2007 in golf
This article summarizes the highlights of professional and amateur golf in the year 2007.
Men's professional golf
- 5–8 April: The Masters - American Zach Johnson won his first major tournament, in a high scoring week at Augusta.
- 14–17 June: U.S. Open - Ángel Cabrera became Argentina's first U.S. Open winner, claiming a victory by one stroke.
- 19–22 July: Open Championship - Pádraig Harrington became the first European major winner of the 21st century, defeating Sergio García in a playoff.
- 9–12 August: PGA Championship - Tiger Woods won his fourth PGA Championship and 13th major.
- 19–25 February: WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship - Swede Henrik Stenson defeated defending champion Geoff Ogilvy 2 and 1. Stenson moved up to fifth in the world rankings, the highest position ever attained by a Swedish male golfer.[1] For the first time at this event no American made the final, and Chad Campbell was the only American quarterfinalist. He finished fourth after losing the playoff match to Trevor Immelman of South Africa.
- 22–25 March WGC-CA Championship - Tiger Woods won the event for the third consecutive year, and for the sixth time in his career.
- 2–5 August: WGC-Bridgestone Invitational - Tiger Woodsrepeated his CA Championship success and won the event for the third consecutive year.
FedEx Cup playoff events
- 23–26 August: The Barclays - Steve Strickerwon by two shots and took the FedEx Cup points lead.
- 31 August-3 September: Deutsche Bank Championship - Phil Mickelsonwon by two shots and took the FedEx Cup points lead.
- 6–9 September: BMW Championship - Tiger Woods won his 60th PGA Tour event by 2 strokes over Aaron Baddeley.
- 13–16 September: Atlanta by 8 shots over Mark Calcavecchia and Zach Johnson. Woods also won the FedEx Cup as season champion, collecting a $10 million retirement account deposit as FedEx Cup champion in addition to the $1.26 million first prize for the tournament.
Other leading PGA Tour events
- 10–13 May: The Players Championship - American Phil Mickelson won his first Players Championship with a final round 3-under-par 69. It was the 31st win of Mickelson's career.
For a complete list of PGA Tour results see PGA Tour.
Other leading European Tour events
- 24–27 May: BMW PGA Championship - Anders Hansen from Denmark won the event after holing a 25-foot birdie putt in a sudden-death playoff against England’s Justin Rose.
- 14–17 October: HSBC World Match Play Championship - South African Ernie Els defeated Ángel Cabreraby a score of 6&4 to win this tournament for the 7th time.
- 1–4 November: Volvo Masters - Justin Rose won in a playoff to overtake Ernie Els for the Order of Merit.
For a complete list of European Tour results see 2007 European Tour.
Team events
- 27–30 September: Presidents Cup - The United States defeated the International team by a score of 19½ to 14½.
- 27–30 September: Seve Trophy - Great Britain and Ireland defeated Continental Europe by the score of 16½ to 11 ½.
- 22–25 November: 2007 Omega Mission Hills World Cup - Scotland's Colin Montgomerie and Marc Warren, who were runners-up in 2006, defeat Boo Weekley and Heath Slocumof the USA in the third hole of a playoff.
Tour leaders
- PGA Tour - Tiger Woods headed the PGA Tour money list for the eighth time, and also won the inaugural FedEx Cup.[2][3]
- European Tour - Justin Rose won his first Order of Merit becoming the youngest winner since Ronan Rafferty in 1989.[4]
- Japan Golf Tour - Toru Taniguchi topped the money list for the second time with earnings of ¥171,744,498.[5]
- Asian Tour - Liang Wenchong became the first golfer from mainland China to win the Order of Merit.[6]
- PGA Tour of Australasia - Craig Parry won the Order of Merit for the third time, with earnings of A$422,004.[7]
- Sunshine Tour - With a change to a calendar based season, there were two Order of Merit winners on the Sunshine Tour during 2007, with tournaments held from 1 January 2007 to 25 February 2007 counting for both the 2006/07 and 2007 lists. The 2006/07 Order of Merit was headed by Charl Schwartzel of South Africa for the third consecutive season with earnings of R1,585,117.41, although Ernie Els was the leading money winner, but had not played in sufficient events to qualify for the Order of Merit.[8] The 2007 Order of Merit was won by another South African, James Kingston with earnings of R1,980,688.65.[9]
Other happenings
- 4 January: The first shot of the first Mercedes-Benz Championshipin Hawaii.
- 12 January: Sixteen-year-old Tadd Fujikawa became the youngest player in 50 years to make the cut at a PGA Tour event after shooting rounds of 71 and 66 at the Sony Open in Hawaii. He went on to finish tied for 20th in the tournament. Fujikawa qualified for the Sony Open by shooting 67 in the Aloha Section PGA qualifying event.[10]
- 1 April: 20-year-old Spaniard Estoril Open de Portugal.
- 5 April: Jeev Milkha Singh was the first Indian golfer to participate in the Masters.[11]
- 20 May: 15-year-old amateur Ryo Ishikawa won the Munsingwear Open KSB Cup on the Japan Golf Tour.[12]
- 15 July: Nationwide Children's Hospital Invitational.[13]
- 30 November: Sir European Tourevent.
Awards
- PGA Tour
- Champions Tour
- Player of the Year - Jay Haas
- Rookie of the Year - Denis Watson
- Comeback Player of the Year - R. W. Eaks
- Nationwide Tour
- Player of the Year - Nick Flanagan
- European Tour
- Player of the Year - Pádraig Harrington
- Rookie of the Year - Martin Kaymer
Other tour results
- 2007 Asian Tour
- 2007 PGA Tour of Australasia
- 2007 Canadian Tour
- 2007 Challenge Tour
- 2007 Japan Golf Tour
- 2007 Nationwide Tour
- 2007 Tour de las Americas
Women's professional golf
- 29 March-1 April: Kraft Nabisco Championship - American Morgan Pressel claimed a one-shot victory to win her first tournament and became the youngest ever winner of an LPGA major.
- 7–10 June: LPGA Championship, her first major championship, by one stroke over Karrie Webb.
- 28 June-1 July: U.S. Women's Open - American Cristie Kerr won her first major championship and tenth LPGA Tour title.
- 2–5 August: Ricoh Women's British Open - World number one Lorena Ochoa from Mexico won her first major championship.
Ladies European Tour major (in addition to the Women's British Open)
- 25–28 July: Jeong Jangin a sudden-death playoff.
For a complete list of Ladies European Tour results see Ladies European Tour.
Additional LPGA Tour events
- 17–22 July: Seon Hwa Lee beat Ai Miyazato2&1 for her second career victory.
- 15–18 November: LPGA Playoffs at The ADT - Lorena Ochoa emerged as the winner from a 32-player field to win the $1 million prize and raise her season earnings to just under $5 million.
For a complete list of LPGA Tour results see LPGA Tour.
Team events
- 19–21 January: Sun City, South Africa.
- 14–16 September: Halmstad, Sweden, winning the Solheim Cup on foreign soil for the first time since 1996.
- 7–9 December: Lexus Cup - Team Asia took a commanding lead, winning all six matches on day one and won the event for the second consecutive year over Team International, 15-9.
Money list leaders
- LPGA Tour - Lorena Ochoaled the list with $4,364,994, becoming the first player in LPGA history to earn more than $3 million in a season.
- Ladies European Tour - Sophie Gustafson topped the Order of Merit list with earnings of 222,081.47 euros.
- Emily Bastelof the United States topped the money list with earnings of $59,779.
- LPGA of Korea Tour - Jiyai Shin led the money list for the second consecutive year.
- LPGA of Japan Tour - Momoko Ueda claimed the LPGA of Japan Tour money list title, at age 21 the youngest player ever to hold the title.
- Ladies Asian Golf Tour - Da-Ye Na of Korea led the money list with US$44,500 in earnings.
- ALPG Tour - Karrie Webbof Australia topped the 2006/07 money list with A$195,000 in earnings.
Awards
- LPGA Tour Player of the Year –
Lorena Ochoa - LPGA Tour Rookie of the Year –
Angela Park - LPGA Tour Vare Trophy – Lorena Ochoa
- LET Player of the Year –
Bettina Hauert - LET Rookie of the Year –
Louise Stahle
Other happenings
- 23 April: Lorena Ochoa took over first place in the Women's World Golf Rankings, overtaking Annika Sörenstam, who held the top position for 60 weeks, since the Rankings were introduced in February 2006.
- 29 April: Corona Championship, becoming the first Italian to win a tournament on the LPGA Tour.
- 16 July: The LPGA announced that it had acquired the Duramed Futures Toureffective immediately.
Senior men's professional golf
- 24–27 May: Senior PGA Championship - Zimbabwean Denis Watson shot a final round 68 for his first major victory.
- 5–8 July: U.S. Senior Open - American Brad Bryant shot a final round 68 to win his first major; third-round leader Tom Watson went 8-over-par in the final 8 holes, including 3 double bogeys.
- 26–29 July: Senior British Open - American Tom Watsonshot a final round 73 (+2) to win his fifth Senior Major and third Senior British Open.
- 23–26 August: JELD-WEN Tradition - Zimbabwean/Irishman Mark McNulty shot a final round 68 for his first major victory.
- 4–7 October: Senior Players Championship - American Loren Roberts shot 67-66-67-67=267 (-13) to win his third major. He was victorious by six strokes.
Full list of 2007 Champions Tour results.
Full list of 2007 European Seniors Tour results.
Money list leaders
- Champions Tour - Jay Haas topped the money list for the second straight year with earnings of US$2,581,001 - Final money list
- European Seniors Tour - Carl Mason headed the Order of Merit for the third time. Final Order of Merit list[permanent dead link]
Amateur golf
- 22–25 May: University of Arkansaswon the individual title.
- 30 May-2 June: NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championships - Stanford won the team championship, its eighth and first since 1994. Jamie Lovemark of Southern Californiawon the individual title.
- 18–23 June: The Amateur Championship - Drew Weaver of the United States defeated Tim Stewart of Australia, 2 & 1.
- 6–12 August: Maria José Uribe of Colombia defeated Amanda Blumenherstof the United States, 1 up.
- 20–26 August: U.S. Amateur - Colt Knost of the United States defeated fellow American Michael Thompson, 2 & 1. Knost, who won the 2007 U.S. Amateur Public Links on 14 July, became only the second man to win both the U.S. Amateur Public Links and U.S. Amateur in the same year, and only the sixth person to win two USGAindividual championships in the same year.
- 8–9 September: Walker Cup - The United States defeated Great Britain & Ireland 12½ to 11½.
Other happenings
- 23 January: The R&A published the first edition of the men's World Amateur Golf Ranking, which was topped by Richie Ramsay of Scotland.
World Golf Hall of Fame inductees
The following individuals were inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame on 12 November:
Joe Carr (Lifetime Achievement)
Hubert Green (Veterans)- Charles B. Macdonald(Lifetime Achievement)
Kel Nagle (Veterans)- Se Ri Pak(LPGA point system)
- Curtis Strange (PGA Tour)
Table of results
This table summarises all the results referred to above in date order.
| Dates | Tournament | Status or tour | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| 19-21 Jan | Women's World Cup of Golf | Professional world team championship |  Paraguay
|
| 19-25 Feb | WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship |
World Golf Championships |  Henrik Stenson
|
| 22-25 Mar | WGC-CA Championship |
World Golf Championships |  Tiger Woods
|
| 29 Mar-1 Apr | Kraft Nabisco Championship |
LPGA major | Morgan Pressel
|
| 5-8 Apr | The Masters | Men's major | Zach Johnson
|
| 10–13 May | The Players Championship | PGA Tour | Phil Mickelson
|
| 22–25 May | NCAA Division I Women's Golf Championships |
U.S. college championship | Duke / Stacy Lewis |
| 24–27 May | BMW PGA Championship | European Tour |
 Anders Hansen
|
| 24–27 May | Senior PGA Championship | Senior major |  Denis Watson
|
| 30 May-2 Jun | NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championships |
U.S. college championship | Stanford / Jamie Lovemark |
| 7-10 Jun | LPGA Championship |
LPGA major |  Suzann Pettersen
|
| 14-17 Jun | U.S. Open | Men's major |  Ángel Cabrera
|
| 18-23 Jun | The Amateur Championship | Amateur men's individual tournament | Drew Weaver
|
| 28 Jun-1 Jul | U.S. Women's Open | LPGA major | Cristie Kerr
|
| 5-8 Jul | U.S. Senior Open | Senior major | Brad Bryant
|
| 19-22 Jul | The Open Championship | Men's major |  Pádraig Harrington
|
| 19-22 Jul | HSBC Women's World Match Play Championship | LPGA Tour |
Seon Hwa Lee
|
| 26-29 Jul | Evian Masters |
Ladies European Tour major and LPGA Tour regular event |
Natalie Gulbis
|
| 26-29 Jul | Senior British Open |
Senior major | Tom Watson
|
| 2-5 Aug | WGC-Bridgestone Invitational |
World Golf Championships | Tiger Woods
|
| 2-5 Aug | Women's British Open | LPGA and Ladies European Tour major |  Lorena Ochoa
|
| 6-12 Aug | U.S. Women's Amateur |
Amateur women's individual tournament | Maria José Uribe
|
| 9-12 Aug | PGA Championship | Men's major | Tiger Woods
|
| 16-19 Aug | JELD-WEN Tradition | Senior major | Mark McNulty
|
| 20-26 Aug | U.S. Amateur |
Amateur men's individual tournament | Colt Knost
|
| 23-26 Aug | The Barclays |
PGA Tour FedEx Cup playoff | Steve Stricker
|
| 31 Aug-3 Sep | Deutsche Bank Championship |
PGA Tour FedEx Cup playoff | Phil Mickelson
|
| 6-9 Sep | BMW Championship | PGA Tour FedEx Cup playoff | Tiger Woods
|
| 8-9 Sep | Walker Cup | Great Britain & Ireland v United States men's amateur team event |
United States
|
| 13-16 Sep | The Tour Championship |
PGA Tour FedEx Cup playoff | Tiger Woods
|
| 14-16 Sep | Solheim Cup | United States v Europe women's professional team event |
United States
|
| 27-30 Sep | Presidents Cup | International Team v United States men's professional team event |
United States
|
| 27-30 Sep | Seve Trophy | Great Britain & Ireland v Europe men's professional team event |
 Great Britain & Ireland
|
| 4-7 Oct | Senior Players Championship | Senior major | Loren Roberts
|
| 11-14 Oct | HSBC World Match Play Championship |
European Tour |
 Ernie Els
|
| 1-4 Nov | Volvo Masters | European Tour |
 Justin Rose
|
| 15-18 Nov | LPGA Playoffs at The ADT |
LPGA Tour |
Lorena Ochoa
|
| 22-25 Nov | Omega Mission Hills World Cup |
Professional world team championship |  Scotland
|
| 7-9 Dec | Lexus Cup | Asia v International Team women's professional team event |
Asia |
The following biennial events will next be played in 2008: Ryder Cup, Curtis Cup, Espirito Santo Trophy.
References
- ^ "Henrik Stenson Wins the WGC-Accenture Match Play and Reaches World Number 5". Official World Golf Ranking. 25 February 2007. Retrieved 2016-02-22.
- ^ "Money Leaders – 2007". PGA Tour.
- ^ "FedExCup Playoff Points – 2007". PGA Tour.
- ^ "European Tour Order of Merit – Final Ranking for 2007". PGA European Tour.
- ^ "Prize Money List – 2007". Japan Golf Tour Organization. Archived from the original on 2013-12-12. Retrieved 2016-02-22.
- ^ "Order of Merit – Final Standings – 2007". Asian Tour.
- ^ Final order of merit Archived December 19, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Final 2006/07 Order of Merit". Sunshine Tour.
- ^ "Final 2007 Order of Merit". Sunshine Tour.
- ^ DiMeglio, Steve (17 January 2007). "Teen golfer Fujikawa keeps level head, even in sudden spotlight". USA Today. Retrieved 2007-01-18.
- ^ "Record 34 European Tour Members Invited to Augusta". PGA European Tour. 27 March 2007. Retrieved 2007-03-27.[dead link]
- ^ "Week 20 – Zach Johnson Wins Again at the AT&T Classic and Moves to World Number 13". Official World Golf Ranking. 21 May 2007. Archived from the original on 29 May 2007. Retrieved 2016-02-22.
- ^ Bush, John (15 July 2007). "BYU senior Summerhays makes history as first amateur to win". PGA Tour. Archived from the original on 2007-10-16.