Golf: Singh named 2004 European PGA player
World number one Vijay Singh of Fiji has been named the player of the year on the European PGA tour despite not winning a title in Europe.
Earlier this month Singh was named US PGA Tour player of the year after winning nine titles there and becoming the first player to earn more than US$10 million (NZ$14m) in a single campaign.
Spain�s Miguel Angel Jimenez, who won four European tournaments on the 2004 calendar, was second in the vote taken by European golf writers. He also helped Europe win the Ryder Cup against the U.S.
Singh played in nine tournaments on the European Tour, winning 1.46 million euros (NZ$2.6m). Singh won the US PGA title this year which is included on the European Tour calendar and on the US tour, but he did not win a regular European Tour event.
In the British Open, the only major tournament in Europe, he finished 11 shots behind the winner, Todd Hamilton of the US.
“Obviously it was disappointing not to win on European soil in 2004, but this award makes amends for that a little,” Singh said in a statement.
“I spent several happy seasons learning my trade on the European Tour in the late eighties and early nineties and to be recognised by this Tour gives me immense personal satisfaction.”