Who Is The Player Of The Year?

For all intents and purposes, the PGA Tour season is over, which means one thing--it's time to speculate on who should be awarded the title of Player of the Year. The four leading candidates are world number one Luke Donald, Webb Simpson, PGA Champion Keegan Bradley and FedExCup winner Bill Haas.

Before I tell you who I think earned the title, let's take a closer look at each player.

Luke Donald: In 18 starts on the PGA Tour, the Englishman racked up 15 top 25 finishes, including one win at the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship, two runner up finishes, two third place finishes and 13 top 10s. He also collected two wins on the European Tour at the BMW PGA Championship and the Barclays Scottish Open. Besides being ranked #1 in the Official World Golf Rankings, he currently sits atop the money list on the PGA Tour and the Race to Dubai and he was one stroke short of winning the FedExCup.

Webb Simpson: The North Carolina native had his break through in 2011 with two wins in three weeks at the Wyndham Championship and the Deutsche Bank Championship. In 21 appearances this season, Webb has 19 top 25s, 10 top 10s and two runner up finishes. Webb was also in contention for the FedExCup all the way until the finish Sunday at the Tour Championship. Had he put on a better showing at East Lake, he could have won the $10 million prize. Currently, Webb is a mere $69,000 behind Luke Donald on the PGA Tour money list so if he decides to play in one of the Fall Series events he could capture the title from the Englishman.

Keegan Bradley: The PGA Tour rookie is a virtual lock to win Rookie of the Year honors and his strong finish this season has catapulted him into the conversation of Player of the Year. The Vermont native won his first title at the HP Byron Nelson Championship and captured his second and first major at the PGA Championship, thus ending the American win less streak at the majors.

Bill Haas: Of the leading candidates for the Player of the Week honors, Bill is the latest to join the conversation by winning the Tour Championship and FedExCup Trophy last week in Atlanta. His strong performance and clutch shot out of a hazard on the second playoff hole earned him the final spot on the Presidents Cup team.

So there you have it. A breakdown of who the leading candidates are and their resume. To me, I agree with Jeff Rude that it's a no brainer decision--the Player of the Year is Luke Donald. Besides the fact I got to meet him at the Country Club of the South less than two weeks ago, he's played lights out in 2011. Yes, the fact he does have a major under his belt is a knock against him. But if you compare the year he's having there is nobody even close to him.

If Luke doesn't win, I'll be surprised.

[ comments ]

dartboss04 says:
i would think this is a tough decision...i would rule out bill because one hot tournament at the right time is not enough...and keegan because although he won twice, he doesn't appear to be as consistent as luke and webb...

i think luke is a no brainer as the world player of the year, but i think webb would need to be discussed for pga tour player of the year for his consistency...

9/30/11

mjaber says:
A better question... who cares?

9/30/11

dottomm says:
I'd give it to Webb, if not Luuuuuke. Give Rookie of the Year to Bradley. Not POY.

9/30/11

Kickntrue says:
I say give it to Tiger. He STILL produced more money (and pageviews) for the Tour and all of its players than anyone else! You could make a legitimate and fair case.

9/30/11

legitimatebeef says:
Remember 2008? Harrington won POY hands down over Tiger Woods, whose 2008 was one only of the most mind-boggling sensational seasons in the history of golf. Harrington had two major titles in an otherwise crappy campaign but it was enough to trump Woods's US Open, WGC matchplay, Bay Hill and Torrey Pines wins, a runner-up at the Masters--four wins in six starts. It seems that major titles are the be-all end-all of golf achievement and I recall Harrington winning the award hands down so by that same criteria, Keegan Bradley is your POY if we're going to be consistent about things.

9/30/11

Banker85 says:
Luke needs a major if he wants to be taken seriously. But he got my nod for POY.

10/1/11

EloraBlue says:
anybody but webb simpson

10/1/11

ncramsey83 says:
I was going to say Luke until I realized how short he is standing next to you. I agree with Andrew, Tiger is still the only truly relevant player on tour.

10/2/11

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