KAPALUA, Hawaii — Masters champion Adam Scott narrowly beat out Tiger Woods as the male player of the year in voting by the Golf Writers Association of America.
The GWAA takes into account more than just a player’s performance on the PGA Tour. Scott won four times around the world, none bigger than his playoff victory at Augusta National to become the first Australian in a green jacket. He also won a FedEx Cup playoff event and twice in Australia, and he joined Jason Day to win the portion of the World Cup for Australia at Royal Melbourne.
Out of 218 ballots, Scott won by five votes.
“It is an honor to be recognized as the most consistent male golfer of 2013 and it is appreciated to have the respect of the Golf Writers of America. Thank you,” Scott said from Kapalua, where he is playing in the Hyundai Tournament of Champions.
Woods won five times on the PGA Tour, including The Players Championship and two World Golf Championships, though he went a fifth straight year without winning a major. Woods also won the PGA Tour money title and the Vardon Trophy for the lowest scoring average.
Woods won player of the year from the PGA Tour (a vote of players) and PGA of America (based on points). Those awards consider only a player’s PGA Tour record. The PGA Tour does not disclose vote totals.
The other GWAA awards were landslides.
Inbee Park, who had three straight majors among her six victories on the LPGA Tour, received 91 percent of the vote to win female player of the year. Women’s British Open champion Stacy Lewis and Evian Championship winner Suzann Pettersen received the other votes.
Kenny Perry, who won two majors on the Champions Tour and captured the Schwab Cup, also had 91 percent of the vote for senior player of the year over Bernhard Langer and David Frost.
“It is my highest honor, from the players or the writers, to be named player of the year,” Perry said. “Here I am at 53 doing stuff I probably shouldn’t be doing, so I’m honored that the writers are paying attention to me.”
They will be honored April 9 at the annual GWAA Awards Dinner in Augusta, Ga.
Scott received 75 votes, or 34 percent of the vote, compared with 70 votes for Woods. In a season that had so many players accomplish so much, Phil Mickelson received 17 percent, while Henrik Stenson got 16 percent. Mickelson won the British Open for the third leg of the Grand Slam, along with the Phoenix Open and the Scottish Open. Stenson became the first player to win the FedEx Cup and the Race to Dubai in the same season.
Scott played 20 times around the world. Along with his four wins, he had the lead briefly on the back nine of the British Open, where he tied for third, and he tied for fifth in the PGA Championship. Woods had two top 10s in the majors, a tie for fourth at the Masters and a tie for sixth in the British Open.
Park rose to No. 1 in the women’s world ranking shortly after winning the Kraft Nabisco Championship. She won the LPGA Championship, and then made it three straight majors at the U.S. Women’s Open. She failed in her bid to become the first player to win four majors in one season, but still led women’s golf with six victories and captured the LPGA Tour money title for the second straight year.
“Last year was a year that I could never forget,” Park said. “I was able to put my name among the greatest players around the world. Now, on top of that, I am being recognized and honored by golf writers. They are those who know what has just happened last year in every detail. I can almost say that they know me better than I know myself. That’s why this honor is very special and means a lot to me.”
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