Pablo Larrazabal has capped a magnificent maiden season on the European Tour by winning the Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year Award.
The 25-year-old becomes the fourth Spaniard to receive the award, following in the footsteps of Jose Maria Olazabal (1986), Sergio Garcia (1999) and Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano (2005).
Like that illustrious trio, Larrazabal claimed his maiden European Tour title in his first full season on Tour, winning the Open de France in June having come through the 36-hole pre-qualifying event the previous week.
Despite being, in his own words, "the 150th best player here", Larrazabal never looked back after compiling an opening round of 65 before eventually cruising to a four-shot win despite a concerted effort by Colin Montgomerie.
Larrazabal said: "Obviously the main reason I won the award was for winning the Open de France ALSTOM, and I'll never forget that victory.
"To win such a big tournament the way I did, with guys like Lee Westwood and Colin Montgomerie chasing me on the last day, was just amazing.
"It's an amazing honour to be named the Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year, because there are so many great young players on Tour today.
"If you look at some of the players who have won the award in the past, you get an idea of how big an honour this is.
"You only have to look at last year's winner, Martin Kaymer, to see how successful you can go on to be after winning the Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year Award.
"Martin is a great example to me because he has had an unbelievable second season, and that is what I have to aim to do in 2009."
The 666,660 euros he collected for winning in France accounted for more than half the 960,858 euros Larrazabal earned in 2008, which saw him finish in 18th in the Order of Merit.
The other contenders for the award were Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy and the English duo of Robert Dinwiddie and Ross McGowan.
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