2006 in golf
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[edit] Men's professional golf
- 6-9 April: The Masters - the Augusta National course was lengthened to 7,445 yards for the tournament, generating some advance controversy. For the first time since 1954 neither Jack Nicklaus nor Arnold Palmer played. Vijay Singh shot 67 to take the first round lead, but on Day 2 Chad Campbell moved to six under and a three shot lead. Due to bad weather the third round wasn't completed until Sunday. After 54 holes Phil Mickelson led by one at 4 under and fifteen players were within four shots of the lead, including the top five in the world rankings (in ranking order Tiger Woods, Vijay Singh, Retief Goosen, Mickelson and Ernie Els). On Sunday Phil Mickelson led for much of the day and finished two ahead of South African Tim Clark. It was Mickelson's third major championship, his second Masters title in three years and his second consecutive major victory as he also won the 2005 PGA Championship.
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- 15-18 June: U.S. Open 15-year-old Tadd Fujikawa of Hawaii became the youngest qualifier in US Open history. <ref>Fujikawa earns a major age distinction, KRT Wire, June 15, 2006.</ref> Qualifier Madalitso Muthiya was the first Zambian to play in the U.S. Open. The tournament was played at Winged Foot for the first time since 1984. Scottish veteran Colin Montgomerie was the only man to shoot under par in round 1. After 36 holes Steve Stricker was one shot ahead of the field and the only man under par. Tiger Woods missed the first cut in a major of his professional career after posting a 12 over par total. Phil Mickelson shared the third round lead with the 27 year old Englishman Kenneth Ferrie, who was playing in his first U.S. Open. Mickelson led by one shot after 71 holes, but was unable to put it away on number 72. His errant driving, which had troubled him all round, climaxed in a very poor tee shot that was almost out-of-bounds. This was followed by several bad shot selections, leading to a double bogey 6, and a second place finish to winner Geoff Ogilvy.First round leader Colin Montgomerie agonisingly finished T2 when needing only a par at hole number 72 to win, like Mickleson double bogeyed. This was Montgomerie's fifth second place finish in a major championshiop and his third at the U.S. Open.
- 20-23 July: The Open Championship - the Open returned to Hoylake for the first time since 1967. Northern Ireland's Graeme McDowell took a one shot lead on the first day. On Day 2 Tiger Woods moved into the lead early in the day and remained at the top of the leaderboard at the close, one shot ahead of Ernie Els. During the third round the top of the field bunched up, with several leading players moving into contention, but Woods regained a one stoke lead at the end of the day, with Chris DiMarco and Sergio García level with Els one shot off the pace. Woods shot a 67 in the final round to win by two shots from DiMarco at 270, 18 under par, only one shot short of his own to-par record for the tournament. It was his third Open and eleventh major and he became the first man to pass $60 million in PGA Tour career earnings. Marius Thorp of Norway won the Silver Medal as leading amateur.
- 17-20 August: PGA Championship - the tournament was played at Medinah Country Club near Chicago, which had been extended to 7,561 yards, making it the longest course in major championship history. The event was closely contested for three rounds, with a ten-way tie at one point early in round 3, but Tiger Woods pulled clear on the fourth day to win by five shots from Shaun Micheel. It was Woods' third PGA Championship win and his twelfth major championship title. Woods also became the first player ever to win the PGA twice on the same course, and the first in the era of the modern Grand Slam to win two major championships in each of two successive years.
World Golf Championships (individual events)
- 22-26 February: WGC-Accenture World Matchplay Championship - Australian World Number 53 Geoff Ogilvy defeated Davis Love III 3 and 2.
- 24-27 August: WGC-Bridgestone Invitational - Tiger Woods beat Stewart Cink on the fourth hole of a sudden death playoff.
- 28 September - 1 October: WGC-American Express Championship - Tiger Woods cruised to an 8 stroke victory to win his sixth straight strokeplay tournament and claim this championship for the fifth time in its seven stagings.
Other leading PGA Tour events
- 23-26 March: The Players Championship - Stephen Ames of Trinidad & Tobago / Canada won by a record-equaling six stroke margin over World Number 3 Retief Goosen, becoming the second-oldest champion in Championship history (tying Hal Sutton). Ames and Sutton share the same birthday, April 28.
- 2-5 November: The Tour Championship - 26 year-old Adam Scott won this event for the first time in his career.
For a complete list of PGA Tour results see 2006 PGA Tour.
Other leading European Tour events
- 25-28 May: BMW Championship - Englishman David Howell won by five shots and moved into the top ten in the World Rankings for the first time.
- 14-17 September: HSBC World Match Play Championship - Englishman Paul Casey beat American Shaun Micheel by 10 and 8 in the most one sided final in the history of the tournament.
- 26-29 October: Volvo Masters - Jeev Milka Singh becomes first Indian winner but attention is focused on Padraig Harrington leapfrogging Paul Casey to win the Order of Merit, thanks to a missed putt on the final hole by Sergio García elevating Harrington to a tie for second place.
For a complete list of European Tour results see 2006 European Tour.
Tour money list / order of merit winners:
- PGA Tour - Despite playing only 15 events due to the death of his father mid-year Tiger Woods topped the money list with winnings of $9,941,563. This was his seventh money list victory, putting him one behind Jack Nicklaus's record. Final money list
- European Tour - Padraig Harrington topped the Order of Merit for the first time, with earnings of €2,489,337 Final Order of Merit
- Japan Golf Tour - Shingo Katayama topped the money list for the third consecutive year with earnings of 178,402,190 Yen. Final money list
- Asian Tour - Current order of merit
- PGA Tour of Australasia - Current order of merit
- Sunshine Tour - Charl Schwartzel of South Africa topped the 2005-06 Order of Merit with earnings of 1,207,459.70 South African Rand. Current 2006-07 Order of Merit.
Team events
- 22-24 September: Ryder Cup - the Ryder Cup was played in Ireland for the first time. Europe were in the lead from the first set of matches. The Europeans went into the last day with a 10-6 lead and extended it to 18½ to 9½ in the singles, matching their best ever result in 2004. This was the first time Europe had won the matches three times in a row.
- 7-10 December: WGC-World Cup
Other happenings
- January 11: The PGA Tour announces new six-year network deals with CBS and NBC to commence in 2007, and a fifteen year deal with the Golf Channel. [1]
- 26 May: Frenchman Adrien Mörk shot the first 59 in the history of any of the PGA European Tour's three tours in the second round of the Challenge Tour's Moroccan Classic. [2]
- 28 June: The PGA Tour announces further details of the FedEx Cup playoff system to be introduced in 2007, including confirmation that there will be a US$35 million dollar bonus prize fund, with US$10 million going to the winner.<ref>FedExCup to crown TOUR's first season champion pgatour.com, June 28, 2006.</ref>
- 29 October: Jeev Milkha Singh (Volvo Masters) and KJ Choi (Chrysler Championship) became the first pair of Asian players to win on the PGA Tour and the European Tour in the same weekend. <ref>TOUR CELEBRATES BLOCKBUSTER WEEKEND, asiantour.com, 30 October 2006.</ref>
[edit] Women's professional golf
- 30 March - 2 April: Kraft Nabisco Championship: Australia's Karrie Webb defeated 18, 36 and 54 hole leader Lorena Ochoa in a playoff to claim her seventh major championship. Ochoa shot a 62 in the first round, setting a tournament record and equalling the record low score in an LPGA major.
- 8-11 June: LPGA Championship - Se Ri Pak defeated Karrie Webb in a playoff to claim her third LPGA Championship and fifth major title. Nicole Castrale shot a 64 in the first round to set a tournament record.
- 29 June - 2 July: U.S. Women's Open - The tournament was played at Newport Country Club. The prize fund was US$3.1 million, a record for a women's golf tournament, with $560,000 going to the winner. The first day's play was cancelled due to fog and 36 holes were played on the Sunday. Annika Sorenstam and Pat Hurst tied on level par after 72 holes. Sorenstam won an eighteen hole Monday playoff to claim her tenth major championship and third U.S. Open.
- 3-6 August: Weetabix Women's British Open - The tournament was played at Royal Lytham & St. Annes for the third time in its history. American Sherri Steinhauer took the lead after a third round 66 and held the lead in the final round for a three-stroke win over runners-up Cristie Kerr and Sophie Gustafson. It was Steinhauer's third British Open win, but her first since the tournament became a major in 2001.
Ladies European Tour major (in addition to the Women's British Open)
- 26-29 July: Evian Masters - Karrie Webb continued her return to form by winning the second richest event in women's golf.
Additional LPGA Tour events
- 6-9 July: HSBC Women's World Match Play Championship - 20-year-old American Brittany Lincicome beat veteran Juli Inkster 3 & 2 to claim her first LPGA Tour title.
- 16-19 November: LPGA Playoffs at The ADT - Julieta Granada from Paraguay claimed her first tour victory and the first US$1 million prize in women's golf.
There is a complete list of LPGA Tour results here.
Money list winners
- LPGA Tour - 25 year old Lorena Ochoa became the first Mexican to top the money list with earnings of $2,592,872. Current money list
- Ladies European Tour - Laura Davies of England topped the money list of the seventh time in her career with earnings of €471,727.42. Final money list.
Team events
- 20-22 January: Women's World Cup of Golf - Sweden's Annika Sorenstam and Liselotte Neumann claimed the trophy in its second year.
Other happenings
- 21 February: the first official Women's World Golf Rankings were published. Annika Sorenstam was ranked number 1.
- 4-7 May: Michelle Wie made the cut at the SK Telecom Open on the Asian Tour. This was the highest ranking men's tour on which a woman has made a cut since Babe Zaharias did so on the PGA Tour in 1945.
- 15-18 June: The first ever Futures Tour major event was played, the Michelob ULTRA Duramed FUTURES Players Championship. Canadian Salimah Mussani won with a 16-under par 272.
- 14 September: Annika Sorenstam became the first woman to pass $20 million in LPGA Tour career earnings. <ref>Sorenstam Crosses 20 Million Dollars in Career Earnings, lpga.com, September 14 2006</ref>
- 12 November: With her victory at The Mitchell Company Tournament of Champions, Lorena Ochoa claimed the LPGA Rolex Player of the Year award.
[edit] Senior men's professional golf
- 25-28 May: Senior PGA Championship - Jay Haas won a playoff against Brad Bryant to claim his first senior major.
- 6-9 July: U.S. Senior Open - Defending champion Allen Doyle finished two shots ahead of Tom Watson. It was Doyle's fourth senior major and he was the oldest U.S. Senior Open Champion at 57 years, 351 days.<ref>Doyle becomes oldest winner of U.S. Senior Open pgatour.com, July 9, 2006.</ref>
- 13-16 July: Senior Players Championship - Bobby Wadkins won his first senior major
- 27-30 July: Senior British Open - Loren Roberts defeated Eduardo Romero at the first hole of a playoff to claim his first senior major.
- 24-27 August: The Tradition - Argentinian Eduardo Romero defeated Lonnie Nielsen in a playoff for his first Champions Tour title.
For a full list of Champions Tour results click here
Money list winners
- Champions Tour - Jay Haas topped the money list for the first time with earnings of US$2,420,227 - Final money list
- European Seniors Tour - Sam Torrance topped the Order of Merit for the second consecutive year with earnings of €347,525 Final Order of Merit
[edit] Amateur golf
- May 31 - June 3: NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championships - Oklahoma State won the team event and Jonathan Moore of Oklahoma State was the leading individual
- 19-24 June: The Amateur Championship was won by 20-year-old Frenchman Julien Guerrier.
- 29-30 July: Curtis Cup - the USA defeated Great Britain & Ireland by 11.5 points to 6.5 points.
- 7-13 August: U.S. Women's Amateur Championship - 14-year-old American Kimberly Kim of Hawaii became the youngest winner in the history of the event.
- 23-27 August: U.S. Amateur Championship - Richie Ramsay became the first Scottish winner since Findlay Douglas in 1898 and the first British winner since Harold Hilton in 1911.
- 18-21 October: Espirito Santo Trophy (Women's Amateur World Team Championship) - South Africa won the tournament for the first time. They were the first home winners since 1980. <ref>South Africa holds on for a record-breaking victory, pgatour.co.za, 21 October 2006.</ref>
- 26-29 October: Eisenhower Trophy (Men's Amateur World Team Championship) - the Netherlands won for the first time.
[edit] Table of results
This table summarises all the results referred to above in date order.
The following biennial events will next be played in 2007: Presidents Cup; Seve Trophy; Solheim Cup; Walker Cup.
[edit] News
The first golf drive in space was made on November 22, 2006 funded by Canadaian gold company Element 21 as part of the Expedition 14.
[edit] References
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[edit] See also
[edit] External links
Men's tours' official sites.
- PGA Tour, Champions Tour and Nationwide Tour
- European Tour, European Seniors Tour and Challenge Tour
- Japan Golf Tour (English version)
- Asian Tour
- PGA Tour of Australasia
- Sunshine Tour
Women's tours' official sites.
Rankings
- Official World Golf Rankings - updated Monday lunchtime GMT
- Women's World Rankings - updated each Tuesday
Golf news sites
Australia based:
UK based:
U.S. based:
