Collin Morikawa, Nelly Korda and Phil Mickelson were named respective winners of the 2021 player of the year awards by the Golf Writers Association of America.
Morikawa, who turns 25 on Feb. 6, was voted male player of the year for the first time. Korda, 23, earned female player of the year honors for the first time. Mickelson, 51, who has never won the GWAA’s male player of the year award, was voted senior player of the year for the first time.
Morikawa, ranked second in the Official World Golf Ranking to Spain’s Jon Rahm, received 48 percent of the vote to 37 percent for runner-up Rahm.
Morikawa won twice in a 2021 season highlighted by his victory in the Open Championship at Royal St. George’s, where he shot 67-64-68-66 and edged runner-up Jordan Spieth by two shots. He also won the WGC-Workday Championship at The Concession.
Morikawa tied for fourth at the U.S. Open, tied for eighth as defending champion at the PGA Championship and lost in a bronze-medal playoff at the Olympics in Japan. He led the PGA Tour in greens in regulation (79.17 percent) and capped the season by going 3-0-1 in the Ryder Cup, helping the United States to a 19-9 victory against Team Europe at Whistling Straits.
“It is an incredible honor to be named by the Golf Writers Association of America as their male player of the year for 2021,†Morikawa said. “I have a deep appreciation for the journalists dedicated to promoting our great game, and to be recognized amongst the names of past winners is humbling.â€
Korda won four times on the LPGA Tour and added six more top-10 finishes. Her victories came in the Pelican Women’s Championship, the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, the Meijer LPGA Classic and the Gainbridge LPGA.
Mickelson, who became the oldest player to win a major at the PGA Championship at Kiawah Island in May, won four of six starts on PGA Tour Champions in 2020-21.
The USGA, Masters Tournament and PGA of America announced that registration for 2022-2023 Drive, Chip and Putt qualifying is open on DriveChipandPutt.com.
Local qualifying begins in May at more than 350 sites nationally – the most in the event’s eight-year history – and will continue throughout the summer. Entrants will play in girls’ and boys’ divisions in four age categories, with scoring centered around skill development in driving, chipping and putting. Online registration makes it easy for parents to sign up their golfer and find a local qualifier near them.
Top performers advance through subregional and regional qualifiers, in July/August and September/October, respectively. The list of 10 regional host sites includes Scioto Country Club, TPC Boston, Castle Pines Golf Club, Oak Hill Country Club, Pebble Beach Golf Links, Desert Mountain Club, Medinah Country Club, Champions Golf Club, the Bear’s Club and Quail Hollow Club.
From the qualifiers, 80 finalists – 40 boys and 40 girls – will earn an invitation to compete in the National Finals at Augusta National Golf Club on April 2, the eve of the 2023 Masters.
Streamsong Resort in Florida announced the addition of a fourth golf course to its facility, which will be designed by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw.
The new course has early routings that incorporate a six- and 12-hole loop as well as a large putting course.
The layout will be designed as a walking course where a full set of clubs will not be required. The concept includes a lack of specified tee markers or a score relative to par. Holes will range from 70 to nearly 300 yards.
TAP-INS
The DP World Tour and Sky Sports extended their broadcast partnership through the 2024 season (READ MORE). … The LPGA’s board of directors chose Michele Meyer-Shipp as an independent director and selected Ally Ewing and Stacy Lewis as player directors (READ MORE) …
Staff and Wire Reports
