No surprise here: Rory McIlroy PGA Tour player of year

• Rory McIlroy was named PGA Tour Player of the Year
• The 23-year-old from Northern Ireland won five times, including the PGA Championship
• He also won both the PGA Tour and the European Tour money titles

Rory McIlroy won nearly everything in sight in 2012. It's fitting then, if not surprising, that he was named Tuesday as the PGA Tour Player of the Year.

The 23-year-old from Northern Ireland won four times on the PGA Tour (five wins overall), including a dominant win at the PGA Championship to claim his second major title.

"It's an honor, and I am delighted to win the PGA Tour's player of the year," McIlroy said in a teleconference Tuesday to announce the award. "It's always nice to earn recognition from your peers, the guys you're trying to beat week in and week out."

John Huh was named the rookie of the year.

"On behalf of the PGA Tour, my congratulations to Rory and John for their outstanding accomplishments this season," said PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem. "These awards are significant to these players as they are bestowed upon them by their peers, one of highest compliments a player can receive."

McIlroy's five wins in 24 starts worldwide plus nine other top-five finishes, including four runner-ups, helped him secure both the PGA Tour and European Tour money titles on his way to $11,953,586 in earnings, breaking Tiger Woods' 2007 record for most money won in a single year ($10,867,052). He also stretched his lead in the official world golf rankings to 4.33 points over No. 2 Luke Donald, a lead not seen at the top since Woods led Stricker by 4.53 points at the end of February 2010.

McIlroy, the youngest Tour player of the year since Woods in 1998, also won the Vardon Trophy for the lowest scoring average.

Following his victory at The Honda Classic in March, McIlroy took over No. 1 in the world rankings and has held the top position for a total of 24 weeks (currently 17 consecutive) through Dec. 3.

McIlroy was selected over Jason Dufner, Brandt Snedeker, Bubba Watson and Woods.

The PGA Tour Player of the Year is awarded based on the votes of players who played in at least 15 official money events in 2012, among whom McIlroy certainly has earned wide respect. And admiration.

"Rory is ranked No.1. He deserves it. He's won tournaments all around the world," one of his chief chasers, Woods, said last week at the World Challenge. "He's had high finishes on top of that, and that's how you do it. He's won a major championship, won a couple playoff events, and won the Race to Dubai event. So those are four big events with great fields in it. He should be very proud of the season he's had, and I'm sure he's excited about what next year holds for him, as well, coming off a great year like this."

Steve Stricker concurred.

"He seems to have a great head on his shoulders, which we all know in this game you need," Stricker said. "You can't do some of the things he's done without thinking properly. You know, you would have thought that he would have been scored a little bit after shooting 80 or 81 at Augusta, but he comes back and wins the very next major. The next major or the year after? The next major.

"So obviously he's got it all. You know, I've been fortunate enough to play with him a few times, and he's got a lot of game. It's fun to watch, and yeah, he's going to be around for a while."

The one question McIlroy has fielded since closing out his year with a win in Dubai is what he will do for an encore. He is about to change equipment from Titleist to Nike. McIlroy starts his season Jan. 17 in Abu Dhabi against a strong field.

"What would be a success next season compared to this one? I guess it's just trying to become a better golfer, maybe add more variety to my game," he said. "But you know, we're judged on wins, ultimately. ... I won my first major in '11, I backed it up this season with another one, and I'd love to go into '13 with that same goal of trying to win another major.

"I think really what was disappointing this year for me — if there was a disappointment — that I was only in contention once in the majors, and luckily I was able to win it," he said. "But next year I'd love to be in contention in all four of them."

McIlroy, who has two major titles, already was looking ahead to the majors in 2013. The Masters at Augusta, of course, plus three new courses: The U.S. Open at Merion, the British Open at Muirfield and the PGA Championship at Oak Hill.

"I've never played Muirfield, I've never been to Oak Hill, and I've never been to Merion," McIlroy said. "They're going to be three new experiences for me, three new courses, and I've just got to try and prepare for them as best as I can. I know Merion is quite a short golf course by today's standards, so I think accuracy will be a key there. Muirfield I've heard is probably the fairest of all the Open courses, so I'm really looking forward to that. And I don't really know much about Oak Hill, so I've just got to, as I say, try and prepare well and try and learn the golf courses as best I can."

Huh, 22, was the only rookie to qualify for the Tour Championship by Coca-Cola and just the fifth rookie to qualify for the Tour Championship since the inception of the FedExCup in 2007. He was also the youngest player to qualify for the TOUR Championship since Sergio Garcia did so at the age of 21 in 2001.

"It's a great honor to have this award, especially as a Korean, and it's really hard to explain just how I feel right now," Huh said. Hopefully I have another great year next year."

Huh broke through for his first win at the Mayakoba Golf Classic in February, enduring an eight-hole playoff with Robert Allenby. He finished 29th in the FedExCup and 28th on final official money list ($2,692,113) and totaled four top-10 finishes in 28 starts, including a tie for second at the Valero Texas Open.

Huh, who was born in New York City and currently resides outside Dallas, is the first player of Korean descent to be voted PGA Tour Rookie of the Year.

Huh was selected over Charlie Beljan, Jonas Blixt, Bud Cauley and Ted Potter Jr.

Contributing: Associated Press