Tiger Woods has been confirmed as PGA Tour Player of the Year with Jordan Spieth as PGA Tour Rookie of the Year, as voted on by the TOUR’s membership for the 2013 season.
PGA Tour members who played in at least 12 official money events in 2013 were eligible to vote following the conclusion of the TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola. The balloting process ended on September 26.
“On behalf of the PGA Tour, my congratulations to Tiger and Jordan for their impressive performances in 2013,” said Commissioner Tim Finchem.
“Tiger’s five wins came against some of the strongest fields in golf including The Players and two World Golf Championships while Jordan’s rookie season was historic in terms of his accomplishments for a player just 20 years old. The member vote reflects the respect their peers have for both players.”
Tiger Woods
Tiger Woods named ‘Player of the Year’ for the 11th time in his career. (Photo – www.golffile.ie)
Woods, 37, was voted the PGA Tour Player of the Year for a record 11th time in his career. In 16 Tour starts, Woods won five times, the 10th time in his career he has compiled five or more victories. Woods’ victories included (in order) the Farmers Insurance Open, World Golf Championships-Cadillac Championship, Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard, THE PLAYERS Championship and World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational. He was the PGA TOUR Season leader in FedExCup points and finished second in the season-long FedExCup competition.
Woods also earned his 11th PGA of America Player of the Year Award, his ninth Vardon Trophy for Adjusted Scoring Average (68.985) awarded by the PGA of America and his 10th Arnold Palmer Award as the Tour’s leading official money winner ($8,553,439).
With 79 career victories, Woods enters the 2013-14 PGA TOUR Season three wins shy of Sam Snead’s all-time PGA TOUR record of 82.
Woods, who will receive the Jack Nicklaus Trophy as Player of the Year, was selected over Matt Kuchar, Phil Mickelson, Adam Scott and Henrik Stenson.
Jordan Spieth
Spieth, 20, who started the 2013 PGA TOUR Season with no PGA TOUR status after turning professional last fall, made history at the John Deere Classic where he became the youngest player (19 years, 11 months and 18 days) to win on the PGA TOUR since Ralph Guldahl (19 years, 8 months, 3 days) at the 1931 Santa Monica Open.
In 23 starts, Spieth tied Brandt Snedeker and Bill Haas for most top-10 finishes on TOUR with nine, including runner-up finishes at the Puerto Rico Open by seepuertorico.com, Wyndham Championship and the TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola. He finished seventh in the FedExCup and became the youngest player in TOUR Championship history at 20 years, 1 month and 26 days.
No. 810 in the Official World Golf Ranking after a missed cut at the Farmers Insurance Open in January in his first professional PGA TOUR start, Spieth is currently 21st in the OWGR.
On September 4, Spieth was named a Captain’s Pick by Fred Couples to the U.S. Presidents Cup Team. The Presidents Cup 2013 takes place next week at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio.
Spieth was voted PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year over Derek Ernst, Russell Henley and David Lingmerth.
Additional 2013 notes
The completion of the 2013 season at the TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola saw Henrik Stenson capture the FedExCup and Steve Stricker earn the Byron Nelson Award for Adjusted Scoring Average (68.945). Peter Jacobsen received the Payne Stewart Award, presented annually by Southern Company to a professional golfer who best exemplifies the values of character, charity and sportsmanship.
About PGA TOUR
The PGA TOUR is the world’s premier membership organization for touring professional golfers, co-sanctioning more than 100 tournaments on the PGA TOUR, Champions Tour, Web.com Tour, PGA TOUR Latinoamérica and PGA TOUR Canada.
The PGA TOUR’s mission is to entertain and inspire its fans, deliver substantial value to its partners, create outlets for volunteers to give back, generate significant charitable and economic impact in the communities in which it plays, and provide financial opportunities for TOUR players.
Worldwide, PGA TOUR tournaments are broadcast to nearly 945 million households in 225 countries and territories in 32 languages. Virtually all tournaments are organized as non-profit organizations in order to amaximize charitable giving. In 2012, tournaments across all Tours generated more than $122 million for local charitable organizations, bringing the TOUR’s all-time total of charitable contributions to more than $1.8 billion.
The PGA TOUR’s web site is PGATOUR.COM, the No. 1 site in golf, and the organization is headquartered in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.
