Tiger Woods: PGA player of the year

September 28, 2013. Peers chose Tiger Woods as the PGA Tour’s Player of the Year for a record 11th time with fellow-American Jordan Spieth voted rookie of the year on Friday.

The tour members who played in at least 12 official money events in 2013 were made to cast vote to decide upon two awards.

“Tiger’s five wins came against some of the strongest fields in golf including the Players and two World Golf Championships, while Jordan’s rookie season was historic in terms of his accomplishments for a player just 20 years old,” said PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem in a statement.

[highlight] There were a lot of people saying I could never win again, and two years later I’ve got eight wins on our tour. I’m very proud of where I’ve come from, from being ranked outside the top 50 to being ranked where I am now [/highlight]

“The member vote reflects the respect their peers have for both players.”

Tiger Woods won five of his first 11 events in a spectacular start to the year, winning the Farmers Insurance Open, the WGC-Cadillac Championship, the Arnold Palmer Invitational, the Players Championship and the WGC-Bridgestone.

World number one Woods said winning the award remained a special achievement for him, especially as he has battled back from knee and back ailments to thrive once again on the tour.

“I’ve had to work my way back from injuries on numerous occasions throughout the years,” Woods said. “These last couple of years is no exception to that.

“There were a lot of people saying I could never win again, and two years later I’ve got eight wins on our tour. I’m very proud of where I’ve come from, from being ranked outside the top 50 to being ranked where I am now, and to have had the success that I’ve had this year just makes it all the more rewarding.”

The 37- year-old ended a second-place finish in the FedEx Cup series.

After his blazing start, a nagging back injury hampered Woods in the latter stages of a season in which he fell short of his goal of adding to his major championship haul of 14.

He tied for fourth at the Masters, finished tied for 32 at the US Open, tied for sixth at the British Open and shared 40th place in the PGA Championship.

A splendid win at John Deere Classic, established Spieth at the helm of affairs, he had no background at PGA Tours. At 19 years, 11 months and 18 days, he became the youngest player to win on the tour since 1931.

“I have confidence in myself…to get the job done. Just the way the year ran, the way it happened, I feel very fortunate, very blessed. A lot of luck involved.”

Spieth finished 10th on the money list at just under $4 million, after recording nine top-10 finishes of which he was tied for the most on tour. He was made a captain’s pick for the 2013 Presidents Cup.