Luke Donald has collected another accolade after his historic season earned him the Golf Writers Trophy for 2011. The trophy was handed to him at dinner during this week’s Men’s Open Championship.

Donald is only the second player after Padraig Harrington in 2008 to win the triple crown of awards having already been named the European Tour Golfer of the Year and PGATour Player of the Year.

Darren Clarke, the Open champion, and Rory McIlroy, the US Open champion, tied for second place, while the European Solheim Cup team, captained by Alison Nicholas, took fourth place in the annual poll of members of the Association of Golf Writers.

“Any award you win gives you a great amount of pleasure and for the Golf Writers to consider me as their player of the year means a lot, it really does,” Donald said. “These are the people who really understand golf and appreciate all that I have achieved this year.

“All the people in the running for the AGW award – Rory, Darren, the Solheim Cup team and the Walker Cup team – would have been worthy winners and therefore it is very gratifying to get the vote ahead of all of them. That means an awful lot to me.”

Clarke, who won the Open at his 20th attempt at Sandwich, said: “What Luke Donald has achieved this year is unbelievable. I’m full of admiration for him. And for Rory to win the US Open like he did and so young shows what a fantastic talent he is. Both would be worthy winners of the Golf Writers Trophy.”

McIlroy, whose win in Hong Kong meant the Race to Dubai went down to the final tournament, said: “It has been an amazing year for me but as I said in Dubai, Luke deserves to be the No 1 in our game this year. It is very satisfying to be mentioned alongside Luke, Darren and the Solheim team by the Golf Writers.”

Nicholas, whose team produced an amazing comeback in the late stages to pip the Americans at Killeen Castle, said: “I would like to congratulate the guys for their outstanding performances during 2011 and am delighted the European Solheim Cup team was judged alongside them. It proves the strength of men’s and women’s professional golf in Europe at present and highlights the young and fearless talent that is coming through. Our own next challenge will be to win the Solheim Cup for the first time in the USA in 2013.”

Bill Elliott, chairman of the Association of Golf Writers, said: “We received a record number of votes this year which reflects the range of outstanding achievements by European golfers in 2011. This has been an extraordinary year and left members with an extremely difficult task in assessing their first, second and third place votes.

“But what Luke Donald has achieved over the whole season has been nothing less than superb. He is a class act on the course, but also off it, and he thoroughly deserves all the accolades he has received.

“Personally, I am delighted the Solheim Cup team featured strongly in the voting, which perhaps reflects my own view that their thrilling last-gasp victory was not just the most exciting golf of the year but the one of the best finishes to a team event in the history of the game.”

The Great Britain and Ireland Walker Cup team finished fifth in the poll, while there were also votes for the GB&I captain Nigel Edwards; the European captain Nicholas; Solheim stars Suzann Pettersen, Catriona Matthew and Caroline Hedwall; Tom Lewis, the leading amateur at the Open Championship and a winner of his third tournament on the European Tour; Lee Westwood, Martin Kaymer, Sergio Garcia and Alvaro Quiros.

GOLFWRITERS TROPHY 1951-2011

• 1951– Max Faulkner
• 1952– Miss Elizabeth Price
• 1953– Joe Carr
• 1954 – Frances Stephens
• 1955 – LGU Junior team (B Bostock, c)
• 1956 – John Beharrell
• 1957– Dai Rees
• 1958 – Harry Bradshaw
• 1959– Eric Brown
• 1960– Sir Stuart Goodwin
• 1961– Cdr. RCT Roe
• 1962– Marley Spearman
• 1963– Michael Lunt
• 1964– Eisenhower Trophy team (J Carr, c)
• 1965– Gerald Micklem
• 1966– Ronnie Shade
• 1967– John Panton
• 1968– Michael Bonallack
• 1969– Tony Jacklin
• 1970– Tony Jacklin
• 1971– Walker Cup team (M Bonallack, c)
• 1972– Mickey Walker
• 1973– Peter Oosterhuis
• 1974– Peter Oosterhuis
• 1975– The Golf Foundation
• 1976– Eisenhower Trophy team (S Saddler, c)
• 1977– Christy O'Connor Sen.
• 1978– Peter McEvoy
• 1979– Severiano Ballesteros
• 1980– Sandy Lyle
• 1981– Bernhard Langer
• 1982– Gordon Brand Jnr
• 1983– Nick Faldo
• 1984– Severiano Ballesteros
• 1985– Ryder Cup team (T Jacklin, c)
• 1986– Curtis Cup team (D Bailey, c)
• 1987– Ryder Cup team (T Jacklin, c)
• 1988– Sandy Lyle
• 1989– Walker Cup team (G Marks, c)
• 1990– Nick Faldo
• 1991– Severiano Ballesteros
• 1992– Solheim Cup team (M Walker, c)
• 1993– Bernhard Langer
• 1994– Laura Davies
• 1995– Ryder Cup team (B Gallacher, c)
• 1996– Colin Montgomerie
• 1997– Alison Nicholas
• 1998– Lee Westwood
• 1999– Sergio Garcia
• 2000– Lee Westwood
• 2001– Walker Cup team (P McEvoy, c)
• 2002– Ryder Cup team (S Torrance, c)
• 2003– Annika Sorenstam
• 2004– Ryder Cup team (B Langer, c)
• 2005 – Annika Sorenstam
• 2006 – Ryder Cup team (I Woosnam, c)
• 2007 – Padraig Harrington
• 2008 – Padraig Harrington
• 2009 – Lee Westwood
• 2010 – Graeme McDowell
• 2011 – Luke Donald