2015 in golf explained

This article summarizes the highlights of professional and amateur golf in the year 2015.

Men's professional golf

Major championships

9–12 April: The Masters – Jordan Spieth won by four strokes over Phil Mickelson and Justin Rose. It was his first major victory. He also tied the Tiger Woods' tournament record of 270 (−18)
18–21 June: U.S. Open – Jordan Spieth won by one stroke when Dustin Johnson failed to make birdie at the 18th hole. He became the sixth player ever to win the Masters and U.S. Open in the same year.
16–19 July: The Open Championship – Zach Johnson won in a 4-hole aggregate playoff, when Louis Oosthuizen failed to make his putt on the 4th and final hole of the playoff. It was Johnson's first Open Championship victory, and his second major victory.
13–16 August: PGA Championship – Jason Day won his first major by three strokes over Jordan Spieth. Day played consistently during the final round, never allowing Spieth an opportunity to get closer than 3 strokes, while setting a record for a major at 20 under par, besting Tiger Woods' previous record of 19 under at the 2000 British Open.

World Golf Championships

5–8 March WGC-Cadillac Championship – Dustin Johnson won by one stroke over J. B. Holmes
29 April – 3 May: WGC-Cadillac Match Play – Rory McIlroy defeated Gary Woodland, 4 & 2, in the championship match. It was McIlroy's first WGC-Match Play championship, and his second WGC championship overall.
6–9 August: WGC-Bridgestone Invitational – Shane Lowry won by two strokes over Bubba Watson. It was his first WGC victory.
5–8 November: WGC-HSBC Champions – Russell Knox won by two strokes over Kevin Kisner. It was his first World Golf Championship victory, and also his first PGA Tour and European Tour victory.

FedEx Cup playoff events - see 2015 FedEx Cup Playoffs

27–30 August: The Barclays – Jason Day tied the tournament record and won by six strokes over Henrik Stenson.
4–7 September: Deutsche Bank Championship – Rickie Fowler won by one stroke over Henrik Stenson.
17–20 September: BMW Championship – Jason Day won his second FedEx Cup event of the season and moved to number one in the Official World Golf Ranking.
24–27 September: Tour Championship – Jordan Spieth won by three strokes over Danny Lee, Justin Rose, and Henrik Stenson. The victory for him also won his first FedEx Cup.

Other leading PGA Tour events

7–10 May: The Players Championship – Rickie Fowler defeated Kevin Kisner and Sergio García in a three-hole aggregate playoff, eliminating García after the third hole, and eliminating Kisner on a sudden-death fourth hole. It was Fowler's first Players title.

For a complete list of PGA Tour results see 2015 PGA Tour.

Leading European Tour events

21–24 May: BMW PGA Championship – An Byeong-hun won by six strokes over Thongchai Jaidee and Miguel Ángel Jiménez. It was his first European Tour victory.
29 October – 1 November: Turkish Airlines Open – Victor Dubuisson won by one stroke over Jaco van Zyl.
12–15 November: BMW Masters – Kristoffer Broberg won in a playoff over Patrick Reed, with a birdie on the first extra hole. It was his first European Tour victory.
19–22 November: DP World Tour Championship, Dubai – Rory McIlroy won by one stroke over Andy Sullivan, clinching the Race to Dubai title. It was his second Tour Championship victory, and his third Race to Dubai title.

For a complete list of European Tour results see 2015 European Tour.

Team events

8–11 October: Presidents Cup – The U.S. team won, 15½–14½, for the sixth straight time.

Tour leaders

PGA Tour – Jordan Spieth (US$12,030,465)
- This total does not include FedEx Cup bonuses.
European Tour – Rory McIlroy (4,727,253 points)
- This total does not include the US$1.875 million bonus for winning the Race to Dubai.
Japan Golf Tour – Kim Kyung-tae (¥165,981,625)
Asian Tour – Anirban Lahiri (US$1,139,084)
PGA Tour of Australasia – Nathan Holman (A$346,702)
Sunshine Tour – George Coetzee (R 5,470,684)

Awards

PGA Tour
- FedEx Cup – Jordan Spieth
- PGA Player of the Year – Jordan Spieth
- Player of the Year (Jack Nicklaus Trophy) – Jordan Spieth
- Leading money winner (Arnold Palmer Award) – Jordan Spieth
- Vardon Trophy – Jordan Spieth
- Byron Nelson Award – Jordan Spieth
- Rookie of the Year – Daniel Berger
- Payne Stewart Award – Ernie Els
European Tour
- Golfer of the Year – Rory McIlroy
- Rookie of the Year – An Byeong-hun
Web.com Tour
- Player of the Year – Patton Kizzire

Results from other tours

Other happenings

15 July: The board of the Official World Golf Ranking approved the addition of the PGA EuroPro Tour, Pro Golf Tour, Alps Tour, and Nordic Golf League into the world rankings. The new scoring begins after the 2015 Open Championship and brings the number of tours that receive ranking points to 18.
16 August: Jordan Spieth becomes the number one golfer in the world.
30 August: Rory McIlroy regains the world number one ranking.
8 September: Spieth regains the world number one ranking.
14 September: McIlroy regains the world number one ranking.
21 September: Jason Day gains the world number one ranking for the first time, resulting from his victory at the BMW Championship.
28 September: Spieth regains the world number one ranking.
18 October: Day regains the world number one ranking.
8 November: Spieth regains the world number one ranking.

Women's professional golf

LPGA majors

2–5 April: ANA Inspiration – Brittany Lincicome defeated Stacy Lewis on the third playoff hole. It is her second ANA Inspiration victory.
11–14 June: KPMG Women's PGA Championship – Inbee Park won by five strokes over Kim Sei-young. It was her third consecutive Women's PGA Championship victory, and her sixth major victory overall. She also set a tournament record relative to par, at −19.
9–12 July: U.S. Women's Open – Chun In-gee won by one stroke over Amy Yang, for her first major victory.
30 July – 2 August: Women's British Open – Inbee Park won by three strokes over Ko Jin-young. It was her first Women's British Open victory, and her seventh major victory overall.
10–13 September: The Evian Championship – Lydia Ko won by six strokes over Lexi Thompson. It was her first major championship, and in the process she became, at age 18, the youngest person of either sex ever to win a professional major championship.

For a complete list of LPGA Tour results, see 2015 LPGA Tour.

Additional LPGA Tour events

19–22 November: CME Group Tour Championship – Cristie Kerr won by one stroke over Jang Ha-na and Gerina Piller, while Lydia Ko won the season-long Race to the CME Globe.

Ladies European Tour event

9–12 December: Omega Dubai Ladies Masters – Shanshan Feng won by 12 strokes.

For a complete list of Ladies European Tour results see 2015 Ladies European Tour.

Team events

18–20 September: Solheim Cup – Team USA won the Cup for the first time since 2009, with a 14½–13½ victory over Team Europe. Team USA won 8½ of the 12 available points in the singles matches to clinch the Cup.

Money list leaders

LPGA Tour – Lydia Ko (US$2,800,802)
LPGA of Japan Tour – Lee Bo-mee (¥230,497,057)
Ladies European Tour – Shanshan Feng (€399,213)
LPGA of Korea Tour – Chun In-gee (₩913,760,833)
Ladies Asian Golf Tour – Kanphanitnan Muangkhumsakul (US$25,777)
ALPG Tour – Su-Hyun Oh (A$80,430) (2014/15 season)
Symetra Tour – Annie Park (US$68,673)

Awards

LPGA Tour Player of the Year – Lydia Ko
LPGA Tour Rookie of the Year – Sei Young Kim
LPGA Tour Vare Trophy – Inbee Park
LET Rookie of the Year – Emily Kristine Pedersen
LPGA of Japan Tour Player of the Year – Lee Bo-mee

Other tour results

Other happenings

31 January – Lydia Ko took over the No. 1 spot in Women's World Golf Rankings following her runner-up finish at Coates Golf Championship.
14 June – Inbee Park took over the No. 1 spot in Women's World Golf Rankings following her win at KPMG Women's PGA Championship.
26 July – Chun In-gee won major championships on three ladies professional golf tours in one season: U.S. Women's Open of LPGA Tour, World Ladies Championship Salonpas Cup of LPGA of Japan Tour, and Hite Jinro Championship of LPGA of Korea Tour.
25 October – Ko took over the No. 1 spot in Women's World Golf Rankings following her win at Fubon LPGA Taiwan Championship.
15 November - South Korean Lee Bo-mee became the first player of LPGA of Japan Tour to earn more than 200 million yen in one season, following her win at Ito En Ladies Golf Tournament.
22 November - With her consecutive victory at Daio Paper Elleair Open, Lee Bo-mee earned more than 220 million yen in one season, and now has the record of the greatest amount of money earned in one season in Japan, both men and women, surpassing the record of Toshimitsu Izawa in 2001.

Senior men's professional golf

Senior majors

14–17 May: Regions Tradition – Jeff Maggert won on the first playoff hole over Kevin Sutherland.
21–24 May: Senior PGA Championship – Colin Montgomerie won by four strokes. It is his third senior major championship, and his second straight Senior PGA Championship victory.
11–14 June: Senior Players Championship – Bernhard Langer won by six strokes over Kirk Triplett. It was his second consecutive Senior Players Championship victory, and his fifth senior major victory overall.
25–28 June: U.S. Senior Open – Jeff Maggert won by two strokes over Colin Montgomerie. It was his second senior major victory.
23–26 July: The Senior Open Championship – Marco Dawson won by one stroke over Bernhard Langer. It was Dawson's first major victory of any kind.

Full results

Money list leaders

Champions Tour – German Bernhard Langer topped the money list for the seventh time (fourth consecutive) with earnings of US$2,340,288.
European Senior Tour – Colin Montgomerie won for the second consecutive season with earnings of €679,147.

Awards

Champions Tour
- Charles Schwab Cup – Bernhard Langer
- Player of the Year – Bernhard Langer
- Rookie of the Year – Jerry Smith
- Leading money winner (Arnold Palmer Award) – Bernhard Langer
- Lowest stroke average (Byron Nelson Award) – Bernhard Langer

Amateur golf

15–18 January: Latin America Amateur Championship – Matías Domínguez of Chile won by one stroke over Alejandro Tosti of Argentina.
22–27 May: NCAA Division I Women's Golf Championships – Stanford won its first team title and Emma Talley of Alabama claimed the individual title.
29 May – 3 June: NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championships – LSU won its fifth team title and Bryson DeChambeau of SMU claimed the individual title.
9–13 June: British Ladies Amateur Golf Championship - Céline Boutier won 4 and 3 over Linnea Ström in the championship match.
15–20 June: The Amateur Championship – Romain Langasque won 4 & 2 over Grant Forrest in the championship match.
10–16 August: U.S. Women's Amateur – Hannah O'Sullivan defeated Sierra Brooks 3 & 2 in the championship match.
17–23 August: U.S. Amateur – Bryson DeChambeau won 7 & 6 over Derek Bard in the championship match.
12–13 September: Walker Cup – Great Britain and Ireland defeated the United States by a score of 16½ to 9½.
1–4 October: Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship – Chinese golfer Jin Cheng won by one stroke; before the start of the fourth round, it was decided that weather conditions were not suitable for play, so the tournament was called completed with 54 holes in the books.

Golf in multi-sport events

3–6 June: Games of the Small States of Europe – Iceland swept the gold medals: men's individual (Kristján Einarsson), women's individual (Guðrún Björnsdóttir), men's team and women's team.
9–12 June: Southeast Asian Games – Thailand swept the gold medals: men's individual (Natipong Srithong), women's individual (Suthavee Chanachai), men's team and women's team.
8–11 July: Summer Universiade – Japan took the men's individual (Kazuki Higa) and team gold medals while South Korea took the women's individual (Lee Jeong-eun) and team golds.
15–18 July: Pacific Games – Papua New Guinea swept the gold medals: men's individual (Soti Dinki), women's individual (Kristine Seko), men's team and women's team.
16–19 July: Pan American Games – Colombian players won the three events: men's (Marcelo Rozo), women's (Mariajo Uribe) and mixed team (Rozo, Uribe, Mateo Gómez, Paola Moreno).

Deaths

29 January – Kel Nagle (born 1920), Australian golfer with 81 professional wins, most notably winning the 1960 Open Championship.
3 February – Charlie Sifford (born 1922), first African American to join the PGA Tour.
7 February – Billy Casper (born 1931), American golfer who won 51 times on the PGA Tour, including three majors.
29 April – Calvin Peete (born 1943), African-American golfer with 12 PGA Tour wins.
1 May – Pete Brown (born 1935), first African-American golfer to win on the PGA Tour.
3 May – Warren Smith (born 1915), member of the PGA Golf Professional Hall of Fame.
23 May – Hugh Boyle (born 1936), Irish golfer on 1967 Ryder Cup team.
7 June – Sean Pappas (born 1966), South African golfer with 5 Sunshine Tour wins.
7 August – Louise Suggs (born 1923), American professional golfer and co-founder of the LPGA, with 61 LPGA Tour victories, including 11 major championships.
13 September – Howie Johnson (born 1925), American golfer who won twice on the PGA Tour.
6 October – Sandra Spuzich (born 1937), American golfer who won seven times on the LPGA Tour, including the 1966 U.S. Women's Open.
18 November – Dan Halldorson (born 1952), Canadian golfer who won once on the PGA Tour and seven times on the Canadian Tour.

Table of results

This table summarizes all the results referred to above in date order.

Dates	Tournament	Status or tour	Winner
15–18 Jan		Amateur men's individual tournament	Matías Domínguez
5–8 Mar			Dustin Johnson
2–5 Apr			Brittany Lincicome
9–12 Apr			Jordan Spieth
29 Apr – 3 May			Rory McIlroy
7–10 May			Rickie Fowler
14–17 May			Jeff Maggert
21–24 May			An Byeong-hun
21–24 May			Colin Montgomerie
22–27 May		U.S. college championship	Stanford / Emma Talley
29 May – 3 Jun		U.S. college championship	LSU / Bryson DeChambeau
9–13 Jun		Amateur women's individual tournament	Céline Boutier
11–14 Jun			Inbee Park
11–14 Jun			Bernhard Langer
15–20 Jun		Amateur men's individual tournament	Romain Langasque
18–21 Jun			Jordan Spieth
25–28 Jun	U.S. Senior Open		Jeff Maggert
9–12 Jul			Chun In-gee
16–19 Jul			Zach Johnson
23–26 Jul			Marco Dawson
30 Jul – 2 Aug			Inbee Park
6–9 Aug			Shane Lowry
10–16 Aug		Amateur women's individual tournament	Hannah O'Sullivan
13–16 Aug			Jason Day
17–23 Aug	U.S. Amateur	Amateur men's individual tournament	Bryson DeChambeau
27–30 Aug		PGA Tour FedEx Cup playoff	Jason Day
4–7 Sep		PGA Tour FedEx Cup playoff	Rickie Fowler
10–13 Sep			Lydia Ko
12–13 Sep		Great Britain & Ireland v United States men's amateur team event	Great Britain &<br> Ireland
18–20 Sep		Europe v United States women's professional team event
17–20 Sep	BMW Championship	PGA Tour FedEx Cup playoff
24–27 Sep		PGA Tour FedEx Cup playoff	Jordan Spieth
1–4 Oct		Amateur men's individual tournament
8–11 Oct		United States v. International team men's professional team event	U.S. team
5–8 Nov
19–22 Nov	DP World Tour Championship, Dubai	European Tour	Rory McIlroy
19–22 Nov			Cristie Kerr

The following biennial events will next be played in 2016: Ryder Cup, EurAsia Cup, International Crown, Curtis Cup, Eisenhower Trophy, Espirito Santo Trophy.