Roundtable: Best rookie in 2011 not named Keegan?

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Stan Badz/PGA TOUR

Charl Schwartzel was a rookie in 2011 and won the Masters. Who else was a standout rookie this year?

Keegan Bradley turned what would have been a tight race for PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year into a runaway when he made the PGA Championship his second win of the season. But what if that hadn't happened? Take Bradley out of the equation and which of the other five rookies who won TOUR events would our PGATOUR.COM panel of experts have chosen to take home the postseason rookie hardware?

Chris Kirk is going to be a big winner on the PGA TOUR. He showed that promise in 2011 during a very successful rookie season. From juniors to college to the Nationwide Tour, Kirk has shown that he's got the game and the mental approach to handle any stressful situation. He's always been able to project an aura of calm, even when things are getting wild. Kirk challenged at the Shell Houston Open, where he finished second, and broke through three months later by winning the Viking Classic. He made his debut at the PGA Championship and tied for 34th. This is just the start of what should be a long, successful professional career for a young man who sometimes seems to be without a pulse. - Stan Awtrey, Correspondent

Charl Schwartzel finished higher in Rob Bolton's rookie rankings and won the Masters, but he has years of experience on professional tours worldwide. Jhonattan Vegas won in just his fifth PGA TOUR start ever -- and second as an official member -- at the Bob Hope Classic in a playoff over eventual FedExCup champion Bill Haas and Gary Woodland. He cooled off in the second half of the season, but he's certainly one to watch in years to come. Plus, he's already earned his own cool nickname -- Jhonny Vegas. - Lauren Deason, Producer

Heading into the final round of the PGA Championship, Brendan Steele was having as good a year as Bradley. Both had a win, but Steele was a shot ahead of Bradley -- tied for the 54-hole lead with Jason Dufner -- entering the last round at Atlanta Athletic Club. But Steele faded to 19th place after a 77 while Bradley overcame a five-shot deficit to beat Dufner in a playoff. Steele bounced back to finish the season with a pair of top-10s to place 38th on the final money list. - Craig Dolch, Correspondent

He is an unconventional rookie and probably won't get much thought when the votes get tallied, but Charl Schwartzel was the TOUR's best rookie this year -- hands down. If I was a player, he'd get my vote over Bradley, so of course I think he's the top rookie if Bradley's taken out of the picture. Schwartzel has one fewer top-10 and two fewer top-25s than Bradley's totals of four and 12 but he did it making 13 fewer starts. Additionally, Schwartzel did not miss a single cut, going 15-for-15. Bradley in 28 starts played just 18 times on the weekend. - Chris Dunham, Producer

No disrespect to Masters champ Charl Schwartzel, but rookie to me is a true first-year-in-the-bigs player. So I am going with Jhonny Vegas over Brendan Steele by one of those to-the-wall Olympic-swimming finishes. Steele might have been a bit more consistent at the end of the year, but they both had the understandable ups and downs after winning. Vegas and his infectious smile came close to going back-to-back early in the year and really captured our attention, as well as getting Venezuela excited about the game. Steele won more money but played in two more events and missed more cuts. - Melanie Hauser, Correspondent

Hard to not consider Charl Schwartzel as the second-best rookie, considering his win at Augusta National. But if we're talking about less-experienced rookies, then I'd have to say Jhonattan Vegas. He won once early, went through a lull, then finished the year making 10 consecutive cuts. Even better, he hits it a ton and is accurate with his irons. Needs more consistency with the flatstick, though. - Mike McAllister, Managing Editor

Granted, Charl Schwartzel won a major like Bradley but he also came to the PGA TOUR with more seasoning. So I'm going with Brendan Steele. He wasn't the first rookie to win -- or the last -- but his season all around was steady. He gained confidence with that win at the Valero Texas Open and posted six of his eight top-25s after leaving the Lone Star State. He was 52nd in the FedExCup and 38th in money. And don't forget, he entered the final round of the PGA Championship tied for the lead before his good buddy Keegan Bradley upstaged him. - Helen Ross, Chief of Correspondents

Jhonattan Vegas' huge splash at beginning of the year, winning at what's now known as the Humana Challenge, didn't quite carry over the rest of the season. From February on he had just one top-10, a fifth at -- where else? -- Vegas. But I'm still bullish on his game and his charisma. - John Schwarb, Producer

Charl Schwartzel, who had exactly 37 starts on the PGA TOUR before 2010, became a household name when he birdied the final four holes to win the Masters. But it wasn't all Augusta National: He was seventh in scoring average, which is even more impressive when you count the fact that he's playing just 15 events, most of which are the toughest on TOUR. It's hard to average under 70 for a whole season when your starts consist of places like TPC Sawgrass, Congressional, PGA National and Atlanta Athletic Club. - Ryan Smithson, Producer

I hate giving this honor to a guy who has been playing in Europe since 2003, but Charl Schwartzel was a rookie on TOUR this year and easily the best one not named Bradley. In 15 starts, he had three top-10s and only five times did he finish outside the top 25. That's what happens when you're seventh on TOUR in scoring average. - Brian Wacker, Producer