Taiwan world No.1 female golfer Yani Tseng was named female athlete of the year Dec. 20 by Alabama-headquartered United States Sports Academy.
Writing on Facebook, Tseng said she feels happy to have won the award and would like to share the honor with her supporters around the world.
According to the USSA, Tseng had a “history-making season,” becoming the youngest golfer at age 22 to win five major championships when she captured the Women’s British Open at Carnoustie, Scotland, for the second straight year in July.
When Tiger Woods and Pak Se-ri won their fifth major titles, they were both 24 years old, the USSA said.
Tseng, who is the first Taiwanese to ever win the honor, dominated her sport during the past season, finishing as world No. 1 and racking up12 titles around the world, including seven Ladies Professional Golf Association tournaments.
She also topped other female golfers in scoring average, driving distance, birdies and rounds under par en route to her second consecutive LPGA Player of the Year award, according to the USSA.
Meanwhile, the USSA’s 2011 Male Athlete of the Year award was given to top-ranked tennis player Novak Djokovic, who completed one of the best seasons in men’s tennis history by winning 10 titles, including three Grand Slam championships at the Australian Open, Wimbledon and the U.S. Open.
The 24-year-old Serbian also captured a record-breaking five ATP World Tour Masters 1000 titles, and set a record for the most prize money won in a single season on the ATP World Tour, earning US$10.6 million, the USSA said.
Tseng and Djokovic were chosen in online balloting from Dec. 1 to 19 by hundreds of thousands of sports fans worldwide, each defeating 11 other athletes.
Japanese figure skater Miki Ando finished second behind Tseng, while the male runner-up was Detroit Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander.
The USSA is an independent institution dedicated to professional studies in sport. This is the 27th year it has presented the Athlete of the Year awards, together with USA Today and NBCSports.com. (THN)
Write to Rachel Chan at rachelchan@mail.gio.gov.tw