It’s officially award season now that the PGA Tour wrapped up the Tour Championship on Sunday at East Lake, and the Tour recently released the finalists for two of its biggest awards: Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year.
Patrick Cantlay, Bryson DeChambeau, Harris English, Collin Morikawa and Jon Rahm are the finalists for Player of the Year, while Garrick Higgo and Will Zalatoris are the finalists for Rookie of the Year.
Cantlay, coming off his Tour Championship victory, won four times last season, including twice in the Playoffs, and was the FedEx Cup champion. DeChambeau, English and Morikawa all won twice last year (DeChambeau’s 2020 U.S. Open win from last September is credited toward the 2020-21 season). Morikawa, winner of the 2021 Open Championship, was the only one of those three to win a major in 2021. Rahm won once last season, the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines, but also led the Tour in scoring average and top 10s (15). Rahm also finished in the top 10 in all four majors in 2021.
As for Rookie of the Year, Higgo, 22, won the Palmetto Championship at Congaree, which was one of just eight starts he had on Tour. Zalatrois, 25, didn’t have a victory, but he recorded eight top 10s and a runner-up at the 2021 Masters. Zalatoris was a Special Temporary Member last year but earned full-time Tour status for next season.
The PGA Tour Player of the Year Award (the Jack Nicklaus Award) and the PGA Tour Rookie of the Year Award (the Arnold Palmer Award) are determined by a member vote. Voting closes this Friday and winners will be announced at a later date.
Dustin Johnson won the Player of the Year Award last season, and Scottie Scheffler was the Rookie of the Year.
