2016 in golf explained

This article summarizes the highlights of professional and amateur golf in the year 2016.

Men's professional golf

Major championships

All four were won by first-time major winners for the first time since 2011.

• 7–10 April: Masters Tournament – Danny Willett won by three strokes over Jordan Spieth and Lee Westwood. It was his first major championship victory. It also marks the first time in 20 years that an Englishman has won the Masters.^[1]
• 16–19 June: U.S. Open – Dustin Johnson won by three strokes over Jim Furyk, Shane Lowry, and Scott Piercy. It was his first major championship victory.^[2]
• 14–17 July: The Open Championship – Henrik Stenson won by three strokes over Phil Mickelson. It was his first major championship victory. Stenson became the first man from Sweden to win a major championship.^[3]
• 28–31 July: PGA Championship – Jimmy Walker won by one stroke over Jason Day. It was his first major championship victory, meaning that all four majors were won by first-time winners in 2016.^[4]

World Golf Championships

• 3–6 March WGC-Cadillac Championship – Adam Scott won by one stroke over Bubba Watson. It was his first WGC Cadillac victory, and his second WGC victory overall.^[5]
• 23–27 March: WGC-Dell Match Play – Jason Day defeated Louis Oosthuizen 5 & 4 in the final. It was his second WGC-Match Play victory.^[6]
• 30 June – 3 July: WGC-Bridgestone Invitational – Dustin Johnson won by 1 stroke over Scott Piercy. It was his first WGC-Bridgestone Invitational victory, and his third WGC victory overall. It was also the third different kind of WGC tournament in which he was victorious.^[7]
• 27–30 October: WGC-HSBC Champions – Hideki Matsuyama won by seven strokes over Daniel Berger and Henrik Stenson. It was his first WGC victory.^[8]

FedEx Cup Playoffs

• 25–28 August: The Barclays – Patrick Reed won by one stroke over Emiliano Grillo and Sean O'Hair for his first FedEx Cup playoff victory.^[9]
• 2–5 September: Deutsche Bank Championship – Rory McIlroy won by two stokes over Paul Casey for his second Deutsche Bank win and third FedEx Cup playoff win.^[10]
• 8–11 September: BMW Championship – Dustin Johnson won by three strokes over Paul Casey for his second BMW Championship and third FedEx Cup playoff win.^[11]
• 22–25 September: Tour Championship – Rory McIlroy won in a playoff over Kevin Chappell and Ryan Moore. It was his fourth FedEx Cup playoff tournament victory, and his first FedEx Cup.^[12]

Other leading PGA Tour events

• 12–15 May: The Players Championship – Jason Day won by four strokes over Kevin Chappell. It was his first Players Championship victory, and his tenth PGA Tour victory.^[13]

For a complete list of PGA Tour results see 2016 PGA Tour.

Leading European Tour events

• 26–29 May: BMW PGA Championship – Chris Wood won by one stroke over Rikard Karlberg.^[14]
• 3–6 November: Turkish Airlines Open – Thorbjørn Olesen won by three strokes over David Horsey and Li Haotong.^[15]
• 10–13 November: Nedbank Golf Challenge – Alex Norén won by six strokes over Wang Jeung-hun.^[16]
• 17–20 November: DP World Tour Championship, Dubai – Matt Fitzpatrick won by one stroke over Tyrrell Hatton, while Henrik Stenson clinched the Race to Dubai title. It was Stenson's second Race to Dubai title.^[17]

For a complete list of European Tour results see 2016 European Tour.

Team events

• 15–17 January: EurAsia Cup – Europe beat Asia by a score of 18½ to 5½.^[18]
• 30 September – 2 October: Ryder Cup – Team USA regains the trophy with a 17–11 win over Team Europe.^[19]
• 24–27 November: World Cup of Golf – The Danish team of Søren Kjeldsen and Thorbjørn Olesen won, giving Denmark their first win in the World Cup.^[20]

Tour leaders

• PGA Tour – Dustin Johnson (US$9,365,185)
  • This total does not include FedEx Cup bonus.
• European Tour – Henrik Stenson (5,289,506 points)
• Asian Tour – Scott Hend (US$1,004,792)
• PGA Tour of Australasia – Matthew Griffin (A$239,445)
• PGA Tour Latinoamérica – Nate Lashley (US$140,897)
• PGA Tour Canada – Dan McCarthy (C$157,843)
• Challenge Tour – Jordan Smith (209,985 points)
• Japan Golf Tour – Yuta Ikeda (¥207,901,567)
• OneAsia Tour – Choi Jin-ho (US$116,295)
• Sunshine Tour – Brandon Stone (R 7,384,889)– 2016–17 season
• Web.com Tour – Wesley Bryan (US$449,392)

Awards

• PGA Tour
  • FedEx Cup – Rory McIlroy
  • PGA Player of the Year – Dustin Johnson
  • Player of the Year (Jack Nicklaus Trophy) – Dustin Johnson
  • Leading money winner (Arnold Palmer Award) – Dustin Johnson
  • Vardon Trophy – Dustin Johnson
  • Byron Nelson Award – Dustin Johnson
  • Rookie of the Year – Emiliano Grillo
  • Payne Stewart Award – Jim Furyk
• European Tour
  • Golfer of the Year – Henrik Stenson
  • Rookie of the Year – Wang Jeung-hun
• Web.com Tour
  • Player of the Year – Wesley Bryan

Other happenings

• 27 March: Jason Day becomes the number one golfer in the world.^[21]
• 15 April: The Governing Board of the OWGR approved two changes: The addition of the MENA Golf Tour into the world rankings and an increase in the minimum world ranking points for the Korean Tour from six to nine for first-place finishers.^[22]
• 7 August: Jim Furyk shot a 12-under-par 58 in the final round of the Travelers Championship, becoming the first player to shoot 58 in a PGA Tour event. This also made Furyk the first PGA Tour pro to card two rounds under 60.^[23]

Women's professional golf

LPGA majors

• 31 March – 3 April: ANA Inspiration – Lydia Ko won by one stroke over Charley Hull and Chun In-gee. It was her first ANA Inspiration championship, second consecutive major championship, and second consecutive LPGA Tour victory.^[24]
• 9–12 June: KPMG Women's PGA Championship – Brooke Henderson defeated Lydia Ko in a playoff. It was her first major championship win.^[25]
• 7–10 July: U.S. Women's Open – Brittany Lang defeated Anna Nordqvist in a 3-hole aggregate playoff. It was her first major championship win.^[26]
• 28–31 July: Women's British Open – Ariya Jutanugarn won by three shots over Mirim Lee and Mo Martin for her first major title.^[27]
• 15–18 September: The Evian Championship – Chun In-gee won her first Evian Championship and second major with a record 21-under-par score.^[28]

Additional LPGA Tour events

• 17–20 November: CME Group Tour Championship – Charley Hull won by two strokes over Ryu So-yeon, while Ariya Jutanugarn won the season-long Race to the CME Globe.^[29]

For a complete list of LPGA Tour results, see 2016 LPGA Tour.

Ladies European Tour event

• 7–10 December: Omega Dubai Ladies Masters – Shanshan Feng won by two strokes over Charley Hull.^[30]

For a complete list of Ladies European Tour results see 2016 Ladies European Tour.

Team events

• 21–24 July: International Crown – The United States won with 13 points, beating South Korea by one point.^[31]

Money list leaders

• LPGA Tour – Ariya Jutanugarn (US$2,550,928)
• LPGA of Japan Tour – Lee Bo-mee (¥175,869,794)
• Ladies European Tour – Beth Allen (€313,079)
• LPGA of Korea Tour – Park Sung-hyun (₩1,333,090,667)
• Ladies Asian Golf Tour – Leticia Ras Anderica (US$7,581)
• ALPG Tour – Karrie Webb (A$126,767) (2015/16 season)
• Symetra Tour – Madelene Sagström (US$167,064)

Awards

• LPGA Tour Player of the Year – Ariya Jutanugarn
• LPGA Tour Rookie of the Year – Chun In-gee
• LPGA Tour Vare Trophy – Chun In-gee
• LET Player of the Year – Beth Allen
• LET Rookie of the Year – Aditi Ashok
• LPGA of Japan Tour Player of the Year – Lee Bo-mee

Senior men's professional golf

Senior majors

• 19–22 May: Regions Tradition – Bernhard Langer won by six strokes over Olin Browne. He became only the second golfer, after Jack Nicklaus, to win four different senior major championships, and collected his sixth senior major victory overall. It was also his 100th professional golf victory.^[32]
• 26–29 May: Senior PGA Championship – Rocco Mediate won by three strokes over Colin Montgomerie. It was his first senior major victory.^[33]
• 9–12 June: Senior Players Championship – Bernhard Langer won by one stroke over Joe Durant and Miguel Ángel Jiménez. It was his third straight Senior Players Championship victory, and his seventh senior major victory overall.^[34]
• 21–24 July: The Senior Open Championship – Paul Broadhurst won his first senior major by two strokes over Scott McCarron.^[35]
• 11–14 August: U.S. Senior Open – Gene Sauers won his first senior major by one stroke over Miguel Ángel Jiménez and Billy Mayfair.^[36]

Charles Schwab Cup playoff events

• 28–30 October: PowerShares QQQ Championship – Tom Pernice Jr. won by one stroke over Colin Montgomerie.^[37]
• 4–6 November: Dominion Charity Classic – Scott McCarron won in a playoff over Tom Byrum.^[38]
• 10–13 November: Charles Schwab Cup Championship – Paul Goydos won by two strokes over Bernhard Langer.^[39]

Full results

• 2016 PGA Tour Champions
• 2016 European Senior Tour

Money list leaders

• PGA Tour Champions – German Bernhard Langer topped the money list for the eighth time (fifth consecutive) with earnings of US$3,016,959.
• European Senior Tour – Paul Broadhurst of England topped the Order of Merit for the first time with earnings of €399,285.

Awards

• PGA Tour Champions
  • Charles Schwab Cup – Bernhard Langer
  • Player of the Year – Bernhard Langer
  • Rookie of the Year – Paul Broadhurst
  • Leading money winner (Arnold Palmer Award) – Bernhard Langer
  • Lowest stroke average (Byron Nelson Award) – Bernhard Langer

Amateur golf

• 14–17 January: Latin America Amateur Championship – Paul Chaplet of Costa Rica won by one stroke over Jorge Garcia of Venezuela.^[40]
• 20–25 May: NCAA Division I Women's Golf Championships – Washington won its first team title and Virginia Elena Carta of Duke claimed the individual title.^{[41] [42]}
• 27 May – 1 June: NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championships – Aaron Wise of Oregon claimed the individual title and Oregon won the team title.^[43]
• 10–12 June: Curtis Cup – Great Britain and Ireland defeat the United States, 11½–8½.^[44]
• 13–18 June: The Amateur Championship – England's Scott Gregory defeated Scotland's Robert MacIntyre, 2 & 1.^[45]
• 21–25 June: British Ladies Amateur Golf Championship – Sweden's Julia Engström, age 15, defeated the Netherlands' Dewi Weber, in 19 holes – becoming the youngest British Ladies Amateur winner.^[46]
• 1–7 August: U.S. Women's Amateur – Seong Eun-jeong defeated Virginia Elena Carta 1 up in the championship match. Seong had won the U.S. Girls' Junior earlier in the year making her the only golfer to win both events in one year.^[47]
• 15–21 August: U.S. Amateur – Curtis Luck of Australia defeated American Brad Dalke, 6 & 5, in the final.^[48]
• 14–17 September Espirito Santo Trophy – South Korea won by 21 strokes over Switzerland for their fourth trophy.^[49]
• 21–24 September Eisenhower Trophy – Australia won by 19 strokes over England for their fourth trophy.^[50]
• 5–9 October: Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship – Curtis Luck of Australia defeated countryman Brett Coletta by one stroke.^[51]

Other happenings

• 11 May: Hannah O'Sullivan becomes the women's number one golfer in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, overtaking Leona Maguire.^[52]
• 29 June: Maverick McNealy becomes the men's number one golfer in the World Amateur Golf Ranking after Jon Rahm turns professional.^[53]
• 3 August: Leona Maguire retakes the world number one ranking.^[54]

Golf in multi-sport events

• 11–20 August: Summer Olympics – In the men's tournament: Justin Rose of Great Britain won the gold medal, Henrik Stenson of Sweden won the silver and Matt Kuchar of the United States won the bronze.^[55] In the women's tournament: Inbee Park of South Korea won the gold medal, Lydia Ko of New Zealand took the silver medal and Shanshan Feng of China won bronze.^[56]

Deaths

• 6 January – Christy O'Connor Jnr (born 1948), Irish golfer who won four times on the European Tour.^[57]
• 27 January – Mary Lou Crocker (born 1944), American golfer who won once on the LPGA Tour.^[58]
• 14 May – Christy O'Connor Snr (born 1924), Irish golfer and World Golf Hall of Fame member; uncle of Christy Jnr.^[59]
• 25 September – Arnold Palmer (born 1929), American golfer and World Golf Hall of Fame member; 62 PGA Tour victories, including 7 major titles; co-creator of the Golf Channel and ambassador to the game of golf; creator of Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children.^[60]
• 15 October – Barbara Romack (born 1932), American golfer who played three times on the Curtis Cup and won one LPGA Tour event.^[61]
• 12 November – Dawn Coe-Jones (born 1960), Canadian golfer and Canadian Golf Hall of Fame member; three LPGA Tour wins.^[62]
• 23 November – Peggy Kirk Bell (born 1921), American golfer on the LPGA Tour, winning one major title; she received the Bob Jones Award in 1990.^[63]

Table of results

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

Dates	Tournament	Status or tour	Winner
15–17 Jan		Europe v Asia men's professional team event	Team Europe
14–17 Jan		Amateur men's individual tournament	Paul Chaplet
3–6 Mar			Adam Scott
23–27 Mar			Jason Day
31 Mar – 3 Apr			Lydia Ko
7–10 Apr			Danny Willett
12–15 May			Jason Day
19–22 May			Bernhard Langer
20–25 May		U.S. college championship	Washington / Virginia Elena Carta
26–29 May			Chris Wood
26–29 May			Rocco Mediate
27 May – 1 Jun		U.S. college championship	Oregon / Aaron Wise
9–12 Jun			Brooke Henderson
9–12 Jun			Bernhard Langer
10–12 Jun		Amateur women's team tournament	Great Britain and Ireland
13–18 Jun		Amateur men's individual tournament	Scott Gregory
16–19 Jun			Dustin Johnson
21–25 Jun		Amateur women's individual tournament	Julia Engström
30 Jun – 3 Jul			Dustin Johnson
7–10 Jul			Brittany Lang
14–17 Jul			Henrik Stenson
21–24 Jul			Paul Broadhurst
21–24 Jul		LPGA Tour team event
28–31 Jul			Ariya Jutanugarn
28–31 Jul			Jimmy Walker
1–7 Aug		Amateur women's individual tournament	Seong Eun-jeong
11–14 Aug			Gene Sauers
11–14 Aug		Men's tournament	Justin Rose
17–20 Aug		Women's tournament	Inbee Park
15–21 Aug		Amateur men's individual tournament	Curtis Luck
25–28 Aug		PGA Tour FedEx Cup playoff	Patrick Reed
2–5 Sep		PGA Tour FedEx Cup playoff	Rory McIlroy
8–11 Sep		PGA Tour FedEx Cup playoff	Dustin Johnson
14–17 Sep		Women's amateur team event
15–18 Sep			Chun In-gee
21–24 Sep		Men's amateur team event
22–25 Sep		PGA Tour FedEx Cup playoff	Rory McIlroy
30 Sep – 2 Oct		European team vs. United States team men's professional team event
5–9 Oct		Amateur men's individual tournament	Curtis Luck
27–30 Oct
28–30 Oct		PGA Tour Champions Charles Schwab Cup playoff
4–6 Nov		PGA Tour Champions Charles Schwab Cup playoff	Scott McCarron
10–13 Nov		PGA Tour Champions Charles Schwab Cup playoff	Paul Goydos
17–20 Nov			Matt Fitzpatrick
17–20 Nov			Charley Hull
24–27 Nov		Men's professional team event

Notes and References

1. News: Danny Willett wins first major after Jordan Spieth falls apart on back nine . ESPN . 11 April 2016.
2. News: Dustin Johnson wins U.S. Open despite unusual USGA call . 20 June 2016 . USA Today . Steve . DiMeglio.
3. News: The Open 2016: Henrik Stenson beats Phil Mickelson to win at Royal Troon . BBC Sport . 17 July 2016 . Ged . Scott.
4. News: Steve . DiMeglio . Jimmy Walker captures PGA Championship for first major title . . 31 July 2016 .
5. News: Adam Scott rallies at Cadillac for 2nd straight win . ESPN . Associated Press . 6 March 2016.
6. News: Jason Day defeats Louis Oosthuizen to win WGC Match Play final . 28 March 2016 . Daily Telegraph . James . Corrigan.
7. News: Dustin Johnson wins the Bridgestone Invitational for 2nd straight victory . ESPN . Associated Press . 3 July 2016.
8. News: Hideki Matsuyama soars to 7-shot victory in HSBC Champions . ESPN . Associated Press . 31 October 2016.
9. News: Patrick Reed wins Barclays, Rickie Fowler loses Ryder Cup auto bid . ESPN . Associated Press . 28 August 2016.
10. News: Rory McIlroy rallies from six behind to win Deutsche Bank . ESPN . Associated Press . 5 September 2016.
11. News: Dustin Johnson wins BMW Championship, leads FedEx Cup . ESPN . Associated Press . 11 September 2016.
12. News: Rory McIlroy rallies from 3 back to win Tour Championship in playoff . ESPN . Associated Press . 26 September 2016.
13. News: Jason Day extends his hot streak by easing to Players Championship . Ewan . Murray . 15 May 2016 . The Guardian.
14. News: Chris Wood wins at Wentworth to boost Ryder Cup chances . ESPN . PA Sport . 29 May 2016.
15. News: Thorbjorn Olesen holds nerve to win Turkish Airlines Open . ESPN . PA Sport . 6 November 2016.
16. News: In-form Alex Noren storms home to claim Nedbank Golf Challenge title . ESPN . PA Sport . 13 November 2016.
17. News: Matthew Fitzpatrick holds nerve to win DP World Tour Championship in Dubai . The Guardian . Ewan . Murray . 20 November 2016.
18. Web site: Europe romp to emphatic victory in the EurAsia Cup . EurAsia Cup . 17 January 2016 . 16 November 2016 . 17 November 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20161117064656/http://www.eurasiacup.com/web/NewsDetails/191/ . dead .
19. News: US beat Europe to regain Ryder Cup. BBC Sport.
20. News: Søren Kjeldsen and Thorbjørn Olesen post maiden golf World Cup win for Denmark . 27 November 2016 . The Guardian . Australian Associated Press.
21. Web site: Week 13: Day Back To World No. 1 . Official World Golf Ranking . 28 March 2016.
22. Web site: OWGR Board Announcement . OWGR . 15 April 2016 . 16 November 2016 . 17 April 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160417203844/http://www.owgr.com/news/2016/april/press-release . dead .
23. News: Jim Furyk notches record for best PGA Tour round . ESPN . Jason . Sobel . 7 August 2016.
24. Web site: Lydia Ko exploits Ariya Jutanugarn's collapse to win ANA Inspiration . ESPN . Associated Press . 4 April 2016.
25. News: Brooke Henderson wins women's PGA Championship in sudden-death playoff . CBC Sports . Associated Press . 12 June 2016.
26. News: Brittany Lang prevails as penalty again plays role in U.S. Open . ESPNW . Fields . Bill . 10 July 2016.
27. News: Thailand's Ariya Jutanugarn wins Women's British Open . ESPN . Associated Press . 31 July 2016.
28. News: In Gee Chun finishes at 21 under for lowest 72-hole score in a major . ESPN . Associated Press . 19 September 2016.
29. News: Ariya Jutanugarn wins LPGA Player of the Year . ESPN . 21 November 2016 . Associated Press.
30. News: Feng rallies for 4th Dubai Ladies Masters title . Golf Channel . 10 December 2016 . 15 December 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20161214053131/http://www.golfchannel.com/news/golf-central-blog/feng-rallies-4th-dubai-ladies-masters-title . 14 December 2016 . dead .
31. News: Cristie Kerr holds on as U.S. wins UL International Crown . ESPN . Associated Press . 24 July 2016.
32. News: Bernhard Langer dominates at Regions Tradition for a 6-stroke victory . ESPN . Associated Press . 22 May 2016.
33. News: Rocco Mediate wraps up record-setting Senior PGA Championship . ESPN . Associated Press . 30 May 2016.
34. News: Bernhard Langer wins windy Senior Players Championship . ESPN . Associated Press . 12 June 2016.
35. News: Paul Broadhurst wins Senior British Open at Carnoustie . ESPN . Associated Press . 24 July 2016.
36. News: Gene Sauers claims U.S. Senior Open Championship . ESPN . Associated Press . 15 August 2016.
37. News: Tom Pernice Jr. earns 5th career PGA Tour Champions victory . ESPN . Associated Press . 30 October 2016.
38. News: Scott McCarron birdies in playoff to beat Tom Byrum in Virginia . ESPN . Associated Press . 6 November 2016.
39. News: Paul Goydos wins Champions finale, Bernhard Langer takes season title . ESPN . Associated Press . 13 November 2016.
40. News: Paul Chaplet earns Masters bid with win at Latin America Amateur Championship . ESPN . Kevin . Maguire . 18 January 2016.
41. News: Carta wins NCAA title as Duke advances . USA Today . Associated Press . 23 May 2016.
42. News: Washington beats Stanford to win NCAA golf title . USA Today . Associated Press . 25 May 2016.
43. News: Sulman Raza gives Oregon its first golf title as Ducks clip Horns . ESPN . Associated Press . 1 June 2016.
44. News: Britain and Ireland defeat U.S. at Curtis Cup . ESPN . Associated Press . 12 June 2016.
45. Web site: Corhampton golfer Scott Gregory wins the British Amateur Championship in Wales . . 19 June 2016.
46. At 15, Julia Engstrom looks to take next step toward golf career at U.S. Women's Open . Golfweek . 7 July 2016 . Beth Ann . Nichols.
47. News: South Korea's Eun Jeong Seong wins U.S. Women's Amateur . ESPN . Associated Press . 7 August 2016.
48. News: Australia's Curtis Luck wins U.S. Amateur with stirring 8-hole run . ESPN . Associated Press . 21 August 2016.
49. News: South Korea wins Women's World Amateur Team title . ESPN . Associated Press . 17 September 2016.
50. News: Australia wins World Amateur Team Championship by 19 strokes . ESPN . Associated Press . 24 September 2016.
51. News: Australia's Curtis Luck rallies to win Asia-Pacific Amateur . USA Today . Associated Press . 9 October 2016.
52. Web site: O'Sullivan becomes world number one . World Amateur Golf Ranking . 11 May 2016.
53. Web site: McNealy becomes world number one . World Amateur Golf Ranking . 29 June 2016.
54. Web site: Maguire tops world after British performance . World Amateur Golf Ranking . 3 August 2016.
55. News: Rio Olympics 2016: Justin Rose beats Henrik Stenson to Olympic gold in tense finale . 14 August 2016 . BBC Sport.
56. News: Inbee Park wins gold in Olympic golf, silver for Lydia Ko . USA Today . Steve . DiMeglio . 20 August 2016.
57. News: 'The saddest day in Irish golf' - legend Christy O'Connor Jnr passes away at just 67 . 6 January 2016 . Irish Independent . Liam . Kelly.
58. News: Mary Lou Crocker obituary . Dallas Morning News . 30 January 2016.
59. News: Keville . Ger . Taoiseach Enda Kenny leads tributes to 'Himself' as Christy O'Connor Senior (91) passes away . Irish Independent . 14 May 2016.
60. News: Anderson . Dave . Arnold Palmer, the Magnetic Face of Golf in the '60s, Dies at 87 . The New York Times . 26 September 2016.
61. News: Romack was accomplished golfer, Sports Illustrated trailblazer . Sacramento Bee . October 18, 2016 . Steve . Pajak.
62. News: The Canadian Press . Canadian golf great Dawn Coe-Jones dies at 56 . The Globe and Mail . 12 November 2016.
63. News: Longtime top amateur Peggy Kirk Bell, a proponent for women's golf, dies at 95 . ESPN . Associated press . 24 November 2016.