European Tour Members Padraig Harrington, Bernhard Langer and Andres Romero have all received awards from the US PGA Tour following their outstanding 2008 seasons.
Harrington and Langer were named Player of the Year by their fellow competitors on the PGA Tour and the Champions Tour, with Brendon de Jonge receiving the accolade for the Nationwide Tour. Langer was also named Rookie of the Year on the Champions Tour while Romero was named PGA Tour Rookie of the Year.
PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem said: “I know this award means so much to all three players because it is bestowed upon them by their peers. Congratulations to Padraig Harrington, Bernhard Langer and Brendon de Jonge for their outstanding accomplishments this season. They each provided memorable moments to our fans around the world, and I’m sure 2008 is a year they’ll never forget.”
Irishman Harrington became the first European to earn the PGA Tour Player of the Year Award after winning his second consecutive Open Championship and following it with victory in the US PGA Championship. The 37 year old is the fourth international player to be named PGA Tour Player of the Year since the award was instituted in 1990, joining Nick Price (1993-94), Greg Norman (1995) and Vijay Singh (2004). He is only the third player – after Mark O’Meara and Singh - to earn the honour since Tiger Woods won his first of nine in 1997.
Harrington was selected for Player of the Year over Kenny Perry, Vijay Singh, Camilo Villegas and Tiger Woods.
World Golf Hall of Fame member Langer is the third player in Champions Tour history to earn Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year honours in the same season, joining Lee Trevino (1990) and Bruce Fleisher (1999). The German became eligible for the Champions Tour on his 50th birthday in August 2007. After immediate Champions Tour success in 2007 with one win in five starts, Langer picked up right where he left off in his first full season on the Champions Tour in 2008, collecting three tournament trophies.
Langer’s three tournament wins came at the Toshiba Classic, Ginn Championship and Administaff Small Business Classic. The Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year awards cap off an impressive haul for Langer, who also collected the Arnold Palmer Award as the Champions Tour’s leading money winner and the Byron Nelson Award for the lowest scoring average on the Champions Tour.
Romero earned the Rookie of the Year award after winning the Zurich Classic of New Orleans and finishing 28th in the final FedExCup standings. The 27 year old Argentine also made the cut in all four Major Championships, one of just 11 players to do so in 2008, and posted top tens at the Masters Tournament (T8) and PGA Championship (T7).
