The Golf Digest Awards 2007

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2007 In Review

World Player of the Year & Byron Nelson Award (most PGA Tour wins)
Tiger Woods: 32 / Orlando; It wasn't the best season of Woods' career, but even the No. 1 player in the world would never complain about seven wins and three seconds in 16 events. Woods' 67.79 stroke average matched the lowest of his 11 full seasons on tour. And his victory at the PGA Championship gives him 13 major championships as a professional, only five short of Jack Nicklaus' record. "I know I've had some nice success on the golf course, won some tournaments, including a major championship," said Woods. "But this year, having the birth of our first child, has been just truly amazing. My life right now is a complete, full opposite of what it was a year ago. Couldn't be happier. I think it's fantastic."

Rookie of the Year, PGA Tour
Brandt Snedeker: 27 / Nashville; In his first year on the PGA Tour, Snedeker shot 61 at Torrey Pines (North Course), won a tour event (Wyndham Championship) and played well in the U.S. Open (T-23) and PGA Championship (T-18). By winning more than $2.8 million in prize money, he finished 17th on the PGA Tour money list. "My main goal this year was to finish in the top 70 so I'd be exempt for the invitationals next year," Snedeker said. "I'm not going to lie to you and say I saw myself doing that, because I really didn't. I was just trying to work hard, and hopefully good things would happen." Clearly, they did.

Most Improved Player, PGA Tour
Justin Rose: 27 / Orlando; When you jump from 51st in the World Ranking to No. 7 in just 12 months, you've obviously had a great year. Somehow, Rose made that leap without a win on the PGA Tour. He did win the season-ending Volvo Masters on the European tour to finish No. 1 on that tour's Order of Merit. But perhaps his most notable rise was in the four majors, where Rose finished T-5 at the Masters, T-10 at the U.S. Open and T-12 at both the British Open and the PGA Championship.

No. 1 Men's Amateur
Colt Knost: 22 / Pilot Point, Tex.; After winning the U.S. Amateur Public Links in July, the SMU All-American added the U.S. Amateur in August to become just the second golfer to win both in the same year. A second-round 64 at the PGA Tour's EDS Byron Nelson Championship (believed to be the lowest score on tour by an amateur since 1966) helped him make the cut in his hometown event. Later, he was 2-0-2 for the victorious U.S. Walker Cup team.