Garcia named European Tour Golfer of the Year

After ending his wait for a major, Masters champion Sergio Garcia has been named European Tour Golfer of the Year.

Published : Dec 08, 2017 01:19 IST

Sergio Garcia poses with the green jacket and the Masters trophy.

Sergio Garcia has been named European Tour Golfer of the Year after finally breaking his major duck at the Masters in April.

The 37-year-old triumphed in his 74th major championship when he beat Justin Rose in a play-off at Augusta, becoming the third Spaniard to don the iconic green jacket after Seve Ballesteros and Jose Maria Olazabal.

It was one of three wins across the season for Garcia, who triumphed at the Dubai Desert Classic in February and finished the year with victory at the Andalucia Valderrama Masters. 

And his performances have earned him the Golfer of the Year accolade for the first time.

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"This is an amazing honour," he told the European Tour website. "I think both on and off the golf course it has been a unique and unbelievable year, and one that I will definitely remember my whole life.

"I am so happy to receive this award, and to be named the European Tour Golfer of the Year, against the calibre of players that were in contention is incredible. Tommy [Fleetwood], Justin [Rose], Tyrrell [Hatton] and Jon [Rahm] are all amazing players, and all had unbelievable years themselves.

"With the five of us filling the top five places in the Race to Dubai, it shows the real strength of the European Tour, and European players in particular, and hopefully we will keep that going for next September [at the Ryder Cup] in Paris."