Player of the Year
There is no doubt that Taiwan's Yani Tseng was pound for pound the world's best golfer in 2011. Twenty-two-year-old Tseng collected 11 titles last year – including the LPGA Championship and the Women's British Open – which saw her become the youngest player in history – male or female – to have bagged five major championships. The eminently likeable Tseng, one of the longest hitters in the women's game, steamrollered her way to win after win – proving beyond any doubt that she has the not only the game but also the mental fortitude to overtake her idol Annika Sorenstam as the most dominant female player of all time.
The contest was closer among the men. McIlroy certainly enjoyed a breakthrough year, thanks to his first major win, while Webb Simpson impressed on the PGA Tour, coming from nowhere to scoop two wins (and losing a play-off) to narrowly lose out to Bill Haas for the FedEx Cup. Lee Westwood, too, showed flashes of brilliance. The Englishman won four times (three in Asia) to finish the season ranked number two in the world.
But it was Luke Donald who really stood out. OK, so he didn't win a major – something his critics are fond of pointing out at nearly every turn – but so what? Fourteen top-10s in 19 events on the PGA Tour, including two wins, saw the 34-year-old Englishman top the Money List, a feat he replicated in Europe, thanks to an equally consistent run of form on the other side of the Atlantic. Donald's win over Martin Kaymer in the final of the WGC-Accenture World Match Play in February was good; his play-off victory over Westwood at the European Tour's flagship BMW PGA Championship in May was even better, as it launched Donald to the summit of the world rankings, a position he doesn't look like relinquishing any time soon.
Winners: Yani Tseng, Luke Donald
Notables: Rory McIlroy, Lee Westwood
