HOUSTON (Dec.19, 2007) – Tiger Woods, Lorena Ochoa and Jay Haas have been named 2007 Players of the Year by the Golf Writers Association of America.
All three players will be honored at the GWAA’s Annual Awards Dinner April 9, 2008 in Augusta, Ga.
Woods has won the award a record nine times in the last 11 years. He won five consecutive awards before losing to Vijay Singh in 2004. It is the second GWAA POY award for both Ochoa and Haas.
Woods outdistanced Phil Mickelson 205-5 in the voting and Ochoa beat Suzann Pettersen by
the same margin. Haas pulled 152 votes to 56 for Loren Roberts.
Woods’ record-setting victory at his own Target World Challenge – the last event of the year — was his eighth win of the year and completed a season that saw him win his 13th major championship, the PGA Championship, and the inaugural FedExCup. He also won two World Golf Championship events – the CA Championship and Bridgestone Invitational – and won the final two FedExCup events – the BMW Championship and Tour Championship – to win the FedExCup. He also won the Vardon Trophy with a 67.79 average and let the money list for the ninth time with $10,867,052.
Ochoa followed up a breakout 2006 season with eight LPGA wins and her first major – the Women’s British Open. She won more than $4.36 million to break the single-season money mark set by Annika Sorenstam in 2002 by more than $1.5 million. She closed out her season with the ADT Championship and led the LPGA in scoring average for the second straight year.
Haas had his second consecutive four-win season and earned his second consecutive Arnold Palmer Award as the Tour’s leading money winner with $2,581,001. He had 18 top-10 finishes in 27 starts and finished second to Loren Roberts in the Charles Schwab Cup race. Haas was honored with both the ASAPSPORTS/Jim Murray Award and the Bob Jones Award in 2005.
The GWAA, founded in 1946, takes an active role in protecting the interests of all golf journalists, works closely with all of golf’s major governing bodies and the World Golf Hall of Fame and facilitates a scholarship/internship program which is currently helping students at 17 major U.S. universities.
Contact:
Melanie Hauser
Golf Writers Association of America
713.782.6664
