(Reuters) – American Cameron Young was named the PGA Tour’s rookie of the year in a vote by his peers following a season in which he recorded five runner-up finishes, including at the British Open, the U.S.-based circuit said on Wednesday.
Young, who capped a closing 65 with a 17-foot eagle putt to finish second at the British Open, was selected for the Arnold Palmer Award over South Korea’s Tom Kim and American Sahith Theegala, receiving 94% of the membership vote.
“I know the namesake Arnold Palmer obviously was a giant in the game of golf and we have him to thank for a lot of what we do today, what the PGA Tour is,” Young, 25, told reporters ahead of this week’s CJ Cup in Ridgeland, South Carolina.
“Just to … to be related to that in some small way is very cool. I know we had a very strong rookie class and I know it’s voted by my peers, so it’s a huge honour to be thought of in that way, just to kind of finish the year that way.”
With his five second-place results, Young tied the most by any player in a single season over the last 40 years, with Vijay Singh in 2003 the last to accomplish the feat.
Young also recorded a pair of third-place finishes at the RBC Heritage and PGA Championship, falling one stroke out of a playoff in each.
With $6.5 million in earnings, Young made the most money in a single season by a rookie in PGA Tour history, surpassing the record previously held by Xander Schauffele, who made $4.3 million in 2016-17.
“Congratulations to Cameron Young on being voted PGA Tour Rookie of the Year by his peers,” PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan said in a news release.
“Cameron’s career has seen a remarkable rise over the last several years, and he quickly became a favorite among fans last season with the style in which he attacks the golf course.”
(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto; Editing by Ken Ferris)
