Golf Magazine's Alan Bastable will be online at 1 p.m. ET to discuss Rory McIlroy's selection for Player of the Year. If you have a question or comment for Alan, leave it in our CoverItLive blog below.
Golf Magazine names its second annual Player of the Year in the December issue. We've made our pick, which we'll announce on Tuesday, and now we want to know what you think. Tell us your choice on our Facebook page. Here are the candidates.
BUBBA WATSON
The Case for Bubba:
Hit the shot of the decade -- and maybe the shot of the century -- to win the Masters in a playoff against Louis Oosthuizen. Became golf's new folk hero after winning the green jacket. Bought the General Lee from "The Dukes of Hazzard" at auction for $110,000. One major win, two second-place finishes and seven top 10s.
Stats For: First in driving distance, and second in greens in regulation
The Case Against Bubba:
Skipped Players Championship and took time off after winning Masters to care for his new adopted son. Missed cut at U.S. Open after shooting nine over.
Stats Against: 158th in strokes gained (putting), 132nd in driving accuracy
Official World Golf Ranking: 8
PGA Tour Money List: $4,644,997 (fifth)
2012 Wins:
The Masters
2012 Majors:
The Masters: Win
U.S. Open: Missed Cut
British Open: T23
PGA Championship: T11
Video Highlight:
RORY MCILROY
The Case for McIlroy: Four wins, including PGA Championship. Seized No. 1 ranking. After oversleeping and almost missing his tee time, McIlroy beat Keegan Bradley in Ryder Cup singles, which helped spark Europe's historic comeback.
Stats For: First in scoring average, first in birdie average, fifth in driving distance
The Case Against McIlroy: Slumped in midseason, when he missed three cuts, including the Players Championship and the U.S. Open, and finished T60 at the British Open.
Stats Against: 155th in driving accuracy, 80th in strokes gained (putting)
Official World Golf Ranking: 1
PGA Tour Money List: $8,047,952 (first)
2012 Wins:
Honda Classic, PGA Championship, Deutsche Bank Championship, BMW Championship
2012 Majors:
The Masters: T40
U.S. Open: Missed Cut
British Open: T60
PGA Championship: Win
Video Highlight:
TIGER WOODS
The Case for Woods: Three wins and a runner-up for shot of the year with his chip-in on Sunday at the Memorial, which Jack Nicklaus called the best shot he's ever seen under the circumstances. Shot 62 in the final round of the Honda Classic (where he finished second to McIlroy)
Stats For: Second in scoring average, fourth in birdie average, fifth in total driving
The Case Against Woods: Couldn't get it done in the majors. Woods led the U.S. Open after two rounds only to finish T21, and he shot three-over on the final day of the British Open to finish T3. Didn't win again after the AT&T National on July 1.
Stats Against: 134th in greens in regulation from 75-100 yards
Official World Golf Ranking: 2
PGA Tour Money List: $6,133,158 (second)
2012 Wins:
Arnold Palmer Invitational, Memorial Tournament, AT&T National
2012 Majors:
The Masters: T40
U.S. Open: T21
British Open: T3
PGA Championship: T11
Video Highlight:
(All Photos: AP)
Alan Bastable, senior editor for Golf Magazine, answered your questions about Golf Magazine naming U.S. Open champion Rory McIlroy its Player of the Year.
When we posted our choices for Golf Magazine’s Player of the Year on Golf Magazine’s Facebook poll, we thought it would be the most contested vote since Jennifer Hudson got booted from “American Idol.” Luke Donald was Mr. Consistency; Keegan Bradley had the ultimate breakout year; Rory McIlroy made big statements on the biggest stages; and Yani Tseng notched a Tiger-like 11 wins.
Instead, our horserace turned into a rout, with Yani Tseng getting more than 95 percent of the online vote. Congratulations, Yani. We can’t wait to see what you’ll do in 2012.
VOTES (through noon Eastern time, Monday Oct. 31)
1. Yani Tseng: 95.7 percent (5,136 votes)
2. Luke Donald: 2.9 percent (155 votes)
3. Rory McIlroy: 1 percent (50 votes)
4. Keegan Bradley: 0.4 percent (25 votes)
Here are some of your comments:
James Wu Yani Tseng: Long fairway and nice character golfer. I wish you have many years to run on top of LPGA.
Luke Chou Yani Tseng: She is Queen and there is no King.
Bill Hogan Yani Tseng: There is no contest ... Yani Tseng is the player of the year by a longshot.
Eduardo B. Cu Unjieng Luke Donald: Golf has gone global. (Pause to let this sink in for US readers.) Luke's money title for the European and US tours makes him world player of the year hands down!
Pierluigi Fracasso Rory McIlroy: One major and "half"...no doubt!
John Ivanitz Keegan Bradley: Good luck Keegan and stop whining Luke!
Xiaoming Chen Yani Tseng: Not Tiger for sure.
Golf Magazine will announce its 2011 Player of the Year on Golf.com on Nov. 1.
Golf Magazine will announce the winner of its first-ever Player of the Year Award in the December issue. We’ve made our pick –- now, we want to know what you think. Tell us your choice for Golf Magazine Player of the Year on our Facebook page. All this week, we will profile the candidates for Player of the Year, and we will announce our pick Nov. 1 on Golf.com.
Three weeks ago, PGA Tour money list leader Luke Donald learned that Webb Simpson was going to play in the McGladrey Classic in hopes of passing Donald on the list. For Donald, there was no option: He was going to play the week after at Disney World, the final tournament that qualifies for the 2011 money list. Simpson went to Sea Island and lost in a playoff, but the prize money was enough to surpass Donald by over $300,000. How did Donald respond? He went to Disney and he won, of course, in dramatic fashion, coming from four strokes back with nine to play to win the tournament, the Vardon Trophy (lowest scoring average) and the PGA Tour money title.
Disney was an exclamation point on what’s been a breakthrough year for the 33-year-old. He won the Accenture Match Play Championship in February, beating then-No. 1 Martin Kaymer. He then took the No. 1 spot for himself in May, when he beat Lee Westwood in a playoff at the European PGA Championship, the European Tour’s signature event. He also won the rain-shortened Barclays Scottish Open on the European Tour, and he has a great chance to become the first player to win the money list on both tours.
What’s next for Donald? There’s only one mountain left to climb and the smart money will be on him at Augusta next April.
Official World Golf Ranking: 1
Wins:
Accenture Match Play Championship, February 2011
European PGA Championship, May 2011
Barclays Scottish Open, June 2011
Children’s Miracle Network Classic, October 2011
Major Record:
Masters: T4
U.S. Open: T45
British Open: CUT
PGA Championship: T8
Video Highlights:
Luke Donald at Disney
Luke Donald at Accenture Match Play Championship
To vote for Luke Donald as Golf Magazine 2011 Player of the Year, visit our Facebook page here.
Golf Magazine Player of the Year Candidate Profiles:
Wednesday, Oct. 26: Keegan Bradley
Thursday, Oct. 27: Rory McIlroy
Friday, Oct. 28: Luke Donald
Golf Magazine will announce the winner of its first-ever Player of the Year Award in the December issue. We’ve made our pick –- now, we want to know what you think. Tell us your choice for Golf Magazine Player of the Year on our Facebook page. All this week, we will profile the candidates for Player of the Year, and we will announce our pick Nov. 1 on Golf.com.
A lot of young players are anointed the "Next Big Thing," but there was something different about Rory McIlroy from the beginning. Most young players get accolades from their fans, the media or their coaches. When McIlroy played the Masters and U.S. Open in 2009, it was his fellow players who gushed about his talent. (He finished T20 at the ’09 Masters and T10 at the ’09 U.S. Open).
McIlroy made his bones in 2010 with a spectacular win at Quail Hollow that included a final-round 62 and clutch play at the Ryder Cup.
In 2011, McIlroy took himself to the next level with a historic, eight-stroke victory at the U.S. Open. His 16-under-par 268 was the lowest score in Open history. What made this win even sweeter was the win at Congressional came just two months after McIlroy collapsed at the Masters, shooting 80 in the final round after having the 54-hole lead, but winning fans over with his grace and good humor afterward.
"I just think from the incredible low of Augusta to the incredible high of Congressional and everything that's happened since, that it's probably going to be the defining year of my career," McIlroy said in September.
Ditto.
Official World Golf Ranking: 3
Wins:
U.S. Open, June 2011
Major Record:
Masters: T15
U.S. Open: Win
British Open: T25
PGA Championship: T64
Video Highlights:
Rory McIlroy on his U.S. Open win
Rory McIlroy Interview
To vote for Rory McIlroy as Golf Magazine 2011 Player of the Year, visit our Facebook page here.
Golf Magazine Player of the Year Candidate Profiles:
Wednesday, Oct. 26: Keegan Bradley
Thursday, Oct. 27: Rory McIlroy
Friday, Oct. 28: Luke Donald
[Photo Credit: Allan Henry-US PRESSWIRE]
Golf Magazine will announce the winner of its first-ever Player of the Year Award in the December issue. We’ve made our pick –- now, we want to know what you think. Tell us your choice for Golf Magazine Player of the Year on our Facebook page. All this week, we will profile the candidates for Player of the Year, and we will announce our pick Nov. 1 on Golf.com.
Candidate No. 2: Keegan Bradley
In 2011, Keegan Bradley had the biggest breakout year since Andy Dufresne left Shawshank State Penitentiary. A product of St. John’s University in Queens, N.Y., and a die-hard Red Sox fan from suburban Boston, Bradley, 25, joined the PGA Tour in 2011 after a successful 2010 season on the Nationwide Tour.
Bradley got off to a good start, making the cut at his first event (the Sony) and then finishing tied for seventh at the Bob Hope. We got the first glimpse of his steely nerves at the HP Byron Nelson Championship in May, when he beat Ryan Palmer in a playoff. A few months later, he ended the United States’ almost two-year drought at the majors with a gutsy playoff win at the PGA Championship, in another playoff.
All this wasn't enough to get Bradley a captain's pick on Fred Couples' U.S. Presidents Cup team. Couples tapped $10-million-dollar man Bill Haas and struggling Tiger Woods for the team instead. Australia's Geoff Ogilvy spoke for many at a Presidents Cup news conference in October when he said Bradley should be on the team:
Keegan Bradley is the obvious one. He’s won two tournaments this year, one of them being a major, and he hasn’t made the team, which is astonishing really that you can do that in a year and not make the team.
I’m not going to stand up and say Tiger is a horrible pick, but I’m going to say it’s very disappointing that Keegan Bradley doesn’t get to play. That’s where I’m at with it.
Official World Golf Ranking: 28
2011 Wins:
HP Byron Nelson Championship, May 2011
PGA Championship: August 2011
Major Record:
Masters: DNP
U.S. Open: DNP
British Open: DNP
PGA Championship: Win
Video Highlights:
Bradley wins PGA Championship (interview)
Bradley wins HP Byron Nelson Championship (interview)
Bradley throws first pitch at Red Sox game
To vote for Keegan Bradley as Golf Magazine 2011 Player of the Year, visit our Facebook page here.
Golf Magazine Player of the Year Candidate Profiles
Wednesday, Oct. 26: Keegan Bradley
Thursday, Oct. 27: Rory McIlroy
Friday, Oct. 28: Luke Donald
[Photo credit: REUTERS/Jeff Hayne]
Golf Magazine will announce the winner of its first-ever Player of the Year Award in the December issue. We’ve made our pick –- now, we want to know what you think. Tell us your choice for Golf Magazine Player of the Year on our Facebook page. All this week, we will profile the candidates for Player of the Year, and we will announce our pick Nov. 1 on Golf.com.
Candidate No. 1: Yani Tseng
Yani Tseng had a season for the ages in 2011. In just her fourth season on tour, the 22-year-old Tseng seized the No. 1 rating in March after winning three early pro events, including the LPGA Tour opening Honda LPGA Thailand in February (with her mom caddying).
She was just getting started. Tseng went on to win seven LPGA events in 2011, including two majors (the Wegman’s LPGA Championship and the Women’s British Open), and became the youngest player –- man or woman –- to win five majors.
She lives in Annika’s old house at Lake Nona in Orlando, but we think she might need a bigger trophy room.
ROLEX WOMEN'S WORLD RANKING: 1
2011 LPGA Wins:
Honda LPGA Thailand, February 2011
LPGA State Farm Classic, June 2011
Wegman’s LPGA Championship, June 2011
RICOH British Open, July 2011
Wal-Mart NW Arkansas Championship, September 2011
LPGA Hana Bank Championship, October 2011
Sunrise LPGA Taiwan Championship, October 2011
Major Record:
Kraft Nabisco Championship: 2nd
LPGA Championship: Win
U.S. Women’s Open: T15th
Women’s British Open: Win
Video Highlights:
Tseng wins Wegman’s LPGA Championship:
Tseng wins RICOH British Open (interview):
Tseng hits to within 1-foot on par 3 17th in final round of LPGA State Farm Classic:
Tseng wins Honda LPGA Thailand (highlights)
To vote for Yani Tseng as Golf Magazine 2011 Player of the Year, visit our Facebook page here.
Tuesday, Oct. 25: Yani Tseng
Wednesday, Oct. 26: Keegan Bradley
Thursday, Oct. 27: Rory McIlroy
Friday, Oct. 28: Luke Donald
[Photo credit: REUTERS]
