2011 in golf

This article summarizes the highlights of professional and amateur golf in the year 2011.

Years in golf

2011 in sports

Men's professional golf

Major championships

World Golf Championships

FedEx Cup playoff events – see 2011 FedEx Cup Playoffs

Other leading PGA Tour events

For a complete list of PGA Tour results see 2011 PGA Tour.

Leading European Tour events

  • 26–29 May: BMW PGA Championship – Englishman Luke Donald defeated compatriot and World Ranking Number 1 Lee Westwood on the first playoff hole to claim the title and become the new World Ranking Number 1.
  • 8–11 December: Dubai World Championship – Álvaro Quirós of Spain eagled the 72nd hole to claim a two shot victory over Paul Lawrie.

For a complete list of European Tour results see 2011 European Tour.

Team events

  • 7–9 January: Royal Trophy – Team Europe defeated Team Asia 9–7 for its second consecutive win and fourth in the event's five editions.
  • 15–18 September: Vivendi Seve Trophy – Team Great Britain and Ireland defeated team Continental Europe, 15½ to 12½, for the sixth consecutive time.
  • 17–20 November: Presidents Cup – The American team defeated the International team 19–15. It was the fourth consecutive win in this event for the Americans.
  • 24–27 November: Omega Mission Hills World Cup – The American team of Matt Kuchar and Gary Woodland won giving the United States their 24th win in the World Cup.

Tour leaders

Awards

Other tour results

Other happenings

  • 27 February – Martin Kaymer became the new world Number 1 succeeding Lee Westwood after finishing second in the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship. He was the first German World number 1 after Bernhard Langer.
  • 12 April – The Sunshine Tour announced that it will host a new World Golf Championships tournament starting in 2012. The event, to be called the Tournament of Hope, is expected to be played in December and is planned to have a purse of US$10 million, the richest in the sport.[2]
  • 24 April – Lee Westwood replaced Martin Kaymer as world Number 1 after winning the Indonesian Masters on the Asian Tour.
  • 30 May – Luke Donald became the new world Number 1 after winning the BMW PGA Championship, by defeating former world Number 1 Lee Westwood on the first hole of the playoff.
  • 4 December – Tiger Woods won the unofficial event he hosts, the Chevron World Challenge, chasing down Zach Johnson with birdies on the final two holes. This was his first professional tournament win since his 2009 sex scandal.

Women's professional golf

LPGA majors

  • 31 March – 3 April: Kraft Nabisco Championship – American Stacy Lewis defeated defending champion and current world number one Yani Tseng by three strokes to claim her first professional win.
  • 23–26 June: Wegmans LPGA Championship – Yani Tseng from Taiwan won by 10 strokes over American Morgan Pressel. It was Tseng's third LPGA Tour win in 2011 and her seventh professional win of the year. If was also Tseng's fourth career major win, which made her the youngest golfer, male or female, in the modern era to win four majors.
  • 7–10 July: U.S. Women's Open – So Yeon Ryu of South Korean defeated compatriot Hee Kyung Seo in a three-hole playoff. It was Ryu's first win in an LPGA Tour event.
  • 28–31 July: Ricoh Women's British Open – Yani Tseng defended her title with a four-stroke win over American Brittany Lang. The win made Tseng the youngest player ever, male or female, to win five major championships.

Ladies European Tour major (in addition to the Women's British Open)

  • 21–24 July: Evian Masters – Ai Miyazato of Japan won her seventh LPGA Tour title with a two-stroke victory over American Stacy Lewis.

For a complete list of Ladies European Tour results see 2011 Ladies European Tour.

Additional LPGA Tour events

  • 17–20 December: CME Group Titleholders – South Korean Hee Young Park claimed her first win on LPGA Tour with two stroke margin over Sandra Gal and Paula Creamer.

For a complete list of LPGA Tour results, see 2011 LPGA Tour.

Team events

  • 23–25 September: Solheim Cup – Europe reclaimed the Cup by a score of 15–13. It was the first win for Europe since 2003 and Europe's fourth victory in the 12-tournament history of the Solheim Cup.

Money list leaders

Awards

Other tour results

Other happenings

  • 14 February – Yani Tseng moved to number one in the Women's World Golf Rankings, surpassing Jiyai Shin who had held the position for the previous 15 weeks. Tseng's move to number one came after winning back-to-back events in Australia on the ALPG Tour and Ladies European Tour.
  • 26 June – After winning the LPGA Championship for her fourth career major, 22-year-old Yani Tseng became the youngest player, male or female, in the modern era to win four majors.
  • 20 July – The LPGA announced that the Evian Masters will become that tour's fifth major starting in 2013. The tournament will move to September, becoming the season's last major, and would be renamed "The Evian".[3] (The tournament would later be slightly renamed as "The Evian Championship".)
  • 18 September – 16-year-old Lexi Thompson won the Navistar LPGA Classic, becoming the youngest player to win an LPGA tournament. She broke the previous record for multi-round tournament that was set by 18-year-old Paula Creamer in 2005.[4]

Senior men's professional golf

Senior majors

Full results

Money list leaders

  • Champions Tour – American Tom Lehman topped the money list for the first time with earnings of US$2,081,526.
  • European Senior Tour – Australian Peter Fowler led the Order of Merit with earnings of €302,327.

Awards

Amateur golf
  • 17–21 May: NCAA Division I Women's Golf Championships – UCLA won its third team championship. Austin Ernst of LSU won the individual title.
  • 31 May – 5 June: NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championships – Augusta State successfully defended its team championship, with LSU's John Peterson winning the individual title.
  • 13–18 June: The Amateur Championship – Bryden Macpherson became the first Australian in over 50 years to win The Amateur, beating Scotsman Michael Stewart in the final.
  • 8–14 August: U.S. Women's Amateur – American Danielle Kang won her second consecutive U.S. Women's Amateur, beating Thailand's Moriya Jutanugarn.
  • 22–28 August: U.S. Amateur – American Kelly Kraft beat countryman Patrick Cantlay, the top ranked amateur, in the final, 2 up.
  • 10–11 September Walker Cup – Great Britain and Ireland defeated the United States, 14 to 12.

Other happenings

World Golf Hall of Fame inductees

On 22 July 2010, the Hall of Fame announced that it would move future induction ceremonies from October/November to May, on the Monday before The Players Championship. The 2011 class was inducted on 9 May:[5][6][7][8]

Deaths
  • 1 January — Billy Joe Patton (born 1922), amateur golfer who almost won the 1954 Masters Tournament
  • 20 February — Betty Hicks (born 1920), 1941 U.S. Women's Amateur winner, LPGA co-founder
  • 21 February — Bob Boyd (born 1955), PGA Tour and European Seniors Tour golfer
  • 4 March — Frank Chirkinian (born 1926), American TV producer credited as the "father of televised golf" and 2011 Hall of Fame inductee
  • 8 April — Sam Urzetta (born 1926), 1950 U.S. Amateur winner
  • 18 April — Mason Rudolph (born 1934), five-time PGA Tour winner
  • 7 May — Seve Ballesteros (born 1957), Spanish Hall of Fame golfer; winner of two Masters and three Open Championships
  • 11 July — Alex Hay (born 1933), Scottish golf broadcaster and club pro
  • 24 August — Paul Harney (born 1929), six-time PGA Tour winner
  • 28 August — Cesar Sanudo (born 1943), PGA Tour winner
  • 27 September — Dave Hill (born 1937), 13-time PGA Tour winner
  • 1 October — Sven Tumba (born 1931), Swedish professional golfer, golf course architect, and promoter
  • 14 October — Adam Hunter (born 1963), European Tour winner
  • 3 December — James A. Barclay (born 1923), golf historian, Canadian Golf Hall of Fame member
  • 22 December — Bettye Danoff (born 1923), LPGA co-founder
  • 28 December — Teruo Sugihara (born 1937), 28-time Japan Golf Tour winner

Table of results

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

DatesTournamentStatus or tourWinner
7–9 JanRoyal TrophyEurope v Asia
men's professional team event		 Europe
23–27 FebWGC-Accenture Match Play ChampionshipWorld Golf Championships Luke Donald
10–13 MarWGC-Cadillac ChampionshipWorld Golf Championships Nick Watney
31 Mar – 3 AprKraft Nabisco ChampionshipLPGA major Stacy Lewis
7–10 AprThe MastersMen's major Charl Schwartzel
5–8 MayRegions TraditionSenior major Tom Lehman
12–15 MayThe Players ChampionshipPGA Tour K. J. Choi
17–21 MayNCAA Division I Women's Golf ChampionshipsU.S. college championshipUCLA / Austin Ernst
26–29 MayBMW PGA ChampionshipEuropean Tour Luke Donald
26–29 MaySenior PGA ChampionshipSenior major Tom Watson
31 May – 5 JunNCAA Division I Men's Golf ChampionshipsU.S. college championshipAugusta State / John Peterson
13–18 JunThe Amateur ChampionshipAmateur men's individual tournament Bryden Macpherson
16–19 JunU.S. OpenMen's major Rory McIlroy
23–26 JunWegmans LPGA ChampionshipLPGA major Yani Tseng
7–10 JulU.S. Women's OpenLPGA major So Yeon Ryu
14–17 JulThe Open ChampionshipMen's major Darren Clarke
21–24 JulEvian MastersLadies European Tour major and
LPGA Tour regular event		 Ai Miyazato
21–24 JulThe Senior Open ChampionshipSenior major Russ Cochran
28–31 JulRicoh Women's British OpenLPGA and Ladies European Tour major Yani Tseng
28–31 JulU.S. Senior OpenSenior major Olin Browne
4–7 AugWGC-Bridgestone InvitationalWorld Golf Championships Adam Scott
8–14 AugU.S. Women's AmateurAmateur women's individual tournament Danielle Kang
11–14 AugPGA ChampionshipMen's major Keegan Bradley
18–21 AugConstellation Energy Senior Players ChampionshipSenior major Fred Couples
22–28 AugU.S. AmateurAmateur men's individual tournament Kelly Kraft
25–28 AugThe BarclaysPGA Tour FedEx Cup playoff Dustin Johnson
2–5 SepDeutsche Bank ChampionshipPGA Tour FedEx Cup playoff Webb Simpson
10–11 SepWalker CupGreat Britain & Ireland v United States
men's amateur team event		 Great Britain & Ireland
15–18 SepVivendi Seve TrophyGreat Britain & Ireland v Continental Europe
men's professional team event		 Great Britain & Ireland
15–18 SepBMW ChampionshipPGA Tour FedEx Cup playoff Justin Rose
22–25 SepThe Tour ChampionshipPGA Tour FedEx Cup playoff Bill Haas
23–25 SepSolheim CupEurope v United States
women's professional team event		 Europe
3–6 NovWGC-HSBC ChampionsWorld Golf Championships Martin Kaymer
17–20 NovCME Group TitleholdersLPGA Tour Hee Young Park
17–20 NovPresidents CupInternational v United States
men's professional team event		 United States
24–27 NovOmega Mission Hills World CupMen's professional national team event United States
8–11 DecDubai World ChampionshipEuropean Tour Álvaro Quirós

The following biennial events will next be played in 2012: Ryder Cup, Curtis Cup, Eisenhower Trophy, Espirito Santo Trophy.

References
  1. No comeback player award this season
  2. "Sunshine Tour announces major coup for SA golf" (Press release). Sunshine Tour. 12 April 2011. Archived from the original on 7 August 2011. Retrieved 15 April 2011.
  3. "LPGA Adds The Evian as a Major Championship in 2013" (Press release). LPGA. 20 July 2011. Retrieved 29 July 2011.
  4. "Lexi Thompson wins Navistar Classic". ESPN. Associated Press. 18 September 2011. Retrieved 19 September 2011.
  5. "World Golf Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony Moves to May 2011" (Press release). World Golf Hall of Fame. 22 July 2010. Archived from the original on 4 June 2011. Retrieved 23 September 2010.
  6. "Class of 2011 Candidates & Ballot Results" (Press release). World Golf Hall of Fame. 3 October 2010. Archived from the original on 16 April 2013. Retrieved 8 January 2011.
  7. "CBS television legend Frank Chirkinian joins World Golf Hall of Fame's 2011 Class" (Press release). World Golf Hall of Fame. 9 February 2011. Archived from the original on 4 June 2011. Retrieved 11 February 2011.
  8. "Els, five others complete journey into Hall of Fame". pgatour.com. 9 May 2011. Archived from the original on 13 May 2011. Retrieved 10 May 2011.


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