Posted on 12/17/2008 6:09:33 AM PST by Zuben Elgenubi
HOUSTON -- Padraig Harrington, Lorena Ochoa and Jay Haas have been named 2008 Players of the Year by the Golf Writers Association of America. All three players will be honored at the GWAA's Annual Awards Dinner April 8, 2009 in Augusta, Ga.
This is Harrington's first GWAA Player of the Year award and ends a streak of three in row for Tiger Woods. Woods, who has been sidelined since undergoing knee surgery following his U.S. Open win in June, had won the Player of the Year award nine of the last 11 years. It is the third consecutive award for both Ochoa and Haas.
Harrington received 184 votes to 58 for Woods and five for Vijay Singh. Ochoa received 232 votes to Paula Creamer's 13. Yani Tseng received three votes. Haas' margin in the Senior Player of the Year was the narrowest. He received 115 votes to 79 for Bernhard Langer. Eduardo Romero was third with 50 votes.
Harrington successfully defended his British Open title then followed up his win at Royal Birkdale with a victory at the PGA Championship. The 37-year-old Irishman became the first European to win successive majors in the same season and the fifth player in the last two decades to win two majors in a year. He finished eighth on the PGA Tour money list.
Ochoa followed up two impressive seasons with seven wins and her second consecutive major at the Kraft Nabisco Championship. She led the LPGA in scoring for the third consecutive year and led the money list with $2.763 million. Creamer was second with $1.823 million.
Haas is the first player to win the award three consecutive times. Hale Irwin won three Player of the Year awards, but only two in a row (1997-98). Haas won two tournaments, including the Senior PGA Championship, and won the Charles Schwab Cup. He finished second on the money list to Langer. Haas was honored with both the ASAPSPORTS/Jim Murray Award and the Bob Jones Award in 2005.
The GWAA, founded in 1946, takes an active role in protecting the interests of all golf journalists, works closely with all of golf's major governing bodies and the World Golf Hall of Fame and facilitates a scholarship/internship program which is currently helping students at 17 major U.S. universities.
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Padraig is a gentleman and one helluva pressure player. Hats off to the Irishman.
An tUachtarán, an tOllamh John Hughes in éindí le Padraig Harrington agus Paul McGinley a mbronnadh na Céimeanna Dochtúireachta Oinigh orthu.
[tried Babelfish for the translation but no Gaelic listed]
I really like Paddy Harrington - the fact that he detests The Pest only endears him further.
It would be disappointing to see tiger at the very least condone this lifestyle although he does display a very salty language on the course.
OUCH!
Ahh... those gentlemanly beer drinking golf fans ;D!
Oh my. I was aware of Williams’ comment regarding Phil and Tiger’s response to Steve’s comments but this is the first I’ve heard of the gallery comment. Good Lord how crude. I wonder if the fan had the courage to state something that crude to a hung-over John Daly. He’d no doubt plant a 5-iron in the razzer’s forehead.
I don't think so. Williams married Kirsty Miller in April 2006, after the Masters, and Tiger was the best man at the wedding.
I imagine JD’s first response to a “nice tits” comment would be “where, where!”, then comes the 5-iron after realizing the remark was for him.
You know, that photo of the scholar above. . . I can't read the Gaelic but I wonder if there's Jamieson's in those cannisters . . .
I agree. Stevie needs to zip it and just carry the bag, speak when spoken to by Tiger. Tiger is the story. It is rumored that Fluff was shown the gate in ‘99 because he couldn’t say “no comment” when cornered by the media.
If anything ever deserved an asterisk this is it.
Kind of like those Houston Rockets championships when Jordan sat out those two years.
Stevie Williams is a punk and spolied brat. The classic gravy trainer riding on Tiger’s successful coattails. The auto mechanic spokesman ought to keep his mouth shut, carry his bag and help him get back into playing shape. Nothing more.
Phil handled himself with class and dignity. I exxpected nothing less.
Paddy had a great year and is most deserving of Player of the Year Award.
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