GOLF:THE ACCOLADES just keep on rolling in for Graeme McDowell, who was named the 2010 Player of the Year by the Golf Writers Association of America (GWAA).
The US Open champion won the main men’s category with Yani Tseng receiving the women’s award and veteran Bernhard Langer picking up the senior player of the year award. All three recipients will be honoured at the GWAA Annual Dinner Awards at Augusta on Wednesday, April 6th on the eve of the US Masters.
McDowell became the first European to win the US Open in 40 years and his maiden major success at Pebble Beach was one of four wins during the season. He also won the decisive match for Europe at the Ryder Cup in Wales.
The 31-year-old recently picked up the Golf Writers Trophy (a vote of the Association of Golf Writers) and shared the European Tour player of the year honours with US PGA Champion and Ryder Cup team-mate Martin Kaymer.
The Portrush professional is the second Irish player to win the GWAA award in the last three years after Pádraig Harrington won in 2008.
In Tseng’s case she won two LPGA majors – the Kraft Nabisco Championship and Women’s British Open – in her three-win season. She had eight top-10 finishes, was fourth on the money list and was the LPGA’s player of the year.
The evergreen Langer won back-to-back majors – Senior British Open at Carnoustie and US Senior Open at Sahalee – and won five times on the Champions Tour. He led the money list, captured the season-long Charles Schwab Cup and won his third consecutive Champions Tour player of the year award.
In a close vote, McDowell received 43 per cent (87 votes) compared to 32 per cent for Jim Furyk (61) and 25 per cent for Martin Kaymer (51). Tseng received 69 per cent support (137 votes), while Cristie Kerr got 16 per cent (32) and Ai Miyazato had 15 per cent (31).
Langer was the outstanding candidate with a massive 94 per cent support (187 votes) for the senior award, compared to six per cent (13) for Fred Couples.
