Jesper Svensson has been named the Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year for 2024, becoming the first Swede to win the DP World Tour’s prestigious award in nearly 30 years.
Svensson enjoyed a memorable debut season on the DP World Tour, claiming his breakthrough victory at the Porsche Singapore Classic and also recording three runner-up finishes. After graduating from the Challenge Tour in 2023, he ended his rookie campaign in tenth position on the Race to Dubai Rankings to earn dual membership on the PGA TOUR for the 2025 season.
The 28 year old follows former Ryder Cup players Per-Ulrik Johansson (1991) and Jarmo Sandelin (1995) as Swedish recipients of the award, which is decided by a panel comprising three members of the DP World Tour’s Tournament Committee and three DP World Tour Executives.
"I could not have dreamt of a better first season on the DP World Tour and I just feel very honoured to win this award," said Svensson.
"The win in Singapore was definitely the highlight of my season. The final day tying the course record and getting the victory after three play-off holes was certainly the highlight of my career so far.
"It has been an exhausting season in many ways, every week there are new courses and it takes a lot of energy getting to know every place, but it has been enjoyable, and that has been my main goal this season, to enjoy the journey and hopefully have some good results along the way."
Svensson, who is from Uppsala, finished fifth on the European Challenge Tour’s 2023 Road to Mallorca Rankings to secure a place on the DP World Tour. He hit the ground running, finishing runner-up finish at the Investec South African Open Championship in December in the Opening Swing.
A second runner-up finish followed at the Bahrain Championship presented by Bapco Energies in February, before he claimed his maiden victory the following month in Singapore in the Asian Swing, posting a course record 63 at Laguna National and then defeating DP World Tour winner Kiradech Aphibarnrat in a play-off.
His strong early-season form earned him an invitation to the 2024 US PGA Championship, and he made the cut on his Major Championship debut at Valhalla.
He recorded his third runner-up finish of the season at the D+D REAL Czech Masters in the Closing Swing and then began the Back 9 by finishing fifth a fortnight later at the Betfred British Masters hosted by Sir Nick Faldo.
He qualified for the DP World Tour Play-Offs and ended a memorable first season in a share of seventh place in his first appearance at the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai. That performance helped him secure tenth place on the final Race to Dubai Rankings and a share of the US$6million bonus pool.
It also earned him the fourth of ten PGA TOUR cards on offer via the Race to Dubai rankings.
Guy Kinnings, Chief Executive Officer of the DP World Tour, said: “On behalf of everyone at the DP World Tour, I would like to congratulate Jesper on becoming the third Swedish player to win the Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year Award.
“It is always particularly satisfying to see players progress from our Challenge Tour in Jesper’s case, it was impressive that he adapted so quickly, finishing runner up in just his second event and then winning within five months.
“Crucially, he also sustained that form throughout the season. To finish tenth on the Race to Dubai rankings, and earn dual membership on the PGA TOUR, in his first season after graduating from the Challenge Tour is a significant achievement and he is a very worthy winner of this prestigious award.”
David Howell, Chairman of the Tournament Committee, said: “Jesper made a seamless transition from the Challenge Tour to the DP World Tour, showing an impressive level of consistency throughout his rookie season.
“Not only did he win and finish runner up on three occasions, but he made 21 cuts from 28 starts when playing a new, global schedule for the first time.
“He is therefore a thoroughly deserving recipient of the Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year Award and we look forward to seeing how his career progresses in the years ahead.”
Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year Winners
1960 Tommy Goodwin (ENG)
1961 Alex Caygill (ENG)
1963 Tony Jacklin (ENG)
1966 Robin Liddle (SCO)
1968 Bernard Gallacher (SCO)
1969 Peter Oosterhuis (ENG)
1970 Stuart Brown (ENG)
1971 David Llewellyn (WAL)
1972 Sam Torrance (SCO)
1973 Philip Elson (ENG)
1974 Carl Mason (ENG)
1976 Mark James (ENG)
1977 Sir Nick Faldo (ENG)
1978 Sandy Lyle (SCO)
1979 Mike Miller (SCO)
1980 Paul Hoad (ENG)
1981 Jeremy Bennett (ENG)
1982 Gordon Brand Jnr. (SCO)
1983 Grant Turner (ENG)
1984 Philip Parkin (WAL)
1985 Paul Thomas (WAL)
1986 José María Olazábal (ESP)
1987 Peter Baker (ENG)
1988 Colin Montgomerie (SCO)
1989 Paul Broadhurst (ENG)
1990 Russell Claydon (ENG)
1991 Per-Ulrik Johansson (SWE)
1992 Jim Payne (ENG)
1993 Gary Orr (SCO)
1994 Jonathan Lomas (ENG)
1995 Jarmo Sandelin (SWE)
1996 Thomas Björn (DEN)
1997 Scott Henderson (SCO)
1998 Olivier Edmond (FRA)
1999 Sergio Garcia (ESP)
2000 Ian Poulter (ENG)
2001 Paul Casey (ENG)
2002 Nick Dougherty (ENG)
2003 Peter Lawrie (IRL)
2004 Scott Drummond (SCO)
2005 Gonzalo Fernandez-Castaño (ESP)
2006 Marc Warren (SCO)
2007 Martin Kaymer (GER)
2008 Pablo Larrazábal (ESP)
2009 Chris Wood (ENG)
2010 Matteo Manassero (ITA)
2011 Tom Lewis (ENG)
2012 Ricardo Santos (POR)
2013 Peter Uihlein (USA)
2014 Brooks Koepka (USA)
2015 Byeong Hun An (KOR)
2016 Jeunghun Wang (KOR)
2017 Jon Rahm (ESP)
2018 Shubhankar Sharma (IND)
2019 Robert MacIntyre (SCO)
2020 Sami Välimäki (FIN)
2021 Matti Schmid (GER)
2022 Thriston Lawrence (RSA)
2023 Ryo Hisatsune (JPN)
2024 Jesper Svensson (SWE)
