Dustin Johnson captures 2016 PGA of America Player of the Year Award & Vardon Trophy

CHASKA, Minn. – Dustin Johnson put the finishing touches on a banner season, earning his first PGA of America Player of the Year Award and the Vardon Trophy. The season-ending awards are presented by the PGA of America for excellence by a PGA TOUR professional.

Johnson, the reigning U.S. Open Champion, collected 90 points this year, while Jason Day finished with 74. Johnson and Day were each three-time winners this season.

Day lost his bid for the Vardon Trophy when he was forced to withdraw twice due to back issues, at the BMW Championship on Sept. 11, and at last week’s TOUR Championship. Adam Scott finished third with 54 points, followed by Jordan Spieth, the 2015 PGA Player of the Year/Vardon Trophy winner, and Rory McIlroy, the Fedex Cup/TOUR Champion, with 44 points each.

In one of the closest Vardon Trophy races in years, Johnson closed out the race with an adjusted scoring average of 69.172 based upon 87 complete rounds. Scott finished runner-up at 69.470, while Spieth was third (69.520) and Phil Mickelson fourth (69.582).

Overall, Johnson earned 30 points by winning the U.S. Open, and 20 combined points for wins in the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational and the BMW Championship. He also gained 20 points for leading the money list and 20 more for capturing the Vardon Trophy.

Day had 40 overall victory points, based upon the 20 earned for winning The Players Championship and 20 combined points earned for the Arnold Palmer Invitational and the WGC-Dell Match Play Championship. He also earned 18 points for finishing second in money earnings and 16 points in scoring despite being penalized .20 for two incomplete rounds.

Since 1948, the PGA of America has honored the game’s best players with the PGA Player of the Year Award. It is presented to the top TOUR professional based on a point system for tournament wins, official money standings, and scoring averages. Points for the 2015-16 season began with the Frys.com Open on Oct. 18, and concluded Sept. 25, at the TOUR Championship.

Since 1937, the Vardon Trophy, named by the PGA of America in honor of legendary British golfer Harry Vardon, is awarded annually to the touring professional with the lowest adjusted scoring average. It is based on a minimum of 60 rounds, with no incomplete rounds, in events co-sponsored or designated by the PGA TOUR. The adjusted score is computed from the average score of the field at each event.

The PGA TOUR also recognizes its annual Player of the Year, with the winner announced in early October, determined by a vote of the membership.