American Peter Uihlein has been named rookie of the year by the European Tour

Peter Uihlein has been named Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year on the European Tour, the first American to receive the award.

The 24-year-old, who turned professional in December 2011 after a successful amateur career, won his maiden title at the Madeira Islands Open in May before finishing second at both the Wales Open and Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in September.

Uihlein also had several other top-10 finishes and ended up in 14th spot in The Race to Dubai.

"It's an honour to win the Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year award," said Uihlein.

"I wasn't expecting it, but it's been a great year and I'm very pleased. I think I'm the first non-European to win it, so that's a great honour. Any time you're the first of anything, it's neat.

"The win in Madeira was great and I had a lot of top 10s. The win opened a few doors for me and I was able to play at Wentworth (the BMW PGA Championship) the following week."

European Tour chief executive George O'Grady added: "We heartily congratulate Peter on an outstanding season, during which he has thrilled golf fans and challenged for several titles.

"His incredible 60 at Kingsbarns (at Alfred Dunhill Links Championship), which ended with his eagle putt for a 59 missing by a fraction, will go down as one of the finest displays on The European Tour."

Previous winners of the award, which was launched in 1960, include:

1. Sir Nick Faldo (1977)
2. Jose Maria Olazabal (1986)
3. Colin Montgomerie (1988)
4. Ian Poulter (2000)
5. Martin Kaymer (2007)