Goosen named European Tour's golfer of the year

South Africa's Retief Goosen was named the European Tour's golfer of the year on Wednesday after winning his first major, two tour events and the European order of merit.

The 32-year-old from Pietersburg won the U.S. Open in Tulsa after an 18-hole playoff with America's Mark Brooks, and followed his first major victory with wins at the Scottish and Madrid Opens.

"It's a fantastic honour," said Goosen, who also partnered compatriot Ernie Els to victory in last month's golf World Cup.

"It caps a wonderful season in which I also got married to Tracy, won my first major championship and the order of merit for the first time. I hope it is the first of many although I have a long way to go to catch up with Colin Montgomerie!

"To be number one in Europe is a tremendous thrill. My goal at the start of the season was to get into the top 20 so it's hard to believe how far I've come in view of the high standard of competition on the European Tour. This is my tenth season in Europe and the competition has never been tougher."

Goosen, who finished top of the rankings with 1,779,975 pounds ($2.56 million), was voted golfer of the year by the Association of Golf Writers, Television and Radio.

Ireland's Padraig Harrington was voted the November golfer of the month following his victory in the Volvo Masters.