Golf:Gareth Maybin narrowly missed out on becoming only the second Irishman to be named the European Tour Rookie of the Year after he was pipped by England's Chris Wood.

Maybin, who turned pro in 2005, enjoyed a fine debut season on the main European Tour after cutting his teeth on the mini-tours in the States before coming to prominence on the Challenge Tour last year.

The 29-year-old recorded no less than eight top 20 finishes this campaign, including his runner-up finish in the South African Open early in the season. The Ballyclare native also qualified for last week’s season-ending Dubai World Championship and finished the week tied 27th.

In all the quietly-spoken Northerner amassed €625,876 in prize money from 29 events and finished 53rd on the Race to Dubai money list.

However his efforts weren’t enough to join Peter Lawrie, who remains the only Irish professional to have been named the Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year (2003).

Instead Wood took the accolade after finishing 44th on the money list (€679,559) in a season with many highpoints, including the British Open at Turnberry where he missed out on a place in the play-off by just one shot and finished tied third alongside European number one Lee Westwood.

England’s Danny Willett (58th) and Sweden’s Oskar Henningsson (68th) were also considered for the award.