Jon Rahm, Lilia Vu and Steve Stricker were voted 2023 Players of the Year in their respective divisions by the Golf Writers Association of America. The trio will be honored on April 10 at the organization’s 50th annual ISPS Handa GWAA Dinner in Augusta, Georgia, on the eve of the 88th Masters.
All three major champions were first-time winners of a GWAA Player of the Year award.
Rahm, the GWAA’s Male Player of the Year, captured his first Masters in 2023 after winning three times earlier in the season at the Sentry Tournament of Champions, the American Express and the Genesis Invitational.
“I am very grateful to have received this award,” Rahm said in a statement released by his manager. “Our writers carefully follow every event and shot throughout the year, so being chosen as the Player of the Year by them is something I am going to cherish.”
Rahm received 48.9 percent of the first-place votes, beating a field of finalists that included FedEx Cup champion Viktor Hovland of Norway (33 percent) and Texas’ Scottie Scheffler (18.1 percent), a two-time winner and 2022 GWAA Male Player of the Year.
Vu won her first career LPGA title in her first start of 2023 and followed it up with three more victories, including two majors – the Chevron Championship and AIG Women’s Open.
“I think it’s just been wild,” Vu said at the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship, where she clinched LPGA Rolex Player of the Year honors. Vu became only the second American since Beth Daniel in 1994 to win Rolex Player of the Year, joining Stacy Lewis, who won the award in 2014.
“I came in (to 2023) with no expectations because last year I had too many, and was hard on myself. I’m trying to enjoy every moment and be grateful I’m out here.”
Vu earned 72.9 percent of the GWAA’s first-place votes, defeating two other 2023 major winners and fellow finalists: France’s Celine Boutier (Amundi Evian Championship) and China’s Ruoning Yin (KMPG Women’s PGA Championship).
Stricker, 56, dominated the PGA Tour Champions in 2023, winning six times in 16 starts with five runner-up finishes.
Among Stricker’s victories were three senior majors: Regions Tradition, Kaulig Companies Championship (formerly the Senior Players) and KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship. He finished runner-up to Bernhard Langer at the U.S. Senior Open in his home state of Wisconsin.
“It’s always special to be recognized by the GWAA, and especially since the award is about the whole year and what I was able to accomplish this year,” said Stricker, who in 2022 received the GWAA’s Hogan Award, given to a player who “continues to be active in golf despite a physical handicap or serious illness.”
Stricker claimed 79.9 percent of the first-place votes, defeating Langer, who set the all-time mark for PGA Tour Champions victories (46), and Stephen Ames, a four-time winner last season.
Not surprisingly, Stricker cited two moments with family as particularly special highlights.
“First, having (daughter) Izzi on the bag for the win at the Senior PGA,” he said, “and secondly, the PNC Championship, where our whole family was involved. We didn’t come close to winning, but that whole experience was amazing.”
