Rory McIlroy, who tees up in the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in Scotland this week as he continues his quest to win the Race to Dubai on The European Tour, has been named as the PGA Tour Player of the Year for the second time in three years.
The World Number One receives the Jack Nicklaus Award after being voted PGA Tour Player of the Year by the PGA Tour’s Membership.
McIlroy, now 25, became the youngest player to earn the award since Tiger Woods in 1999 when he first claimed the honour in 2012. McIlroy becomes only the fourth player to receive the honour multiple times, joining 11-time winner Tiger Woods and two-time winners Greg Norman and Nick Price, since the first PGA Tour Player of the Year Award in 1990.
McIlroy won three times on the PGA Tour this season, doing so in impressive fashion by winning in consecutive starts at The Open Championship, World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational and US PGA Championship – with the latter representing his fourth Major Championship. He became the first player since Padraig Harrington (2008) with wins in back-to-back major championships.
Following his victory at the Bridgestone Invitational, McIlroy regained the number one spot in the Official World Golf Ranking and has held the top position ever since.
A model of consistency throughout the season, McIlroy led the PGA Tour’s top-ten finishes with 12 and failed to finish outside the top 25 in any of his 17 PGA Tour starts. In addition to his three wins, he also added runner-up finishes at The Honda Classic and TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola, with his second-place finish at East Lake leading to a third-place finish in the FedExCup.
McIlroy also earned the Arnold Palmer Award as the PGA Tour’s leading official money winner ($8,280,096). He also was the winner of the Byron Nelson Award for adjusted scoring average (68.83).
"It's a very important honour for players to be voted Player of the Year by your peers," said McIlroy. "They're the guys that you're trying to beat week in, week out, and the guys see you put the hard work in. To know that they appreciate what you've put into it and how well you've played, it's a great honour and a great honor to win twice in the space of three years. Hopefully I can win it for many more years to come."
Looking back on his US PGA Tour season, McIlroy said: “I think Honda was a big point for me just to get myself in the mix again at a PGA Tour event and nearly pull off the win. I didn't quite play well enough on Sunday, but that gave me a lot of belief going forward that I could play well this season.
“I think the catalyst for this year probably wasn't even on the PGA Tour, it was probably back on The European Tour in Wentworth when I won there. To get that first win of the season is always important, and then to go on from there gave me the confidence going into the summer, and obviously I had a great stretch in the summer. It's been an incredible run, and I’m just trying to keep it going as long as I can.”
The Northern Irishman is one of three Europeans to earn the Jack Nicklaus Award, joining England’s Luke Donald (2011) and Ireland’s Padraig Harrington (2008).
McIlroy was selected over Billy Horschel, Martin Kaymer, Jimmy Walker and Bubba Watson.
Meanwhile, Chesson Hadley was voted as PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year ahead of Frenchman Victor Dubuisson, who burst onto the world scene this year with outstanding performances in the WGC – Accenture Match Play and The Ryder Cup among them, and Brooks Koepka, who won three times on the Challenge Tour last year.
Hadley, 27, won the Puerto Rico Open presented by seepuertorico.com, firing four rounds in the 60s for a two-stroke victory over Danny Lee. In addition to his win in Puerto Rico, Hadley added top-10 finishes at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open (T5), Deutsche Bank Championship (T9) and AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am (T10.)
“My congratulations to Rory and Chesson for their outstanding accomplishments that earned them season-ending honors from their peers” said PGA TOUR Commissioner, Tim Finchem. “Both players earned their awards with their consistent and steady play throughout the season.”
