2006 in golf

This article summarizes the highlights of professional and amateur golf in the year 2006.

Men's professional golf

Major championships

  • 6–9 April: The Masters - Winner: Phil Mickelson
    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 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.
  • 15–18 June: U.S. Open - Winner: Geoff Ogilvy
    15-year-old Tadd Fujikawa of Hawaii became the youngest qualifier in US Open history.[1] 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 finished T2 when he, needing only a par at hole number 72 to win, double bogeyed. This was Montgomerie's fifth second-place finish in a major championship and his third at the U.S. Open.
  • 20–23 July: The Open Championship - Winner: Tiger Woods
    The Open returned to Hoylake for the first time since 1967. Marius Thorp of Norway won the Silver Medal as leading amateur. 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 stroke lead at the end of the day, over Chris DiMarco, Sergio García, and Ernie Els. Woods shot a 67 in the final round to win by two shots over DiMarco at 270, 18-under par, only one shot short of his own to-par record for all majors. It was his third Open Championship, eleventh major, and he became the first man to pass $60 million in PGA Tour career earnings.
  • 17–20 August: PGA Championship - Winner: Tiger Woods
    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 over 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 Match Play 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

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 Milkha Singh becomes first Indian winner but attention is focused on Pádraig 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 and order of merit winners

Awards

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 - The event was held in Barbados for the first time, and Germany, represented by Bernhard Langer and Marcel Siem, beat Scotland in a play-off to win the tournament for the second time.

Other tour results

Other happenings

  • 11 January: The PGA Tour announced new six-year network deals with CBS and NBC to commence in 2007, and a fifteen-year deal with the Golf Channel.[2]
  • 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.
  • 28 June: The PGA Tour announced 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.[3]
  • 29 October: Jeev Milkha Singh (Volvo Masters) and K. J. Choi (Chrysler Championship) became the first pair of Asian players to win on the PGA Tour and the European Tour in the same weekend.[4]

Women's professional golf

LPGA majors

  • 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 Sörenstam and Pat Hurst tied on level par after 72 holes. Sörenstam 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.

For a complete list of Ladies European Tour results see 2006 Ladies European Tour.

Additional LPGA Tour events

For a complete list of LPGA Tour results see 2006 LPGA Tour.

Money list winners

Team events

Other happenings

  • 21 February: the first official Women's World Golf Rankings were published. Annika Sörenstam 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 Sörenstam became the first woman to pass $20 million in LPGA Tour career earnings.[5]
  • 12 November: With her victory at The Mitchell Company Tournament of Champions, Lorena Ochoa claimed the LPGA Rolex Player of the Year award.

Senior men's professional golf

Senior majors

For a complete list of Champions Tour results see 2006 Champions Tour.
For a complete list of European Seniors Tour results see 2006 European Seniors Tour.

Money list winners

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 - 14-year-old American Kimberly Kim of Hawaii became the youngest winner in the history of the event.
  • 23–27 August: U.S. Amateur - 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.[7]
  • 26–29 October: Eisenhower Trophy (Men's Amateur World Team Championship) - the Netherlands won for the first time.

Table of results

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

DatesTournamentStatus or tourWinner
20-22 JanWomen's World Cup of GolfProfessional world team championship Sweden
22-26 FebWGC-Accenture Match Play ChampionshipWorld Golf Championships Geoff Ogilvy
23-26 MarThe Players ChampionshipPGA Tour Stephen Ames
30 Mar-2 AprKraft Nabisco ChampionshipLPGA major Karrie Webb
6-9 AprThe MastersMen's major Phil Mickelson
25–28 MayBMW ChampionshipEuropean Tour David Howell
25–28 MaySenior PGA ChampionshipSenior major Jay Haas
31 May-3 JunNCAA Division I Men's Golf ChampionshipsU.S. college championshipOklahoma State / Jonathan Moore
8-11 JunLPGA ChampionshipLPGA major Se Ri Pak
15-18 JunU.S. OpenMen's major Geoff Ogilvy
19-24 JunThe Amateur ChampionshipAmateur men's individual tournament Julien Guerrier
29 Jun-2 JulU.S. Women's OpenLPGA major Annika Sörenstam
6-9 JulHSBC Women's World Match Play ChampionshipLPGA Tour Brittany Lincicome
6-9 JulU.S. Senior OpenSenior major Allen Doyle
13-16 JulSenior Players ChampionshipSenior major Bobby Wadkins
20-23 JulThe Open ChampionshipMen's major Tiger Woods
26-29 JulEvian MastersLadies European Tour major and LPGA Tour regular event Karrie Webb
27-30 JulSenior British OpenSenior major

Loren Roberts

29-30 JulCurtis CupGB & Ireland v United States - women's amateur United States
3-6 AugWomen's British OpenLPGA and Ladies European Tour major Sherri Steinhauer
7-13 AugU.S. Women's AmateurAmateur women's individual tournament Kimberly Kim
17-20 AugPGA ChampionshipMen's major Tiger Woods
24-27 AugWGC-Bridgestone InvitationalWorld Golf Championships Tiger Woods
23-27 AugU.S. AmateurAmateur men's individual tournament Richie Ramsay
24-27 AugThe TraditionSenior major Eduardo Romero
14-17 SepHSBC World Match Play ChampionshipEuropean Tour Paul Casey
22-24 SepRyder CupEurope v United States — men's professional Team Europe
28 Sep-1 OctWGC-American Express ChampionshipWorld Golf Championships Tiger Woods
18-21 OctEspirito Santo TrophyWomen's world amateur team championship South Africa
26-29 OctEisenhower TrophyMen's world amateur team championship Netherlands
26-29 OctVolvo MastersEuropean Tour Jeev Milkha Singh
2-5 NovThe Tour ChampionshipPGA Tour Adam Scott
16-19 NovLPGA Playoffs at The ADTLPGA Tour Julieta Granada
7-10 DecWGC-World CupWorld Golf Championships Germany
15-17 DecLexus CupAsia vs. International — women's professionalAsia

The following biennial events will next be played in 2007: Presidents Cup; Seve Trophy; Solheim Cup; Walker Cup.

Miscellaneous

The first golf drive in space was made on 22 November 2006 funded by Canadian golf company Element 21 as part of the Expedition 14.

References
  1. Fujikawa earns a major age distinction, KRT Wire, 15 June 2006.
  2. "PGA Tour reaches television agreements". Archived from the original on 14 March 2006. Retrieved 27 February 2006.
  3. "FedExCup to crown Tour's first season champion". PGA Tour. 28 June 2006. Archived from the original on 5 July 2006.
  4. "Tour Celebrates Blockbuster Weekend". Asian Tour. 30 October 2006.
  5. Sörenstam Crosses 20 Million Dollars in Career Earnings, lpga.com, September 14, 2006
  6. Doyle becomes oldest winner of U.S. Senior Open Archived 2006-07-16 at the Wayback Machine pgatour.com, July 9, 2006.
  7. South Africa holds on for a record-breaking victory Archived 2007-09-11 at the Wayback Machine, pgatour.co.za, 21 October 2006.


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