Jon Rahm wins questionable European Tour player of the year award

Jon Rahm (YouTube, Wikimedia Commons)

We know that Jon Rahm of Barrika, Spain is the number one golfer in the world. This past year he solidified his position as the world’s best when he won the 2021 United States Open from the Torrey Pines Golf Course in San Diego, California.

On Wednesday the global accolades continued for Rahm as he was named the European Tour Player of the Year. What is curious about this particular accolade is that Rahm did not win a tournament in Europe this past year. So how could he be named the European Tour Player of the Year? It is because the European Tour recognizes the three majors in the United States and the events that are part of the World Golf Championship as part of their tour, even though the events do not take place on the European continent.

If you take a look at the events in Europe that Rahm has participated in during the 2021 calendar,  they were not all that impressive. They included a seventh place finish in the Scottish Open, a 17th place finish in Madrid, and even a missed cut at the Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucia Masters, in Rahm’s home country of Spain. The bottom line is that if you are named the European Tour Player of the Year, you should have won a tournament in Europe!

This is the second time Rahm received the award. The first time came in 2019, when he did actually win tournaments in Ireland, Spain and the United Arab Emirates.

One player who was overlooked in receiving the 2021 European Tour Player of the Year Award was South Africa’s Garrick Higgo, who won the Gran Canaria Lopesan Open in Spain in April and the Canary Islands Championship in May. However a non-European player has never won the award since it was first presented in 2008.

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