The PGA Tour has handed out two prestigious awards this week. Patrick Cantlay of Long Beach, California was named the PGA Tour Player of the Year, while Will Zalatoris of San Francisco, California was named the PGA Tour Rookie of the Year.
Zalatoris, who received his honour on Monday, won the award despite not registering a win. He did however have five top-10 finishes in 2021, and eight top-10 finishes since the 2020-21 PGA Tour season started in September of 2020. Zalatoris was sixth at the 2020 United States Open, eighth at the 2020 Corales Puntacana Resort and Club Championship in the Dominican Republic, fifth at the 2020 Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, seventh at the 2021 Farmers Insurance Open, 10th at the 2021 Arnold Palmer Invitational, second at the 2021 Masters, eighth at the 2021 PGA Championship, and eighth at the 2021 WGC Fed-Ex St. Jude Invitational.
The fact that Cantlay was named the PGA Tour of Player of the Year should be considered a surprise when you consider the fact that Cantlay did not win a major on the PGA Tour in 2021. Yes, he was the FedEx Cup champion this year, but it was remarkable that Cantlay was chosen over world number one and U.S. Open champion Jon Rahm of Spain.
This was the second time in three years that a player won the PGA Tour Player of the Year Award without winning a major. In 2019, Rory McIlroy of Holywood, Northern Ireland received the honour. Like Cantlay, McIlroy won the FedEx Cup Playoffs. The events Cantlay won in 2020-21 were the 2020 Zozo Championship, the 2021 Memorial Championship and the 2021 BMW Championship.
