Following Sunday’s conclusion of the TOUR Championship and FedExCup Playoffs, nominees for PGA Tour Player of the Year (Jack Nicklaus Award) and PGA Tour Rookie of the Year (Arnold Palmer Award) were finalized by the Tour Player Directors and members of the Player Advisory Council (PAC).
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The nominees for the Jack Nicklaus Award as the PGA Tour Player of the Year are Patrick Cantlay, Bryson DeChambeau, Harris English, Collin Morikawa and Jon Rahm. The nominees for the Arnold Palmer Award as the Rookie of the Year are Garrick Higgo and Will Zalatoris.
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The Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year awards are determined by a member vote, with Tour members who played in at least 15 official FedExCup events during the 2020-21 season eligible to vote. The voting will close on September 10 and the winners will be announced at a later date.
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Player of the Year nominees
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Patrick Cantlay, 29
- Entered 24 events with victories (4) at the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP @ SHERWOOD, the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday, the BMW Championship and the TOUR Championship
- 2021 FedExCup Champion
- Finished fifth in Scoring Average (69.736)
- Recorded a total of seven top-10s and made 19 cuts
Bryson DeChambeau, 27
- Entered 22 events with victories (2) at the 2020 U.S. Open and the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard
- Finished No. 7 in the FedExCup
- Finished fourth in Scoring Average (69.728)
- Recorded a total of nine top-10s and made 20 cuts
Harris English, 32
- Entered 26 events with victories (2) at the Sentry Tournament of Champions and the Travelers Championship
- Finished No. 18 in the FedExCup
- Finished 22nd in Scoring Average (70.115)
- Recorded a total of eight top-10s and made 22 cuts
Collin Morikawa, 24
- Entered 23 events with victories (2) at the World Golf Championships-Workday Championship at The Concession and The Open Championship
- Finished No. 26 in the FedExCup
- Finished 20th in Scoring Average (70.109)
- Recorded a total of eight top-10s and made 19 cuts
Jon Rahm, 26
- Entered 22 events with a victory at the 2021 U.S. Open
- Finished No. 2 in the FedExCup
- Led the PGA TOUR in Scoring Average (69.300)
- Led the PGA TOUR in top-10s with 15 and made 21 cuts
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Rookie of the Year nominees
Garrick Higgo, 22
- Entered eight events with a victory at the Palmetto Championship at Congaree
- Finished 107th in the FedExCup
- Recorded one top-10 and made five cuts
- Earned PGA Tour membership via the victory after competing on a Commissioner’s Exemption
Will Zalatoris, 25
- Entered 25 events with eight top-10s highlighted by a runner-up at the 2021 Masters Tournament
- Earned Special Temporary Membership after five starts; Led the non-member FedExCup standings with 1,296 points
- Recorded a total of 14 top-25s and made 21 cuts
- Enters the 2021-22 season as a full-time member of the PGA Tour for the first time
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The Player Advisory Council and Player Directors nominate annually a list of first-season PGA Tour members for the PGA Tour Rookie of the Year Award. For the 2020-21 PGA Tour Season, at their discretion, the Player Advisor Council and the Player Directors could have determined that circumstances (i.e. the lack of nominees due to the absence of a 2020 Korn Ferry Tour graduating class) may not have warranted the selection of a 2021 award recipient, but Higgo and Zalatoris were deemed worthy of nomination.
A player’s rookie season (“Rookie Year”) is defined as the season in which he becomes a PGA Tour member (including Special Temporary Members) and plays in 10 or more events as a member or finishes in the Top 125 on the Official FedExCup Points List or qualifies as a Top 125 Non-member, whichever occurs first. Further, for purposes of this definition, a new member (including Special Temporary Members) shall not be eligible for the Arnold Palmer Award if he has previously played in more than seven Official PGA Tour Money events as a professional in any prior season.
PGA Tour
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