my congratulations to Luke and Keegan for their award-winning accomplishments in 2011," PGA TOUR Commissioner Tim Finchem said. "Both players had significant and impressive performances throughout the course of the year, and the member vote reflects the respect their peers have for them."
The 34-year-old Englishman is the first English player who has earned the accolade since 1990, the year PGA started giving out the award. He won the season-starter WGC Accenture Match Play Championship in Tucson Arizona and won the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals Classic where he defeated Webb Simpson to regain his FedExCup Money Leader title.
The Englishman will receive the Jack Nicklaus Trophy of the Player of the Year award and has been selected over the other success stories on the tour including Keegan Bradley, Bill Haas, Webb Simpson and Nick Watney.
Bradley, on the other hand, turned out to be the best debutant on the tour when he went over to pull in the fourth major title of the year, the PGA Championship, battling the top players from across the world. He also bagged the PGA Grand Slam in Bermuda where he had to face the likes of world number two Rory McIlroy for the top slot.
"I'm thrilled to win the Rookie of the Year," Bradley said Tuesday after the announcement was made, adding, "it's an award you can only win one time, that you only get one chance to win. It's a huge honour."
Bradley was left out of the President’s Cup team when Captain Fred Couples preferred his old compatriot Tiger Woods over the rampaging rookie-a decision which later received severe criticism.
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