Rory McIlroy Named 2014 PGA Tour Player of the Year

British Open and PGA Championship winner Rory McIlroy was voted the 2014 PGA Tour Player of the Year by the Tour's members—the second such award in three years for the 25-year-old Northern Irishman.

The PGA Tour noted the latest award win for McIlroy on its official site, also announcing Chesson Hadley as Rookie of the Year. The release includes comments from PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem about both players' success.

"My congratulations to Rory and Chesson for their outstanding accomplishments that earned them season-ending honors from their peers," he said. "Both players earned their awards with their consistent and steady play throughout the season."

Billy Horschel, Martin Kaymer, Jimmy Walker and Bubba Watson were the other finalists for the coveted Player of the Year award.

It was a dominant season for McIlroy, who won three tournaments, including the aforementioned pair of majors, and finished inside the top 10 in 12 of 17 events. That includes an eighth-place result at The Masters.

The level of play he exhibited for much of the year hasn't been seen since the days of Tiger Woods at his peak. It reached a point in July and August where there was little doubt who was going to win as long as McIlroy kept his hot streak alive.

McIlroy didn't win the Tour Championship—that went to Horschel—but starting with the British Open in mid-July, he played in seven tournaments and finished outside the top eight only once. That's a remarkable run of consistency and great play.

Doug Ferguson of The Associated Press provided remarks from McIlroy in Scotland, where he's taking part in the Dunhill Links Championship. He was pleased with receiving the honor but continued to look ahead toward more success.

"I guess it just makes me realize that even though last year wasn't the year I wanted, the last three or four years have been very, very good," McIlroy said. "It gives me even more motivation to go on and work harder and try to win more tournaments, more majors, and be involved in more Ryder Cups like last week."

The award victory didn't come as a surprise, of course. Michael Collins of ESPN joked about how little suspense there was leading up to the announcement:

Moving forward, the rise of Billy Horschel could add some more intrigue to the 2015 season. Yet, it still feels like the only player capable of seriously challenging McIlroy when he's at his absolute best is Woods at full strength.

Whether Tiger will ever get back in peak form is a major question mark, though. If not, McIlroy is seemingly a step ahead of a group that includes Horschel, Adam Scott and Sergio Garcia, among others.

He certainly was in 2014.