Donald is PGA Tour POY

elleinsmith Mon Dec 19, 2011 5:10 pm

Already No. 1 in the world, Luke Donald now is No. 1 in the eyes of PGA Tour players.

Donald capped off a sensational season Tuesday by winning PGA Tour Player of the Year, the most significant of the postseason awards because it’s a vote of the players.Callaway RAZR X Irons

He became the first British player to win the award since it began in 1990.

“It’s a great honor to cap off what has been an amazing year for me,” Donald said from the Australian Masters in Melbourne. “Thank you to all the players for their votes. There (were) obviously some other worthy people to vote for, and I guess my overall consistency and having to go to Disney and win, and win the money list like I did, was a deciding factor.

“I feel very honored at the moment.”

Bradley, whose two wins included the PGA Championship, was voted Rookie of the Year.

It was only the fifth time in the last two decades that the PGA Tour Player of the Year did not win a major. Even so, Donald made a compelling case, especially at the end of the year.Ping K15 Irons

He won two tournaments, as much as anyone else this year. He won the Vardon Trophy for the lowest adjusted scoring average. He had top-10s in 14 of the 19 tournaments he played, a rate of consistency only Tiger Woods has known in this era.

But it still came down to the end of the year.

Simpson won twice in the last three months of the season, and entered the McGladrey Classic to try to capture the money title. He took over the lead with his runner-up finish, and Donald decided to enter the season finale at Disney.

He achieved all this with moderate length off the tee, demonstrating that while power helps, it’s not the only way in Ping G20 Driver.

“I’ve done a lot of things this year that probably not a lot of people would have given me much chance of doing,” Donald said. “I think in the last 10 or 20 years, the power game has really taken control of golf. But I think I’ve been a little bit of a breath of fresh air knowing that’s not the only way you can be successful. Through a good short game, good putting, managing your game, you can be successful in other ways.

“I think I’ve proven that quite considerably this year.”