Jon Rahm has won the Seve Ballesteros Award after being voted Player of the Year 2021 by his fellow professionals on the DP World Tour.
The Spaniard earns the prestigious accolade for the second time in three years, after another spectacular season in which he won his first Major, spent 27 weeks as World No. 1, and finished as the player who provided the most points to Team Europe in the Ryder Cup .
The Basque became the first Spanish player to win the US Open , and the fourth Spanish player to win a Major, by finishing one stroke ahead of Louis Oosthuizen at Torrey Pines last June.
Earlier in 2021, Rahm finished tied for fifth at the Agusta Masters, and eighth at the US PGA Championship, and extended his remarkable form at the Majors by finishing tied for third at the Royal St George’s British Open.
His impressive 2021 season also included fifth place at the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play and seventh place at the abrdn Scottish Open, while his stats were equally remarkable on the PGA Tour, where he recorded 15 Top-10s overall.
Rahm also carried his impressive form into September’s Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits, where he finished as Europe’s top scorer with 3.5 points from his five matches. Three of those points came from pairing undefeated with Sergio Garcia , evoking memories of the legendary Spanish pairing of José María Olazábal and Seve Ballesteros .
Receives the Player of the Year award with the name of Seve, incorporated for the first time this year to further commemorate the incredible legacy of Ballesteros.
“Winning anything with Seve’s name on it is a huge honor for me, as is having the players on the DP World Tour vote for him,” comments Jon Rahm . “It is very special to be recognized by your peers in this way. It is a real honor to be able to win this award for the second time, and I look forward to continuing to make the DP World Tour proud.”
Keith Pelley , group CEO of the European Tour, notes: “ In the first year that this is the combined Tour Player of the Year award, named after a great Seve, it is only fitting that the winner be another incredible Spaniard, who is creating his own great legacy on the world stage.”
“Jon’s form throughout 2021 was simply outstanding, and his victory at the US Open, in front of his family, was certainly a highlight that will remain in the memory for a long time. That cemented his place among the pantheon of Europe’s all-time greatest players, and his contribution in European colors to the Ryder Cup also showed how extraordinary Jon is as a competitor.”