Not easy to pick one top rookie from this class

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With his win at the HP Byron Nelson, Keegan Bradley made his case for TOUR rookie of the year honors.

Most years, it's an easy call. A slam dunk. A no-brainer.

But not this year, not with these newcomers who keep forgetting to act their age.

HP BYRON NELSON

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The only thing more difficult than picking the PGA TOUR's Rookie of the Year this season may be winning the award.

The latest newbie to throw his name into the discussion is Keegan Bradley, who beat Ryan Palmer in a playoff Sunday to win the HP Byron Nelson Championship. The TOUR's regular season still has 14 events left and already four rookies have won this year.

Personally, I dismiss Masters champion Charl Schwartzel being considered as a rookie because the South African has been a professional for almost a decade, even if this is his first season on the PGA TOUR.

Even if we throw out Schwartzel, it's been amazing to see three true rookies win this year -- Bradley, Jhonattan Vegas (Bob Hope Classic) and Brendan Steele (Valero Texas Open). None of these victories came in "opposite-field" events, either. They won the only PGA TOUR event being played that week, helping the first-year trio all reside in the top 30 in the FedExCup points list.

They're not the only rookies making some noise. Chris Kirk was runner-up at the Shell Houston Open, helping him rank 39th on the FedExCup points list. And Kevin Chappell (No. 89 in FedExCup points) was T2 at the Valero Texas Open.

Quite simply, this is one of the best rookie classes to arrive on the PGA TOUR since the stellar Nationwide Tour class of 2003 that included two future major champions (Zach Johnson and Lucas Glover) as well as Vaughn Taylor and Palmer.

And we haven't even mentioned the supposed "can't miss" rookie of this year's class -- Jamie Lovemark. The reigning Nationwide Tour Player of the Year was expected to contend right away, but he instead has been plagued by injuries that have limited his season to nine starts.

Another rookie to watch out for this year? How about Justin Hicks. An old rookie (36), Hicks shot a final-round 67 Sunday to improve to T14 Sunday and take home the biggest paycheck of his PGA TOUR career. Hicks was the 18-hole leader at the 2008 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines and also was T17 at the Honda Classic this year, so he obviously thrives in tough conditions.

Being a rookie in professional golf may be the biggest handicap -- no pun intended -- in all of sports. While the young pro golfers may not have to sing their school's fight song or bring the veterans doughnuts every morning, a first-year player on the PGA TOUR has a lot of obstacles to overcome.

First and foremost is getting into tournaments, especially early in the year when most of the veterans are playing, leaving less spots for the Nationwide and q-school graduates. The rooks don't get the best tee times, either, as many are placed in the day's final threesomes, which leaves them subject to more spike marks and rounds that don't get completed on time.

Of course, the biggest issue is unfamiliarity -- not only with the courses, but where to stay, where to eat, etc. And rookies usually get one less day to prepare for a new course because they are rarely in the Wednesday pro-ams.

But none of this has stopped Bradley, Vegas and Steele from taking a nice trophy home. And they're not content with that.

"Every rookie out here wants to be Rookie of the Year," Bradley said after his victory.

Whoever wins that award this year will certainly have earned it.

Craig Dolch is a freelance columnist for PGATOUR.COM. His views do not necessarily represent the views of the PGA TOUR.