Why Rory McIlroy Will Not Win PGA TOUR Player of The Year
As the PGA TOUR season winds down and the FedEx Cup Playoffs are at the halfway point, the topic of Player of the Year has come up in several articles I’ve read across the blogosphere. As is the case with most well written articles, comments followed the articles by (people sitting in front of their computer with internet access) only the most knowledgeable golf fans. Pardon my sarcasm.
(McIlory injured his wrist during the PGA Championship. Photo: Yahoo! Sports)
Before I go into why Rory McIlory will not be named PGA TOUR Player of the Year, I want it to be perfectly clear I have nothing against McIlroy. I’ve enjoyed watching him play this season and it was unfortunate to seem him injured recently at the PGA Championship. As a former hockey player, I give him credit for taping up his wrist and finish the tournament.
It’s not that McIlroy doesn’t have the 2011 stats to warrant a nomination for POTY, he has had a good season. I don’t think it’s Player of the Year material but for starters he won the U.S. Open in tremendous fashion shattering several records that I may not see broken in my lifetime. He should have won The Masters and He played very well at the Bridgestone Invitational. He managed to make the cut at the PGA Championship when some other big names faltered but this has very little to why he won’t win the PGA TOUR’s Player of The Year Award. The reason is simple. He’s not eligible. How quickly some of us forget the beginning of the 2011 season when Lee Westwood and Rory McIlroy made headlines by letting everyone know they would not be taking their PGA TOUR cards. What is one of the biggest eligibility requirements to win PGA TOUR Player of the Year? You guessed it, you have to be part of the PGA TOUR.
Perhaps in the future the talks of PGA TOUR Player of the Year will encourage players to stay on as members of The TOUR, especially if someone has a career year and isn’t a part of it. McIlroy has already hinted he may return to the TOUR in 20102 but for now I hope this article helps clear up any misunderstanding for golf fans. If you're not on the PGA TOUR, you can't be named PGA TOUR Player of the Year. Now we can all focus our attention on Webb Simpson, who we could see named PGA TOUR Player of the Year.
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