McDowell, Tseng and Langer win U.S. golf writers’ awards

NEW YORK, Dec 17 (Reuters) - Northern Irishman Graeme McDowell, Yani Tseng of Taiwan and Germany’s Bernhard Langer were named players of the year on Friday by the Golf Writers Association of America.

McDowell, who became the first European to win the U.S. Open in 40 years with his victory at Pebble Beach, won four times in 2010 and captured the decisive point for Europe in their Ryder Cup triumph over the United States.

He prevailed in a close race, receiving 43 percent of the votes for male player of the year against 32 percent for American Jim Furyk and 25 percent for the U.S. PGA champion, Martin Kaymer.

Tseng, who claimed the Kraft Nabisco and women’s British Open majors, received 69 percent of the vote for female player of the year. Next best was the American Cristie Kerr, named on 16 percent of the ballots.

Langer, who won five times on the Champions Tour, including back-to-back majors in the Senior Open and U.S. Senior Open, was a runaway choice for Champions Tour player of the year, with 94 percent of the vote to six percent for the American Fred Couples.