Who will be Player of the Year and Rookie of the Season on the PGA Tour? The American circuit has revealed the names of the 3 players competing in the two categories. The nominees for PGA Tour Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year were announced on Monday, including The Open winner Cameron Smith vying for the Jack Nicklaus award.
Despite his recent stint on the competitive circuit, Smith will be competing with Rory McIlroy (FedEx Cup winner) and Scottie Scheffler (World No. 1 and Masters winner) for PGA Tour Player of the Year. Smith, who made his LIV Golf debut in Boston this weekend, is now suspended by the PGA Tour.
However, he can still win the Tour’s Player of the Year award, since the voters are his former PGA Tour colleagues.
Pga Tour, awards
To vote you must have played more than 15 FedEx Cup tournaments this season. Note that Rory McIlroy has won the Jack Nicklaus Award three times in the past, in 2012, 2014 and 2019.
Of the three players nominated for the title of Rookie of the Year, only one won. This is the South Korean meteorite Kim Joo-hyung alias Tom Kim, winner of the Wyndham Championship in early August, his ninth tournament on the PGA Tour!
If Sahith Theegala and Cam Young do not currently have any victory on the PGA Tour, they still made a thunderous debut on the American circuit. Young finished 19th in the FedEx Cup with a total of 4 runners-up when he failed a shot from Cam Smith in The Open at St Andrews.
Theegala distinguished himself at the start of the year with a 3rd place at the Phoenix Open. His best result is a 2nd place at the Travelers Championship in June and he also has a 5th place at the Memorial Tournament. Last year, Will Zalatoris won this award.
He had succeeded Scottie Scheffler best debutant of the year 2020. Rory uses an interlock grip for all of her shots. He has worked from a young age with various professional golfers including Darren Clarke, Nick Faldo, and Graeme McDowell.
The latter often does field tests with Rory on the tour. Rory was putted by Dave Stockton, a former PGA Tour player who works as a putt master. Initially he had Englishman Andrew “Chubby” Chandler as a teacher, a player on the European Tour who founded International Sports Management (ISM).
McIlroy left ISM in 2011, joining Dublin-based Horizon Sports Management. Michael Bannon has worked with Rory since October 2012.
