Golf Unfiltered®

View Original

Adam Scott wins GWAA Player of the Year, Writers Stir the Pot

Adam ScottAdam Scott was voted as the Player of the Year by the Golf Writers Association of America, according to the Associated Press. It is a somewhat shocking development on its surface, since Tiger Woods was the obvious favorite heading into the vote. Woods, who fell five votes short of Scott's total (218 total votes were cast), won the PGA Tour and PGA of America's Player of the Year award last season following a year that included five tour wins in 2013... but no majors.

Scott, on the other hand, won four times worldwide and The Masters, which obviously pushed him ahead of Tiger in the eyes of those writers who voted. The GWAA award takes into account a player's total body of work throughout the year and not just how he performs on a specific tour.

That latter point makes all the difference in the world when you consider what Scott accomplished this season. Following his first Green Jacket win in April, Scott almost completed the Australian Slam but did help Australia win the World Cup later in the year. So then why does this award seem so vindictive?

Well, as CBS Sports' Kyle Porter points out, golf writers might have held Tiger's rule violations throughout the year against the World No. 1. If that comes across as surprising, then you simply don't know us golf writers that well. (No offense, chaps.)

Golf writers like to stir the pot. That shouldn't be news to anyone. So, when given the opportunity to create a stir (like a POY vote, for example), golf scribes tend to take advantage.