2020 in golf explained

This article summarizes the highlights of professional and amateur golf in the year 2020. The calendar was significantly disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, with many events being canceled or postponed, or taking place without spectators.

Men's professional golf

Major championships

• 16–19 July: The Open Championship – Canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic^[1]
• 6–9 August (14–17 May): PGA Championship – Collin Morikawa won by two strokes over Paul Casey and Dustin Johnson; it was his first major championship victory.^[2]
• 17–20 September (18–21 June): U.S. Open – Bryson DeChambeau won his first major championship title by six strokes over Matthew Wolff; he was the only player to finish under par.^[3]
• 12–15 November (9–12 April): Masters Tournament – Dustin Johnson won by five strokes over Im Sung-jae and Cameron Smith. It was his first Masters championship and his second major championship. He set a new tournament record of 20 strokes under par.^[4]

World Golf Championships

• 20–23 February: WGC-Mexico Championship – Patrick Reed won by one stroke over Bryson DeChambeau; it was his second win in the tournament.^[5]
• 25–29 March: WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play – Canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic^[6]
• 30 July – 2 August (2–5 July): WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational – Justin Thomas won by three strokes; it was his second win in the tournament.^[7]
• 29 October – 1 November: WGC-HSBC Champions – Canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic^[8]

FedEx Cup playoff events

See main article: 2020 FedEx Cup Playoffs.

• 20–23 August (13–16 August): The Northern Trust – Dustin Johnson won by 11 strokes over Harris English; it was his fifth career tournament win in the FedEx Cup playoffs, and his third in the Northern Trust (formerly known as The Barclays).
• 27–30 August (20–23 August): BMW Championship – Jon Rahm won in a playoff over Dustin Johnson. It was his first FedEx Cup playoff tournament victory.^[9]
• 4–7 September (27–30 August): Tour Championship – Dustin Johnson won by three strokes over Xander Schauffele and Justin Thomas, to win the FedEx Cup for the first time. Johnson had started the tournament 3 strokes ahead of Thomas and 7 strokes ahead of Schauffele, who returned the lowest aggregate score.^[10]

Other leading PGA Tour events

• 12–15 March: The Players Championship – Incomplete; canceled following completion of the first round due to the COVID-19 pandemic.^[11]

For a complete list of PGA Tour results see 2019–20 PGA Tour.

Leading European Tour events

• 8–11 October (10–13 September): BMW PGA Championship – Tyrrell Hatton won by four strokes from Victor Perez.^[12]
• 10–13 December (19–22 November): DP World Tour Championship, Dubai – Englishman Matt Fitzpatrick won his second DP World Tour Championship, defeating Lee Westwood by one stroke.^[13]

For a complete list of European Tour results see 2020 European Tour.

Team events

• 25–27 September: Ryder Cup – Postponed until 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic^[14]

Tour leaders

• PGA Tour
  • FedEx Cup – Dustin Johnson
  • Leading money winner – Justin Thomas (US$7,344,040)
• European Tour – Lee Westwood (3,128 points)
• Japan Golf Tour – season extended into 2021
• Asian Tour –
• PGA Tour of Australasia – season extended into 2021
• Sunshine Tour – season extended into 2021

Awards

• PGA Tour
  • PGA Player of the Year – Justin Thomas
  • Player of the Year (Jack Nicklaus Trophy) – Dustin Johnson
  • Vardon Trophy – Webb Simpson
  • Byron Nelson Award – Webb Simpson
  • Rookie of the Year (Arnold Palmer Award) – Scottie Scheffler
  • Payne Stewart Award – Zach Johnson
• European Tour
  • Golfer of the Year – Lee Westwood
  • Rookie of the Year – Sami Välimäki
• Korn Ferry Tour
  • Player of the Year – season extended into 2021

Results from other tours

• 2020–21–22 Asian Tour
• 2020–21 PGA Tour of Australasia
• 2020 PGA Tour Canada – season canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.^[15]
• 2020 Challenge Tour
• 2020–21 Japan Golf Tour
• 2020–21 PGA Tour Latinoamérica
• 2020–21 Sunshine Tour
• 2020–21 Korn Ferry Tour
• LocaliQ Series

Other happenings

• 9 February: Rory McIlroy regained the top spot in the Official World Golf Ranking, gaining it for the eighth time, replacing Brooks Koepka.^[16]
• 20 March: Official World Golf Ranking frozen at week 11 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.^[17]
• 14 June: Official World Golf Ranking restarted at week 24 with the resumption of the PGA Tour and Korn Ferry Tour.^[18]
• 19 July: Jon Rahm gained the top spot in the Official World Golf Ranking for the first time, replacing McIlroy.^[19]
• 2 August: Justin Thomas gained the top spot in the Official World Golf Ranking for the second time, replacing Rahm.^[7]
• 9 August: Rahm regained the number one ranking after finishing in a tie for thirteenth place at the PGA Championship.^[20]
• 23 August: Dustin Johnson replaced Rahm as number one in the Official World Golf Ranking following victory in The Northern Trust; it was the sixth time Johnson had reached the top spot.^[21]

Women's professional golf

LPGA majors

• 6–9 August (23–26 July): The Evian Championship – Canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic^[22]
• 20–23 August: Women's British Open – World number 304 Sophia Popov won by two strokes from Thidapa Suwannapura; it was her first major tournament victory.^[23]
• 10–13 September (2–5 April): ANA Inspiration – Mirim Lee won her first major championship, defeating Brooke Henderson and Nelly Korda with a birdie on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff; she made the playoff by chipping in for eagle on the final hole of regulation play.^[24]
• 8–11 October (25–28 June): KPMG Women's PGA Championship – Kim Sei-young won her first major championship by five strokes over fellow countrywoman Inbee Park.^[25]
• 10–13 December (4–7 June): U.S. Women's Open – Kim A-lim, in her first start in a tournament in the United States, won by one stroke over Ko Jin-young and Amy Olson. Kim birdied her last three holes and finished three-under par.^[26]

Additional LPGA Tour events

• 17–20 December (19–22 November): CME Group Tour Championship – World number 1 Ko Jin-young won by five shots, also finishing first in the money list in the process.^[27]

For a complete list of LPGA Tour results, see 2020 LPGA Tour.
For a complete list of Ladies European Tour results see 2020 Ladies European Tour.

Team events

• 27–30 August: International Crown – Canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic^[28]

Money list leaders

• LPGA Tour – Ko Jin-young ($1,667,925)
• Ladies European Tour – Emily Kristine Pedersen (1,249.35 points)
• LPGA of Japan Tour – season extended into 2021
• LPGA of Korea Tour – Kim Hyo-joo (₩797,137,207)
• ALPG Tour – Minjee Lee (A$63,618, 2019/20 season)
• Symetra Tour – Ana Belac (US$49,081)

Other tour results

• 2020 ALPG Tour
• 2020–21 LPGA of Japan Tour
• 2020 LPGA of Korea Tour
• 2020 Symetra Tour

Other happenings

• 20 March: Women's World Golf Rankings frozen at week 11 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.^[17]
• 20 July: Women's World Golf Rankings resume with altered computation of ranking, back-computed to week 20, when the LPGA of Korea Tour resumed play.^[29]

Senior men's professional golf

Senior majors

• 21–24 May: Senior PGA Championship – Canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic^[30]
• 25–28 June: U.S. Senior Open – Canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic^[31]
• 23–26 July: Senior Open Championship – Canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic^[32]
• 13–16 August (9–12 July): Senior Players Championship – Jerry Kelly won his first senior major title by two strokes over Scott Parel.^[33]
• 24–27 September (7–10 May): Regions Tradition – Canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic

Full results

• 2020–21 PGA Tour Champions season – season extended into 2021^[34]
• 2020 European Senior Tour – season canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.^[35]

Senior women's professional golf

• 9–12 July: U.S. Senior Women's Open – Canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic^[31]
• 30 July – 1 August: Senior LPGA Championship – Canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic^[36]

Amateur golf

• 16–19 January: Latin America Amateur Championship – Abel Gallegos won by four strokes over Aaron Terrazas.^[37]
• 22–27 May: NCAA Division I Women's Golf Championships – Canceled due to COVID-19 pandemic^[38]
• 29 May – 3 June: NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championships – Canceled due to COVID-19 pandemic^[38]
• 12–14 June: Curtis Cup – Postponed until 2021 due to COVID-19 pandemic^[39]
• 3–9 August: U.S. Women's Amateur – Rose Zhang defeated defending champion Gabriela Ruffels in the final, with the match going to the 38th hole.^[40]
• 10–16 August: U.S. Amateur – Tyler Strafaci defeated Ollie Osborne in the final, 1 up.^[41]
• 24–29 August (15–20 June): The Amateur Championship – Joe Long defeated Joe Harvey, 4 and 3, in the final.^[42]
• 24–29 August (23–27 June): Womens Amateur Championship – Aline Krauter defeated Annabell Fuller, 1 up, in the final.^[43]
• 22–25 September (24–27 June): European Amateur – Matti Schmid successfully defended his 2019 title.^[44]
• 25–28 September: Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship – Canceled due to COVID-19 pandemic^[45]
• 30 September – 3 October (22–25 July): European Ladies Amateur Championship – Paula Schulz-Hanssen of Germany won in a playoff over Chloé Salort of France.^[46]
• 14–17 October: Espirito Santo Trophy – Canceled due to COVID-19 pandemic^[47]
• 21–24 October: Eisenhower Trophy – Canceled due to COVID-19 pandemic^[47]

Golf in multi-sport events

• 30 July – 8 August: Summer Olympics – Postponed until 2021.^[48]

Deaths

• 9 January – Pete Dye (born 1925), American golf course architect and member of the World Golf Hall of Fame.^[49]
• 17 February – Mickey Wright (born 1935), American golfer and member of the World Golf Hall of Fame. She won 82 LPGA Tour tournaments, including 13 majors.^[50]
• 26 March – John O'Leary (born 1949), Irish professional golfer who won twice on the European Tour.^[51]
• 12 April – Doug Sanders (born 1933), American professional golfer who had 20 wins on the PGA Tour.^[52]
• 23 April – Peter Gill (born 1930), English professional golf who played on the European Tour.^[53]
• 27 April – Edean Anderson Ihlanfeldt (born 1930), American amateur golfer who won the Canadian Women's Amateur and the U.S. Senior Women's Amateur.^[54]
• 28 April – Bob Betley (born 1940), American professional golfer who won on the Senior PGA Tour.^[55]
• 15 May – Ernie Gonzalez (born 1961), American professional golfer who had one PGA Tour win.^[56]
• 15 May – Steve Spray (born 1940), American professional golfer who had one PGA Tour win.^[57]
• 11 August – Gordon J. Brand (born 1955), English professional golfer who had one European Tour win.^[58]
• 28 August – Mike Joyce (born 1939), American professional golfer who had one Senior PGA Tour win.^[59]
• 5 December – Peter Alliss (born 1931), English professional golfer, television presenter, commentator, author and golf course designer. He played on eight Ryder Cup teams, and is known for his commentating at The Open Championship.^[60]
• 22 December – Kevin Hartley (born 1934), Australian amateur golfer who won the Australian Amateur and was part of the Australian team that won the 1966 Eisenhower Trophy.^[61]

Table of results

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

Dates	Tournament	Status or tour	Winner
16–19 Jan		Amateur men's individual tournament	Abel Gallegos
20–23 Feb			Patrick Reed
12–15 Mar			Incomplete, canceled
25–29 Mar			Canceled
21–24 May			Canceled
22–27 May		U.S. college championship	Canceled
29 May – 3 Jun		U.S. college championship	Canceled
12–14 Jun		Amateur women's team event	Postponed until 2021
25–28 Jun			Canceled
9–12 Jul		Senior women's major	Canceled
16–19 Jul			Canceled
23–26 Jul			Canceled
30 Jul – 2 Aug			Justin Thomas
30 Jul – 1 Aug		Senior women's major	Canceled
30 Jul – 8 Aug		Men's and women's Olympic competition	Postponed until 2021
6–9 Aug			Collin Morikawa
6–9 Aug			Canceled
3–9 Aug		Amateur women's individual tournament	Rose Zhang
10–16 Aug	U.S. Amateur	Amateur men's individual tournament	Tyler Strafaci
13–16 Aug			Jerry Kelly
20–23 Aug			Sophia Popov
20–23 Aug		PGA Tour FedEx Cup playoff	Dustin Johnson
24–29 Aug		Amateur men's individual tournament	Joe Long
24–29 Aug		Amateur women's individual tournament	Aline Krauter
27–30 Aug	BMW Championship	PGA Tour FedEx Cup playoff	Jon Rahm
27–30 Aug		LPGA Tour team event	Canceled
4–7 Sep		PGA Tour FedEx Cup playoff	Dustin Johnson
10–13 Sep
17–20 Sep			Bryson DeChambeau
22–25 Sep		Amateur men's individual tournament	Matti Schmid
24–27 Sep			Canceled
25–27 Sep		United States team vs. European team men's professional team event	Postponed until 2021
25–28 Sep		Amateur men's individual tournament	Canceled
30 Sep – 3 Oct		Amateur women's individual tournament	Paula Schulz-Hanssen
8–11 Oct			Tyrrell Hatton
8–11 Oct			Kim Sei-young
14–17 Oct		Amateur men's individual tournament	Canceled
21–24 Oct		Amateur men's individual tournament	Canceled
29 Oct – 1 Nov			Canceled
12–15 Nov			Dustin Johnson
10–13 Dec	DP World Tour Championship, Dubai	European Tour	Matt Fitzpatrick
10–13 Dec			Kim A-lim
17–20 Dec			Kim Sei-young

Notes and References

1. News: The 149th Open cancelled for this year and will return to Sandwich in 2021 . Sky Sports . Keith . Jackson . 4 July 2020.
2. News: Collin Morikawa, 23, wins PGA Championship in second career major . ESPN . Associated Press . 9 August 2020.
3. Web site: Bryson DeChambeau cruises to U.S. Open win for first major title . Golf Channel . Will . Gray . 20 September 2020 . 21 September 2020.
4. Web site: Piastowski . Nick . A champion unlike any other: Dustin Johnson wins the Masters for his first green jacket . Golf.com . 15 November 2020.
5. News: Patrick Reed shows his moxie and wins WGC-Mexico Championship . ESPN . 23 February 2020 . Associated Press.
6. News: PGA Tour cancels Players and other events thru April 5th . Golf Channel . Ryan . Lavner . 12 March 2020.
7. News: WGC-St Jude Invitational: Justin Thomas warms up for US PGA with win . BBC Sport . 3 August 2020.
8. Web site: HSBC Champions in Shanghai officially canceled amid pandemic . ESPN . Associated Press . 2 September 2020 . 1 September 2020.
9. News: Jon Rahm outlasts Dustin Johnson in thrilling BMW Championship . ESPN . 30 August 2020.
10. News: Dustin Johnson Completes Long Climb to Win FedEx Cup . The New York Times . Associated Press . 7 September 2020 . 8 September 2020.
11. Wacker . Brian . Players 2020: PGA Tour cancels Players Championship, next three tournament . Golf World . 12 March 2020.
12. News: Tyrrell Hatton wins PGA Championship at Wentworth to extend home streak . 11 October 2020 . The Guardian . Ewan . Murray . 14 October 2020.
13. News: Westwood crowned European No. 1, Fitzpatrick wins in Dubai . ESPN . Reuters . 13 December 2020.
14. News: Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits postponed to 2021, Presidents Cup to 2022 amid coronavirus pandemic . CBS Sports . Kyle . Porter . 8 July 2020.
15. Web site: Mackenzie Tour – PGA Tour Canada cancels 2020 season . PGA Tour . 29 May 2020.
16. News: Rory McIlroy supplants Brooks Koepka for golfing's world No. 1 . ESPN . Bob . Harig . 9 February 2020.
17. News: World rankings in men's, women's golf frozen indefinitely . Golf Channel . Will . Gray . 20 March 2020.
18. Web site: Official World Golf Ranking to resume next week as PGA Tour, Korn Ferry Tour start up . ESPN . Bob . Harig . 2 July 2020.
19. News: Jon Rahm, 25, cruises to win at Memorial to secure No. 1 ranking . ESPN . 19 July 2020.
20. News: Jon Rahm returns to World No1 as Morikawa breaks top five . The Irish Times . 10 August 2020.
21. Web site: Northern Trust: Dustin Johnson secures dominant win to reclaim world No 1 position . Sky Sports . 24 August 2020.
22. News: Coronavirus & golf: LPGA Evian Championship in France cancelled . BBC Sport . 9 June 2020.
23. Web site: Women's Open: Sophia Popov wins at Royal Troon by two shots . Peter . Scrivener . BBC Sport . 23 August 2020 . 23 August 2020.
24. Web site: ANA Inspiration: Mirim Lee wins first major title after three-way play-off . BBC Sport . 14 September 2020 . 13 September 2020.
25. News: Sei Young Kim fires 63 to seal KPMG Women's PGA, first major win . ESPN . Associated Press . 11 October 2020.
26. News: A Lim Kim mounts major comeback, wins U.S. Women's Open in debut . ESPN . Associated Press . 14 December 2020.
27. News: Jin Young Ko wins LPGA's season-ending CME Group, claims money title . ESPN . Associated Press . 20 December 2020.
28. Web site: LPGA Targets Date to Restart 2020 Season . LPGA . 29 April 2020.
29. Web site: Rolex Women's World Golf Rankings (WWGR) Resume with Individual Athlete Approach . 20 July 2020 . LPGA Tour.
30. News: Senior PGA Championship, scheduled for May, canceled . ESPN . Associated Press . 2 April 2020.
31. Web site: U.S. Open Postponed; 2020 U.S. Senior Opens Canceled . USGA . Jeff . Altstadter . 6 April 2020.
32. Web site: Senior Open cancelled for first time in its history . The Scotsman . Martin . Dempster . 2 July 2020 . 2 July 2020.
33. Jerry Kelly punctuates his first senior major victory with a special highlight . Golf Digest . John . Strege . 16 August 2020 . 17 August 2020.
34. Web site: PGA Tour Champions announces combined 2020-21 season . PGA Tour . 14 May 2020.
35. Web site: Staysure Tour's 2020 season cancelled . PGA European Tour . 19 June 2020.
36. Web site: Statement on 2020 Senior LPGA Championship . LPGA . 17 April 2020.
37. News: Abel Gallegos' win in Latin American Amateur Championship earns trips to Masters, The Open . ESPN . Associated Press . 19 January 2020.
38. Web site: NCAA cancels remaining winter and spring championships . NCAA . 12 March 2020.
39. News: Curtis Cup postponed to 2021; British Ams rescheduled . Golf Channel . 1 April 2020.
40. News: Rose Zhang denies Gabriela Ruffels a repeat at U.S. Women's Amateur . ESPN . Associated Press . 9 August 2020.
41. Tyler Strafaci comes up clutch on 36th hole, wins U.S. Amateur to add to his family lore . Golf Digest . Tod . Leonard . 16 August 2020.
42. Joe Long outlasts Joe Harvey to win the British Amateur in clash of mates from the same hometown . Golf World . John . Huggan . 30 August 2020.
43. News: Aline Krauter wins the Women's Amateur Championship . Golf Today . 29 August 2020.
44. Web site: European Amateur: Germany's Matthias Schmid defends title . AmateurGolf.com . Pete . Wlodkowski . 25 September 2020.
45. Web site: 2020 Asia-Pacific Amateur and Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific Championships Cancelled Due To COVID-19 Pandemic . Amateur Asia-Pacific Championship . 7 July 2020.
46. Web site: Paula Schulz-Hanßen wins the European Ladies' Amateur Championship at only 17 . European Golf Association . 5 October 2020.
47. IGF cancels World Amateur Team events for 2020; new women's Latin America event also off . Golfweek . Julie . Williams . 6 May 2020.
48. News: How postponing the Tokyo Olympics drastically changes the golf calendar . ESPN . Bob . Harig . 24 March 2020.
49. Web site: Pete Dye passes away at age 94 . PGA Tour . 9 January 2020 . Bill . Fields.
50. Web site: Legendary LPGA Champion Mickey Wright Passes Away At 85 . LPGA . 17 February 2020 . Bill . Fields.
51. Web site: John O'Leary: 1949 – 2020 . European Tour . 26 March 2020.
52. Doug Sanders, winner of 20 PGA Tour events, has died. Adam . Schupak . 12 April 2020 . .
53. News: Peter Gill (1930 – 2020) . . 23 April 2020.
54. News: Hanson . Scott . Edean Ihlanfeldt, amateur golf star and first UW women's coach, dies at 90 . The Seattle Times . 28 April 2020.
55. Web site: Bob Betley passes away at age 80 . PGA Tour . Laury . Livsey . 29 April 2020.
56. Web site: Ernie Gonzalez passes away at the age of 59 . PGA Tour . 15 May 2020.
57. Web site: John Stephen Spray obituary . Overton Funeral Home.
58. News: Gordon J Brand 1955 - 2020 . PGA European Tour . 11 August 2020.
59. Web site: Mike Joyce passes away at age 81 . PGA Tour . 1 September 2020.
60. News: Peter Alliss: Legendary BBC golf commentator dies at 89 . . 6 December 2020.
61. Web site: Vale Kevin Hartley, golf legend . Golf Australia . 22 December 2020 . 18 January 2021.