Golficity 2013 PGA TOUR Awards

With the 2013 PGA TOUR season coming to a close, we are excited to present Golficity’s 2013 PGA TOUR Awards to the following players:

Golficity’s ‘Top 10 Finish Veteran’ Award: Henrik Stenson

The 37 year old Swedish The FedEx Cup Champion put together a second half like no other notching 8 Top-10s out of 18 events played.  Missing only 2 cuts all year, Stenson tallied 2 wins, 3 runner ups and one 3^rd place finish in a season that earned him $16.3 million (including his FedExCup prize).  This showed a significant improvement over last year when Stenson played in 15 total events and had only one Top-10 finish.

Hats off to Henrik Stenson for winning this award and all of the trophies he’s held this year!

Golficity’s ‘On The Ball’ Award:  Brandt Snedeker

Each year we look for one golfer who displays a high level of consistency and dominance year after year.  Brandt Snedeker earned this award from our staff back in 2012 and “Sneds” came out as the clear favorite once again in 2013.

Fresh off of his career best season in 2012 which consisted of $14.9 million in earnings (including his FedExCup title), from his two wins, 7 top-10s and 4 top-3s, Snedeker returned in style in 2013 winning 2 more times with 9 top-10s which included 5 top-3s.  We love watching this guy compete every week as he always remains in the hunt for the big prizes down the stretch.

Golficity’s ‘Biggest Surprise Player’ Award: Billy Horschel

Rising up from a 2012 that earned him only $486,177 in TOUR earnings to a 2013 season that was filled with stardom, Horschel truly made a name for himself this year. Surprising golf fans with a win, a 2^nd, and a 3^rd place finish Billy notched a total of 8 Top-10s in 2013 and earned himself a cool $3.5 million on TOUR.  Although we don’t see the 23 year old signing Rory-like Nike deals this off-season, we do see him staying consistent on TOUR for years to come.

Golficity’s ‘Thumbs Down’ Award: Rory McIlroy

It’s been a disappointing year on the course for the young Irishman.  With his dominating close to the 2012 PGA TOUR season, and his number 1 in the world ranking, critics seemed all too ready to dub him “the next Tiger Woods.”  McIlroy received even more media buzz after he signed a huge 9 figure sponsorship deal with Nike at the beginning of the 2013 season.

Some blame the new clubs for his 2013 fall from grace, but in order to earn this award you need to truly disappoint us…and its exactly what Rory McIlory did.   Rory went from 10 Top 10s with 4 wins and $8 million in prize money in 2012 to 5 Top 10s, no wins, and $1.8 million in earnings in 2013.

This about says it all…

Golficity’s ‘Rookie of the Year’ Award: Jordan Spieth

20 year old rookie Jordan Spieth turned up the heat when it mattered most.  With one win, 2 runner ups, 9 Top-10s, and a President’s Cup roster spot, Jordan is arguably the best rookie golfer on TOUR this year and we’re proud to grant him the Golficity Rookie of the Year award for 2013.

Jordan’s great play ignited towards the second half of the summer as he rapidly made a name for himself throughout the golf world. His win at the John Deere classic catapulted his game to the next level, and Jordan hasn’t looked back since.

Falling just short of winning 3 more times towards the end of the 2013 season, Justin will be looking ahead to new challenges, particularly this week when will be representing the USA in the 2013 Presidents Cup as Fred Couple’s captain’s pick.

Be careful PGA TOUR, this kid’s got game…and he’s just getting started.

Golficity’s ‘MVP’ Award:  Tiger Woods

There’s no questioning that the PGA TOUR Player of the Year award went to the right person in 2013.  This year we saw Tiger Woods return to his old dominant self as he captured 5 victories in just 16 events played and notched a Top 10s in 50% of those 16 events.  Winning in style this year at Doral and WGC at Firestone Tiger has now hoisted a winning trophy 79 times in his illustrious career and has moved back into the number one spot in the world rankings.

Although he didn’t achieve a personal goal of winning a major this year, Tiger is winning golf tournaments again in style and we will certainly see major victories from him in the next 1-3 years.  Here’s a look at Tiger’s most impressive round of the year when he blasted a 61 on day 2 at Firestone:

We want to thank all of our winners for yet another exciting PGA TOUR season and we look forward to seeing everyone back in action in 2014!

(Cover Photo Credit)