Lydia Ko Selected as 'Player of the Year' by the American Golf Writers Association

Scottie Scheffler and Steven Alker Also Selected Together

Lydia Ko, winner of the LPGA season finale.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

World No. 1 female golfer Lydia Ko (New Zealand) was selected as the 'Player of the Year' by the Golf Writers Association of America (GWAA), along with Scottie Scheffler (USA) and Steven Alker (New Zealand).

The GWAA announced on the 10th (local time) that "Scottie Scheffler of the PGA Tour, Lydia Ko of the LPGA Tour, and Steven Alker of the Champions Tour have been chosen as Players of the Year."

Lydia Ko earned the honor with an overwhelming 79.5% support rate, surpassing Minjee Lee (Australia) and Atthaya Thitikul (Thailand).

Lydia Ko said, "I am honored to receive the GWAA Player of the Year award for the second time. 2022 was an amazing year. Many wonderful things happened in my life, culminating in my wedding." She added, "Nothing could be more special than that, but my golf was also very good. I sincerely thank everyone at the GWAA for recognizing me with this prestigious award."

Scheffler won the male Player of the Year award with 49.2% of the votes, beating Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland) and Cameron Smith (Australia). Scheffler earned his first tour victory at the WM Phoenix Open in February last year, then won his first major title at the Masters in April. He secured four wins over two months.

Alker received 50.3% of the votes, surpassing Padraig Harrington (Ireland) and Steve Stricker (USA). Alker won four tournaments last year, including the Senior PGA Championship, and finished as the leading money winner.