2007 in golf

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Years in golf

2007 in sports

This article summarizes the highlights of professional and amateur golf in the year 2007.

Men's professional golf[]

Major championships

  • 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: The 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.

World Golf Championships

  • 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 Woods repeated his CA Championship success and won the event for the third consecutive year.

FedEx Cup playoff events

  • 23–26 August: The Barclays - Steve Stricker won by two shots and took the FedEx Cup points lead.
  • 31 August-3 September: Deutsche Bank Championship - Phil Mickelson won 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: The Tour Championship - Woods won his 61st PGA Tour event, running away with the tournament on an easier-than-normal East Lake Golf Club in 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 Cabrera by 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 Slocum of 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 Wen-Chong 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 FedEx Cup was hit at the Mercedes-Benz Championship in 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 Pablo Martin-Benavides became the first amateur golfer to win a European Tour event, at the 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: Daniel Summerhays became the first amateur player to win a Nationwide Tour event at the Nationwide Children's Hospital Invitational.[13]
  • 30 November: Sir Bob Charles made the cut at the Michael Hill New Zealand Open at the age of 71 and became the oldest golfer to make a cut on a European Tour event.

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
  • European Tour

Other tour results

Women's professional golf[]

LPGA majors

  • 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 - Norwegian Suzann Pettersen won the 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: Evian Masters - American Natalie Gulbis won as a professional for the first time, beating Jeong Jang in a sudden-death playoff.

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

Additional LPGA Tour events

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

Team events

  • 19–21 January: Women's World Cup of Golf - Julieta Granada and Celeste Troche, representing Paraguay, won the event, held in Sun City, South Africa.
  • 14–16 September: Solheim Cup - Team USA successfully defended its title, beating Europe 16 to 12 in 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 Ochoa led 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.
  • Duramed Futures Tour - Emily Bastel of 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 - of Korea led the money list with US$44,500 in earnings.
  • ALPG Tour - Karrie Webb of Australia topped the 2006/07 money list with A$195,000 in earnings.

Awards

  • LPGA Tour Player of the YearMexico Lorena Ochoa
  • LPGA Tour Rookie of the YearBrazil Angela Park
  • LPGA Tour Vare TrophyMexico Lorena Ochoa
  • LET Player of the YearGermany Bettina Hauert
  • LET Rookie of the YearSweden 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: Silvia Cavalleri won the 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 Tour effective immediately.

Senior men's professional golf[]

Senior majors

  • 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 Watson shot 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

Amateur golf[]

Other happenings

World Golf Hall of Fame inductees[]

The following individuals were inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame on 12 November:

  • Republic of Ireland Joe Carr (Lifetime Achievement)
  • United States Hubert Green (Veterans)
  • United States Charles B. Macdonald (Lifetime Achievement)
  • Australia Kel Nagle (Veterans)
  • South Korea Se Ri Pak (LPGA point system)
  • United States 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 Paraguay
19-25 Feb WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship World Golf Championships Sweden Henrik Stenson
22-25 Mar WGC-CA Championship World Golf Championships United States Tiger Woods
29 Mar-1 Apr Kraft Nabisco Championship LPGA major United States Morgan Pressel
5-8 Apr The Masters Men's major United States Zach Johnson
10–13 May The Players Championship PGA Tour United States 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 Denmark Anders Hansen
24–27 May Senior PGA Championship Senior major Zimbabwe 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 Norway Suzann Pettersen
14-17 Jun U.S. Open Men's major Argentina Ángel Cabrera
18-23 Jun The Amateur Championship Amateur men's individual tournament United States Drew Weaver
28 Jun-1 Jul U.S. Women's Open LPGA major United States Cristie Kerr
5-8 Jul U.S. Senior Open Senior major United States Brad Bryant
19-22 Jul The Open Championship Men's major Republic of Ireland Pádraig Harrington
19-22 Jul HSBC Women's World Match Play Championship LPGA Tour South Korea Seon Hwa Lee
26-29 Jul Evian Masters Ladies European Tour major and
LPGA Tour regular event
United States Natalie Gulbis
26-29 Jul Senior British Open Senior major United States Tom Watson
2-5 Aug WGC-Bridgestone Invitational World Golf Championships United States Tiger Woods
2-5 Aug Women's British Open LPGA and Ladies European Tour major Mexico Lorena Ochoa
6-12 Aug U.S. Women's Amateur Amateur women's individual tournament Colombia Maria José Uribe
9-12 Aug PGA Championship Men's major United States Tiger Woods
16-19 Aug JELD-WEN Tradition Senior major Zimbabwe Mark McNulty
20-26 Aug U.S. Amateur Amateur men's individual tournament United States Colt Knost
23-26 Aug The Barclays PGA Tour FedEx Cup playoff United States Steve Stricker
31 Aug-3 Sep Deutsche Bank Championship PGA Tour FedEx Cup playoff United States Phil Mickelson
6-9 Sep BMW Championship PGA Tour FedEx Cup playoff United States Tiger Woods
8-9 Sep Walker Cup Great Britain & Ireland v United States
men's amateur team event
United States United States
13-16 Sep The Tour Championship PGA Tour FedEx Cup playoff United States Tiger Woods
14-16 Sep Solheim Cup United States v Europe
women's professional team event
United States United States
27-30 Sep Presidents Cup International Team v United States
men's professional team event
United States United States
27-30 Sep Seve Trophy Great Britain & Ireland v Europe
men's professional team event
United Kingdom Great Britain & Republic of Ireland Ireland
4-7 Oct Senior Players Championship Senior major United States Loren Roberts
11-14 Oct HSBC World Match Play Championship European Tour South Africa Ernie Els
1-4 Nov Volvo Masters European Tour England Justin Rose
15-18 Nov LPGA Playoffs at The ADT LPGA Tour Mexico Lorena Ochoa
22-25 Nov Omega Mission Hills World Cup Professional world team championship Scotland 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[]

  1. ^ "Henrik Stenson Wins the WGC-Accenture Match Play and Reaches World Number 5". Official World Golf Ranking. 25 February 2007. Retrieved 2016-02-22.
  2. ^ "Money Leaders – 2007". PGA Tour.
  3. ^ "FedExCup Playoff Points – 2007". PGA Tour.
  4. ^ "European Tour Order of Merit – Final Ranking for 2007". PGA European Tour.
  5. ^ "Prize Money List – 2007". Japan Golf Tour Organization. Archived from the original on 2013-12-12. Retrieved 2016-02-22.
  6. ^ "Order of Merit – Final Standings – 2007". Asian Tour.
  7. ^ Final order of merit Archived December 19, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  8. ^ "Final 2006/07 Order of Merit". Sunshine Tour.
  9. ^ "Final 2007 Order of Merit". Sunshine Tour.
  10. ^ DiMeglio, Steve (17 January 2007). "Teen golfer Fujikawa keeps level head, even in sudden spotlight". USA Today. Retrieved 2007-01-18.
  11. ^ "Record 34 European Tour Members Invited to Augusta". PGA European Tour. 27 March 2007. Retrieved 2007-03-27.[dead link]
  12. ^ "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.
  13. ^ 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.
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