Graeme McDowell beat off competition from Jim Furyk and Martin Kaymer to win the Golf Writers Association of America’s male Player of the Year award.

Yani Tseng and Bernhard Langer were also honoured as all three won GWAA awards for the first time. They will be honoured at the GWAA’s Annual Awards Dinner in Augusta, Georgia, on April 6 next year.

In the closest race, McDowell received 43 percent of the votes (87 votes) for Male POY to 32 percent for Jim Furyk (61) and 25 percent for Martin Kaymer (51). Tseng received 69 percent of the vote (137 votes) for Female POY to 16 percent for Cristie Kerr (32) and Ai Miyazato had 15 percent (31). Langer received 94 percent of the vote (187 votes) for Senior POY to six percent (13) for Fred Couples.

McDowell became the first European to win the U.S. Open in 40 years and his win at Pebble Beach was one of four for the Northern Irishman. He won the decisive match for Europe at the Ryder Cup and his fourth win was a come-from-behind playoff win over Tiger Woods at the Chevron World Challenge.

McDowell also won the Golf Writers Trophy (a vote of the Association of Golf Writers) and shared European Tour POY honors with Kaymer. He is the second Irishman to win POY in the last three years. Padraig Harrington won the honour in 2008.

Tseng won two LPGA majors – the Kraft Nabisco Championship and Women’s British Open – in her three-win season. She had eight top-10 finishes, finished fourth on the money list and was the LPGA’s Rolex Player of the Year.

Langer won back-to-back majors — Senior Open at Carnoustie and U.S. Senior Open at Sahalee – and won five times on the Champions Tour. He led the money list, captured the season-long Charles Schwab Cup and won his third consecutive Champions Tour POY honor.

The GWAA, founded in 1946, takes an active role in protecting the interests of all golf journalists, works closely with all of golf’s major governing bodies and the World Golf Hall of Fame.