England's Paul Casey has been named the European Tour Golfer of the Year following a wonderful season in which he won three times on the tour, played a key role in Europe's record third successive Ryder Cup victory over the United States and came within €35,252 of Padraig Harrington in the race to capture the Harry Vardon Trophy, awarded to the European Order of Merit winner.
The 29-year-old receives the accolade for the first time iafter earning the vote of a panel comprising the Association of Golf Writers (AGW), television and radio correspondents and the European Tour.
Among those also considered were Harrington, Darren Clarke, Luke Donald, Johan Edfors, David Howell, Robert Karlsson, Jeev Milkha Singh, Henrik Stenson and Ian Woosnam.
Casey won the Volvo China Open, the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles and a cheque for £1 million after capturing the HSBC World Matchplay Championship at Wentworth in the week prior to the Ryder Cup.
At The K Club, Casey was undefeated in four matches against the US, winning twice and halving twice. He also became the first player in Ryder Cup history to close out the match with a hole-in-one when his 213-yard four-iron secured a 5 and 4 win (with Howell) over Stewart Cink and Zach Johnson.
A virus threatened his participation in the season-ending Volvo Masters at Valderrama, but he played on before missing out on the Order of Merit to Harrington. Casey said: "To win three times during the 2006 season and play a part in Europe's record-breaking third successive Ryder Cup victory before finishing runner-up to Padraig in the Order of Merit was extremely satisfying."
Singh was named the European Tour's golfer of the month for November.
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