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Brooks Koepka Named 2019 PGA Player of the Year Ahead of Rory McIlroy
August 26, 2019
Brooks Koepka has been named the 2019 PGA Player of the Year for the second year in a row ahead of Rory McIlroy:
The American enjoyed a successful season, winning the 2019 PGA Championship and finishing second at the U.S. Open and the Masters.
Meanwhile, McIlroy finished an impressive campaign on a high by claiming victory at the Tour Championship on Sunday to clinch the FedEx Cup title and the $15 million (£12.2 million) prize fund.
The Northern Irishman claimed victory by four shots at the East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, and Koepka said his opponent played better golf, per Ali Stafford of Sky Sports.
"[McIlroy] just played better," he said. "He played great golf today, pretty much mistake-free. He was impressive to watch. He put it in the fairway a lot, hit a lot of green."
The win means McIlroy finishes the season at the top of the FedEx Cup standings ahead of Xander Schauffele in second and Koepka in third, per the PGA Tour.
Golf writer Jason Sobel highlighted the 30-year-old's achievements this season:
McIlroy's win at the Tour Championship makes this season one of the best of his career, but there is no doubt that when it came to the major tournaments, Koepka had the better record.
The 29-year-old seemed to reserve his best performances for the big stage, finishing in the top four of all the major tournaments in 2019.
His victory at the PGA Championship saw him become the first player to retain two major titles:
ESPN's Mike Greenberg said Koepka is still the best player in the world:
The end of the season saw Koepka and McIlroy go head-to-head in the final pairing at the WGC-FedEx St Jude Invitational and the Tour Championship.
Koepka took victory in the first meeting to clinch his third title of the year, but McIlroy hit back at East Lake with a four-under par 66 in his final round.
There is no doubt that Koepka and McIlroy are the two best golfers currently and have a rivalry that many will be hoping can go on and dominate the top of the game.