Rory McIlroy has been pipped for the prestigious Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year Award by Spain's Pablo Larrazabal
Larrazabal, 25, who succeeds last year's winner Martin Kaymer of Germany, becomes the fourth Spaniard to receive the award, following José Maria Olazábal in 1986, Sergio Garcia in 1999 and Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano in 2005.
Like that illustrious trio, Larrazabal also claimed his maiden European Tour title in his first full season, when he won the French Open back in June.
That victory was made all the more remarkable by the fact that he earned his place in the tournament through the 36-hole pre-qualifying event held in Chantilly the previous week.
Larrazabal said: "It's an amazing honour to be named the Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year, because there are so many great young players on Tour today. If you look at some of the players who have won the award in the past, you get an idea of how big an honour this is.
"You only have to look at last year's winner, Martin Kaymer, to see how successful you can go on to be after winning the award. Martin is a great example to me because he has had an unbelievable second season, and that is what I have to aim to do in 2009."
The €666,660 cheque Larrazabal collected for winning in France accounted for more than half the €960,858 he earned in 2008, which saw him finish in 18th place in the Order of Merit.
McIlroy, 19, missed out on his chance to claim a win in his rookie season when losing a play-off to France's Jean-Francois Lucquin at the Omega European Masters in Crans-sur-Sierre.
The Holywood player would still pick up €222,220 for his efforts and finished the year in 36th spot in the Order of Merit with winnings of €696,335, He is just €26,410 short of topping the million euro mark after little more than a year as a professional.
The other contenders for the award were the English duo of Robert Dinwiddie and Ross McGowan that was inaugurated back in 1960.
Peter Lawrie is the only Irish golfer to pick up the Rookie of the Year award, which he won back in 2003.
