McIlroy named European Tour Golfer of the year

The Northern Irishman won three times on the European Tour this year.

McIlroy named European Tour Golfer of the Year

Race to Dubai winner Rory McIlroy has been named the European Tour Golfer of the Year.

The four-time major winner clinched his third end of season title at the DP World Tour Championship, finishing one shot clear of Andy Sullivan in Dubai.

This is the third time in four years that McIlroy, who finished with 4, 727, 253 Race to Dubai points, has clinched the award from the European Tour.

The Northern Irishman said: “It is a huge honour for me to be named European Tour Golfer of the Year again.

“I feel very proud to have won this prestigious award for the third time – it is always special, no matter how often, to be recognised in this way.”

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McIlroy missed out on a fifth major in 2015 after finishing fourth, T9 and 17th in the Masters, US Open and USPGA Championship respectively.

After rupturing ankle ligaments he was unable to defend his 2014 Open Championship title at St Andrews in July.

McIlroy also won the Omega Dubai Desert Classic and WGC Cadillac Match Play in 2015, culminating in his latest award from the European Tour.

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He added: “After a good first half to the season, the injury was obviously a setback for me, so to finish the year strongly with my second victory in Dubai – plus picking up the Race to Dubai title again – was very satisfying.

The European Tour’s Chief Executive, Keith Pelley, said: “Rory is not only a Major champion, a World Golf Champion and an amazing talent, he is also a terrific ambassador for the European Tour, so to have him as our Golfer of the Year for 2015 is special.”

McIlroy finished top of the European Tour's Greens In Regulation leaderboard (80.1%) and was top of the scoring average charts, thanks to an average of 69.28.