Rory McIlroy Wins 2014 PGA of America Player of the Year Award and Vardon Trophy

Although Rory McIlroy fell just short of a FedEx Cup title, he's still taking home some hardware after his fantastic season.     

PGA of America had the news:

The Vardon Trophy is given to the player with the lowest adjusted scoring average in the world, which McIlroy had with an average of 68.827 in 66 rounds, via PGATour.com. Sergio Garcia finished second with a mark of 68.950.

Meanwhile, PGA Tour members vote upon the Player of the Year out of a group of top nominees, which Frank Pingue of Reuters noted:

Despite the strong years from each competitor, even fellow nominee Billy Horschel knew who should win when asked about the race, according to Jason Sobel of Golf Channel:

"

Rory McIlroy. He won two majors and three big events back-to-back. In my mind, he’s the Player of the Year. I don’t think there’s anyone who comes close. You look at what Rory McIlroy has done the last six months, ever since May … he’s just been on one hell of a stretch. In my mind, he’s the Player of the Year.

"

McIlroy won both The Open Championship and the PGA Championship sandwiched around the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational. His 12 top-10 finishes ranked first among all competitors on the PGA Tour.

Not only did the 25-year-old make the cut at every stroke-play event he entered, but he also finished in the top 25 in all 17 starts.

Sam Greenwood/Getty Images

The Northern Irish star ended his year with a third-place finish in the FedEx Cup after tying for second place at the Tour Championship. He could have won it all if he had kept up with Horschel after beginning the fourth round in a tie for the lead.

"I really wanted to win," McIlroy explained after the tournament, via Ewan Murray of The Guardian. "I really wanted to cap this year off well, even though it’s still been a great year. I was coming in with really high hopes and expectations, and I haven’t quite been able to play the golf to live up to those."

While he missed out on the $10 million FedEx Cup purse, McIlroy was clearly the best golfer in the world in 2014. He bounced back from a disappointing 2013 season and found a way to be more consistent while finishing strong at the biggest events.

With his all-around game and his improved confidence, the young golfer should be able to remain a top competitor for this award for the next several seasons. He'll be a huge threat to add to his major total of four in 2015, too.

If he keeps going at this pace, having already won two Player of the Year awards at just 25 years old, he has a chance to put himself in the conversation as one of the best to ever play the sport.

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