McDowell condemns PGA Tour's decision of Rookie of the Year
Graeme McDowell has joined the lobby of Lee Westwood in raising voice against the wrong assessment of the PGA Tour Rookie of the Year award.
On 5th December 2010, PGA Tour announced the results of voting, which took place in California. According to the results, Rickie Fowler was awarded the title of PGA Tour Rookie of the Year. The voting took place on Saturday in
the clubhouse of Sherwood Country Club in which the PGA officials and golfers present on the venue were invited for the polls.
Rory McIlroy did not show negative sentiments against the results, in fact congratulated the fellow competitor. However, the European golf fraternity took the results very seriously and termed the entire voting system as biased. Initially,
Luke Donald raised this issue, but later Lee Westwood and Graeme McDowell too joined the stance put against the PGA Tour.
Lee Westwood conveyed his perspective through Twitter and charged PGA Tour of ‘protectionism.’ Meanwhile, McDowell gave an interview in a show at BBC and portrayed his stance.
The winner of Chevron World Challenge said, "You can't really compare Rickie Fowler's season to Rory's. Rory, what is he, 11th in the world now? He is one of the most talented players I have ever seen. To win Quail Hollow in the style he did, to be challenging
in major championships at the young age of 21 years old, I certainly think he was deserving of Rookie of the Year. But, at the end of the day it's just a title - it's nothing. Rory McIlroy will go on, I believe he will become one of the best players in the
world - if not the best player - and win major championships.”
The Northern Irishman further compared McIlroy and Fowler, while highlighting the fact that Rory deserved the title more than Rickie. According to the veteran, Fowler had only seven top-10 finishes in the current year, whereas, McIlroy,
finished tied for third at two majors namely, The Open and US PGA. Moreover, he won the Quail Hollow Championship and was part of the winning team at Ryder Cup.
Apart from taking sides, McDowell praised Westwood for his superb performance in the current year. He quoted, "He's had an incredible year. To do what he has done this year with the injury problems he had and the amount of time he's had off, to come back
and to be better than ever... he's the world number one golfer - enough said. He has been so impressive the last few years now, knocking on the door of major championships, winning tournaments all over the world. He's certainly deserving of world number one."
The Englishman and the Irish are among the 10 candidates selected for the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award. The Irish has already won the 2010 European Tour Golfer of the Year award alongside Martin Kaymer. McDowell was very excited about the awards
and said that he was looking forward for another title. The 31-year-old added that he grew up while watching the show and wanted to be a part of it ever since.
McDowell is eyeing another title after beating Tiger Woods in a play-off, seizing four titles, wining the Ryder Cup, and finishing second in the Race to Dubai.
On the contrary, Rory McIlroy was deprived of the title, despite of his brilliant performance throughout the year. The 21-year-old did not bother regarding the issue, but his European golf fraternity raised their voice in his favour. According to them,
Rickie Fowler did not deserve the title of the Rookie of the Year.
Europeans are ready to give lesson to the PGA Tour, but not a single defender from Fowler’s side has come forward. It seems like it is time to take sides.
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