2012 in golf

none September 2018 2012 golf This article summarizes the highlights of professional and amateur golf in the year 2012. Men's professional golf Major championships 5–8 April: The Masters – American Bubba Watson defeated South African Louis Oosthuizen on the second hole of a sudden-death playoff to earn his first major championship. 14–17 June: U.S. Open – American Webb Simpson won by one stroke over Graeme McDowell and Michael Thompson. 19–22 July: The Open Championship – South African Ernie Els won his fourth major by one stroke over Australian Adam Scott. 9–12 August: PGA Championship – Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy won his second major, at the age of 23. His eight-shot win over England's David Lynn was the largest victory margin in the championship's stroke-play era. McIlroy also returned to number 1 in the Official World Golf Ranking. World Golf Championships 22–26 February: WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship – American Hunter Mahan won his second WGC tournament, beating Rory McIlroy 2&1. McIlroy would have risen to number 1 in the Official World Golf Ranking if he had won.https://www.espn.com/golf/story/_/id/7617768/hunter-mahan-edges-rory-mcilroy-match-play-championship-final Hunter Mahan wins Match Play title 26 February 2012 ESPN Associated Press 27 February 2012 8–11 March WGC-Cadillac Championship – England's Justin Rose won his first WGC tournament by one stroke over American Bubba Watson. 2–5 August: WGC-Bridgestone Invitational – American Keegan Bradley won by one stroke over compatriots Jim Furyk and Steve Stricker. 1–4 November: WGC-HSBC Champions – England's Ian Poulter won his second career WGC by two strokes over four others. FedEx Cup playoff events - see 2012 FedEx Cup Playoffs 23–26 August: The Barclays – American Nick Watney won by three shots over countryman Brandt Snedeker. 31 August – 3 September: Deutsche Bank Championship – Rory McIlroy won by one shot over Louis Oosthuizen. 6–9 September: BMW Championship – McIlroy won by two shots over Phil Mickelson and Lee Westwood. 20–23 September: Tour Championship – American Brandt Snedeker won the tournament (and the FedEx Cup) by three shots over Justin Rose. Other leading PGA Tour events 10–13 May: The Players Championship – American Matt Kuchar won by two strokes over four others. For a complete list of PGA Tour results see 2012 PGA Tour. Leading European Tour events 24–27 May: BMW PGA Championship – Englishman Luke Donald won for the second straight year and again became the World Ranking Number 1. 22–25 November: DP World Tour Championship, Dubai – World #1 Rory McIlroy won his 5th European Tour title by two strokes, tying the tournament record of –23 set by Lee Westwood in 2009. For a complete list of European Tour results see 2012 European Tour. Team events 28–30 September: Ryder Cup – Team Europe retained the Cup, 14½–13½, after having been down 10–6 to Team USA after Saturday play. This equaled the previous record for the largest final-day comeback in Ryder Cup history, when Team USA came back from the same deficit in 1999. 14–16 December: Royal Trophy – Asia won on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff after match with Europe ended in an 8–8 tie. Tour leaders PGA Tour – NIR Rory McIlroyhttp://www.pgatour.com/2012/r/10/10/ap-notebook.ap/index.html McIlroy clinches awards in memorable year 10 October 2012 PGA Tour Associated Press 10 October 2012 April 2019 InternetArchiveBot yes (US$8,047,952) This total does not include FedEx Cup bonuses. European Tour – NIR Rory McIlroy (€5,519,118)http://www.europeantour.com/europeantour/racetodubai/news/newsid=178625.html#mcilroy+wins+the+race+dubai McIlroy wins the Race to Dubai PGA European Tour 13 November 2012 This total includes the US$1.0 million (€781,091) bonus for winning the Race to Dubai. Japan Golf Tour – JPN Hiroyuki Fujita (¥175,159,972) Asian Tour – THA Thaworn Wiratchant (US$738,047) PGA Tour of Australasia – AUS Peter Senior (A$268,292) Sunshine Tour – ZAF Branden Grace (R2,760,319) OneAsia Tour – KOR Kim Bi-o (US$380,745) Tour de las Américas – PRY Marco Ruiz (26,884 points) PGA Tour Latinoamérica – ARG Ariel Cañete (US$91,396) Awards PGA Tour FedEx Cup – Brandt Snedeker won the FedEx Cup after winning the Tour Championship. PGA Player of the Year – NIR Rory McIlroy Player of the Year (Jack Nicklaus Trophy) – NIR Rory McIlroy Leading money winner (Arnold Palmer Award) – NIR Rory McIlroy (US$8,047,952) Vardon Trophy – NIR Rory McIlroy Byron Nelson Award – NIR Rory McIlroy Rookie of the Year – USA John Huh Comeback Player of the Year – Nonehttp://www.startribune.com/sports/golf/179122271.html?refer=y Tour changing the way it looks at 'comeback player' award, no one on ballot this year Doug Ferguson Associated Press Star Tribune 13 November 2012 13 November 2012 30 November 2024 https://web.archive.org/web/20241130103444/https://www.startribune.com/sports/golf/179122271.html?refer=y dead Payne Stewart Award – USA Steve Stricker European Tour Golfer of the Year – NIR Rory McIlroy Rookie of the Year – PRT Ricardo Santos Web.com Tour Player of the Year – USA Casey Wittenberg Other tour results 2012 Asian Tour 2012 PGA Tour of Australasia 2012 Canadian Tour 2012 Challenge Tour 2012 Japan Golf Tour 2012 Web.com Tour 2012 OneAsia Tour 2012 Sunshine Tour 2012 Tour de las Américas 2012 PGA Tour Latinoamérica Other happenings 4 March – Rory McIlroy became number one in the Official World Golf Ranking after winning The Honda Classic.https://www.espn.com/golf/story/_/id/7646262/rory-mcilroy-22-earns-no-1-ranking-winning-honda-classic Rory McIlroy takes No. 1 spot 6 March 2012 Bob Harig ESPN 7 March 2012 18 March – Luke Donald re-took the number one spot after winning the Transitions Championship.https://www.espn.com/golf/story/_/id/7706678/luke-donald-no-1-again-rally-transitions-playoff-victory Luke Donald wins, returns to No. 1 Associated Press 19 March 2012 ESPN 19 March 2012 20 March – The PGA Tour announced changes to its season structure and qualifying to take effect in 2013. Among the changes, as announced at that time:https://www.espn.com/golf/story/_/id/7714944/pga-tour-changes-schedule-qualifying-process PGA Tour announces changes ESPN 21 March 2012 13 April 2012 The 2013 season will be the last to be conducted completely within a calendar year. The 2014 season will begin in October 2013, shortly after The Tour Championship, and all future seasons will begin in October of the previous calendar year. The 2012 PGA Tour Qualifying Tournament, also known as "Q-School", will be the last to award playing privileges on the PGA Tour. Beginning in 2013, Q-School will only grant privileges on the Web.com Tour (known at the time as the Nationwide Tour). Starting in 2013, PGA Tour cards for the following season will be awarded at the end of a three-tournament series featuring the top 75 money winners on the Web.com Tour and the golfers finishing between 126 and 200 on the PGA Tour money list. 15 April – McIlroy returns to the number one spot in the world rankings. 29 April – Donald returns to the number one spot in the world rankings. 6 May – McIlroy returns to the number one spot in the world rankings. 27 May – Donald returns to the number one spot in the world rankings. 26 June – The PGA Tour announces further details regarding its recently announced major schedule changes. Starting in fall 2013, the tournaments in the Fall Series, which will become the season-opening events at that time, will become FedEx Cup events, with full Cup points, for the first time.http://www.pgatour.com/2012/r/06/26/fedexcup.points/index.html Fall Series events to offer full FedExCup points PGA Tour 26 June 2012 11 July 2012 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20120629050550/http://www.pgatour.com/2012/r/06/26/fedexcup.points/index.html 29 June 2012 28 June – The PGA Tour's developmental tour, the Nationwide Tour, was renamed mid-season as the Web.com Tour, after a new sponsorship deal was announced.http://www.pgatour.com/2012/h/06/27/sponsor/index.html Web.com signs deal to be new umbrella sponsor PGA Tour 28 June 2012 9 July 2012 https://web.archive.org/web/20120630103514/http://www.pgatour.com/2012/h/06/27/sponsor/index.html 30 June 2012 dead dmy-all 10 July – The PGA Tour announces final details of its major schedule changes. In a change from the original announcement in March, the money list will no longer determine which PGA Tour members retain their cards. Starting with the 2013 season, the top 125 golfers in FedEx Cup points will retain their cards.http://www.pgatour.com/2012/h/07/10/tour.qualifying/index.html Web.com impact expanded with qualifying changes John Dell PGA Tour 10 July 2012 10 July 2012 https://archive.today/20121206044732/http://www.pgatour.com/2012/h/07/10/tour.qualifying/index.html 6 December 2012 dead dmy-all The three-tournament series that will award new PGA Tour cards will be called the Web.com Tour Finals. The top 75 players on the Web.com Tour regular-season money list, plus the golfers between 126 and 200 in FedEx Cup points, will be eligible to play. The top 25 on the Web.com Tour regular-season money list will receive PGA Tour cards regardless of their performance in the Web.com Tour Finals. The total money earned in the Finals will determine the remaining 25 card earners. For all 50 new card earners, their positions on the PGA Tour's priority order for purposes of tournament entry will be based on money earned in the Finals.http://www.cbssports.com/golf/blog/eye-on-golf/19552949/pga-tour-finalizes-controversial-makeover-as-qualifying-school-gone-after-six-decade-run PGA Tour finalizes controversial makeover as Qualifying School gone after six-decade run Steve Elling Eye on Golf CBS Sports 10 July 2012 14 July 2012 12 August – McIlroy returns to the number one spot in the world rankings by winning the PGA Championship. 5 September – The first tournament of PGA Tour Latinoamérica is played, replacing the Tour de las Américas as the primary tour in Latin America. 11 September – The PGA Tour announces that for the 2013 season only, due to the transition to a wraparound season, golfers who finish in the top 125 of either the FedEx Cup points list or the season money list will retain their tour cards for the 2014 season.http://www.pgatour.com/2012/r/09/11/notebook.ap/index.html Notes: Consistency becomes even more important in 2013 Associated Press PGA Tour 11 September 2012 16 September 2012 https://web.archive.org/web/20120913082930/http://www.pgatour.com/2012/r/09/11/notebook.ap/index.html 13 September 2012 dead dmy-all 18 October – The PGA Tour and the Canadian Professional Golf Tour jointly announce an agreement by which the PGA Tour would take over the Canadian circuit, effective 1 November. At that time, the Canadian Tour would be officially renamed as PGA Tour Canada.http://www.pgatour.com/content/pgatour/news/2012/10/18/pga-tour-canada-announcement.html Canadian Tour to convert to PGA Tour Canada PGA Tour 18 October 2012 6 February 2013 18 November – Miguel Ángel Jiménez becomes the oldest golfer ever to win a European Tour event, winning the UBS Hong Kong Open at age 1964 1 5 2012 11 18.https://www.espn.com/golf/story/_/id/8648311/miguel-angel-jimenez-48-becomes-oldest-pga-european-tour-winner-hong-kong-open-title Miguel Angel Jimenez wins at 48 Associated Press ESPN 18 November 2012 19 November 2012 Women's professional golf LPGA majors 29 March – 1 April: Kraft Nabisco Championship – South Korea's Sun-Young Yoo defeated fellow Korean I.K. Kim on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff to earn her first major championship. Kim had missed a tap-in on the 72nd hole that would have given her the title. 7–10 June: Wegmans LPGA Championship – China's Shanshan Feng won by two strokes over four other golfers. She became the first major winner from China. 5–8 July: U.S. Women's Open – Na Yeon Choi of South Korea won her first major championship by a four-stroke margin over fellow Korean Amy Yang. 13–16 September: Women's British Open – South Korea's Jiyai Shin won her second Open, also her second major, by a tournament-record nine shots over fellow Korean Inbee Park. Ladies European Tour major (in addition to the Women's British Open) 26–29 July: Evian Masters – South Korean Inbee Park won her second LPGA title by two strokes over Karrie Webb and Stacy Lewis. For a complete list of Ladies European Tour results see 2012 Ladies European Tour. Additional LPGA Tour events 15–18 November: CME Group Titleholders – South Korean Na Yeon Choi claimed her seventh career LPGA title by two shots over fellow Korean So Yeon Ryu. For a complete list of LPGA Tour results, see 2012 LPGA Tour. Team events Money list leaders LPGA Tour – KOR Inbee Park (US$2,266,638) LPGA of Japan Tour – KOR Jeon Mi-jeong (¥131,827,582) Ladies European Tour – ESP Carlota Ciganda (€251,290) LPGA of Korea Tour – KOR Kim Ha-Neul (₩458,898,803) Ladies Asian Golf Tour – THA Patcharachuta Kongkapan (US$87,966) ALPG Tour – AUS Lindsey Wright (A$70,067) (2011/12 season) Symetra Tour – USA Esther Choe (US$55,690) Awards LPGA Tour Player of the Year – USA Stacy Lewis Lewis becomes the first American to claim the award since Beth Daniel in 1994. LPGA Tour Rookie of the Year – KOR So Yeon Ryu LPGA Tour Vare Trophy – KOR Inbee Park LET Player of the Year – ESP Carlota Ciganda LET Rookie of the Year – ESP Carlota Ciganda LPGA of Japan Tour Player of the Year – KOR Jeon Mi-jeong Other tour results 2012 Symetra Tour 2012 Ladies Asian Golf Tour 2012 LPGA of Japan Tour 2012 LPGA of Korea Tour Other happenings 29 January – Lydia Ko, a 14-year-old New Zealand amateur, won the Bing Lee Samsung Women's NSW Open on the ALPG Tour, becoming the youngest player of either ***to win a professional tour event.http://www.alpg.com.au/index.php?parent_id=69&page_id=576 Lydia Creates History With Ko Blow ALPG Tour 29 January 2012 26 August 2012 3 March 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20160303211833/http://www.alpg.com.au/index.php?parent_id=69&page_id=576 dead 13 June – Brooke Henderson, a 14-year-old Canadian amateur, won the second stop on the Canadian Women's Tour,http://www.cncanadianwomenstour.ca/news_details.aspx?ID=2706 Brooke Henderson wins second stop on CN Canadian Women's Tour CN Canadian Women's Tour 13 June 2012 26 August 2012 https://web.archive.org/web/20120620143612/http://www.cncanadianwomenstour.ca/news_details.aspx?id=2706 20 June 2012 dead dmy-all breaking Ko's previous record as the youngest person ever to win a professional tour event.https://www.espn.com/golf/story/_/id/8305148/amateur-lydia-ko-15-becomes-youngest-lpga-winner-taking-canadian-women-open Lydia Ko, 15, wins in Canada ESPN 26 August 2012 26 August 2012 26 August – Ko, now 15, won the CN Canadian Women's Open, becoming the youngest player ever to win an LPGA Tour event and the first amateur to win on that tour since JoAnne Carner in 1969. 10 September – Jiyai Shin defeated Paula Creamer on the ninth hole of a sudden-death playoff, the longest between two players in LPGA history, to win the Kingsmill Championship. The playoff was suspended due to darkness after eight holes on Sunday evening, and resumed the following day.https://www.espn.com/golf/story/_/id/8361690/jiyai-shin-par-beats-paula-creamer-9th-hole-lpga-playoff Jiyai Shin's par wins playoff Associated Press ESPN 10 September 2012 10 September 2012 Senior men's professional golf Senior majors 24–27 May: Senior Players Championship – England's Roger Chapman won his first senior major by two strokes over American John Cook. 7–10 June: Regions Tradition – American Tom Lehman won his second straight Tradition, and third senior major, by two strokes over Germany's Bernhard Langer and Taiwan's Lu Chien-soon. 28 June – 1 July: Senior PGA Championship – American Joe Daley won his first Champions Tour event by two strokes over Tom Lehman. 12–15 July: U.S. Senior Open – England's Roger Chapman won his second senior major of the year. 26–29 July: The Senior Open Championship – American Fred Couples won his second senior major by two strokes over Gary Hallberg. Full results 2012 Champions Tour 2012 European Senior Tour Money list leaders Champions Tour – German Bernhard Langer topped the money list for the fourth time with earnings of US$2,140,296. European Senior Tour – Englishman Roger Chapman topped the money list for the first time with earnings of €356,751. Awards Champions Tour Charles Schwab Cup – USA Tom Lehman Player of the Year – USA Tom Lehman Rookie of the Year – USA Kirk Triplett Leading money winner (Arnold Palmer Award) – DEU Bernhard Langer Lowest stroke average (Byron Nelson Award) – USA Fred Couples Amateur golf 22–25 May: NCAA Division I Women's Golf Championships – Alabama won its first team championship and Chirapat Jao-Javanil of Oklahoma won the individual title. 29 May – 3 June: NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championships – Texas won its third team championship and Thomas Pieters of Illinois won the individual title. 8–10 June: Curtis Cup – Great Britain and Ireland defeated the United States, 10½ to 9½, winning for the first time since 1996. 18–23 June: The Amateur Championship – Alan Dunbar of Northern Ireland defeated Matthias Schwab of Austria, 1 up. 6–12 August: U.S. Women's Amateur – Lydia Ko of New Zealand beat American Jaye Marie Green, 3 & 1, in the final. 13–19 August: U.S. Amateur – American Steven Fox defeated Michael Weaver on the 37th hole. 27–30 September Espirito Santo Trophy – South Korea won by three strokes over Germany. 4–7 October Eisenhower Trophy – The United States won by five strokes over Mexico. The event was shortened to 54 holes due to rain. 1–4 November: Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship – 14-year-old Guan Tianlang of China won by one shot over Pan Cheng-tsung of Taiwan. Guan earned an invitation to the 2013 Masters, and went on to become the youngest golfer ever to compete in that tournament.https://www.espn.com/golf/story/_/id/8592149/guan-tianlang-14-headed-masters-asia-pacific-amateur-championship-win Guan Tianlang, 14, headed to Masters Bob Harig ESPN 4 November 2012 4 November 2012 Other happenings World Golf Hall of Fame inductees The 2012 class was inducted on 7 May: ENG Peter Alliss (Lifetime Achievement) USA Dan Jenkins (Lifetime Achievement)http://www.pgatour.com/news/2011/12/14/dan-jenkins.html World Golf Hall of Fame to induct Dan Jenkins in 2012 PGA Tour 14 December 2011 6 May 2013 SCO Sandy Lyle (International)https://www.espn.com/golf/story/_/id/7355035/world-golf-hall-fame-sandy-lyle-peter-alliss-join-class-2012 Sandy Lyle, Peter Alliss picked for Hall ESPN Associated Press 15 December 2011 26 January 2012 USA Phil Mickelson (PGA Tour)http://www.pgatour.com/news/2011/11/10/mickelson-wghof.html World Golf Hall of Fame to induct Mickelson in 2012 PGA Tour 11 November 2011 26 January 2012 USA Hollis Stacy (Veterans)https://www.espn.com/golf/story/_/id/7247989/hollis-stacy-selected-world-golf-hall-fame Hollis Stacy selected for Hall of Fame Associated Press ESPN 18 November 2011 18 November 2011 The 2013 class was announced starting in September 2012 with induction set for May 2013: USA Fred Couples (PGA Tour)http://www.pgatour.com/news/2012/09/19/couples-world-golf-hall-of-fame.html Couples to be inducted into World Golf Hall of Fame PGA Tour 19 September 2012 6 May 2013 USA Ken Venturi (Lifetime Achievement)http://www.pgatour.com/news/2012/10/08/venturiwghof.html World Golf Hall of Fame adds Venturi to 2013 class PGA Tour 8 October 2012 6 May 2013 SCO Willie Park, Jr. (Veterans)http://www.pgatour.com/news/2012/11/15/willie-parkap.html Willie Park Jr. selected for World Golf Hall of Fame PGA Tour 15 November 2012 6 May 2013 SCO Colin Montgomerie (International)http://www.pgatour.com/news/2012/12/18/montgomerie--schofield-complete-hall-of-fame-clas.html Montgomerie, Schofield complete Hall of Fame class PGA Tour 18 December 2012 6 May 2013 SCO Ken Schofield (Lifetime Achievement) Deaths 2 January — Yoshiro Hayashi (born 1922), two-time Japan Open winner 24 January — Moira Milton (born 1923), British Ladies Amateur winner 10 February — Geoffrey Cornish (born 1914), golf course architect 8 March — Mike Fetchick (born 1922), three-time PGA Tour winner 20 July — Dorothy Germain Porter (born 1924), 1949 U.S. Women's Amateur winner 28 August — Ramón Sota (born 1938), won nine pre-European Tour events 26 September — Vance Heafner (born 1954), PGA Tour winner 11 October — Bill Ezinicki (born 1924), PGA professional and former professional ice hockey player 11 December — Colleen Walker (born 1956), nine-time LPGA Tour winner Table of results This table summarizes all the results referred to above in date order. DatesTournamentStatus or tourWinner22–26 Feb WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship World Golf Championships USA Hunter Mahan8–11 Mar WGC-Cadillac Championship World Golf Championships ENG Justin Rose29 Mar–1 Apr Kraft Nabisco Championship LPGA major KOR Sun-Young Yoo 5–8 Apr The Masters Men's major USA Bubba Watson10–13 May The Players Championship PGA Tour USA Matt Kuchar22–25 MayNCAA Division I Women's Golf ChampionshipsU.S. college championship Alabama / Chirapat Jao-Javanil24–27 May BMW PGA Championship European Tour ENG Luke Donald24–27 May Senior PGA Championship Senior major ENG Roger Chapman29 May–3 Jun NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championships U.S. college championship Texas / Thomas Pieters7–10 JunWegmans LPGA ChampionshipLPGA major CHN Shanshan Feng7–10 Jun Regions Tradition Senior major USA Tom Lehman8–10 JunCurtis CupAmateur women's team tournament GBR Great Britain & IRE Ireland14–17 Jun U.S. Open Men's major USA Webb Simpson 18–23 Jun The Amateur Championship Amateur men's individual tournament NIR Alan Dunbar28 Jun–1 Jul Constellation Senior Players Championship Senior major USA Joe Daley 5–8 Jul U.S. Women's Open LPGA major KOR Na Yeon Choi12–15 JulU.S. Senior OpenSenior major ENG Roger Chapman19–22 Jul The Open Championship Men's major ZAF Ernie Els26–29 Jul Evian Masters Ladies European Tour major and LPGA Tour regular event KOR Inbee Park26–29 Jul The Senior Open Championship Senior major USA Fred Couples2–5 Aug WGC-Bridgestone InvitationalWorld Golf Championships USA Keegan Bradley6–12 Aug U.S. Women's AmateurAmateur women's individual tournament NZL Lydia Ko9–12 Aug PGA Championship Men's major NIR Rory McIlroy13–19 AugU.S. AmateurAmateur men's individual tournament USA Steven Fox23–26 AugThe BarclaysPGA Tour FedEx Cup playoff USA Nick Watney31 Aug–3 SepDeutsche Bank ChampionshipPGA Tour FedEx Cup playoff NIR Rory McIlroy6–9 SepBMW ChampionshipPGA Tour FedEx Cup playoff NIR Rory McIlroy13–16 Sep Ricoh Women's British OpenLPGA and Ladies European Tour major KOR Jiyai Shin20–23 Sep The Tour Championship PGA Tour FedEx Cup playoff USA Brandt Snedeker28–30 Sep Ryder Cup Europe v United Statesmen's professional team event Europe Team Europe27–30 Sep Espirito Santo Trophy Women's amateur team event 4–7 Oct Eisenhower Trophy Men's amateur team event 1–4 Nov WGC-HSBC Champions World Golf Championships ENG Ian Poulter1–4 Nov Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship Amateur men's individual tournament CHN Guan Tianlang15–18 Nov CME Group Titleholders LPGA Tour KOR Na Yeon Choi22–25 NovDP World Tour Championship, DubaiEuropean TourNIR Rory McIlroy 14–16 Dec Royal Trophy Europe v Asiamen's professional team event Asia The following biennial events will next be played in 2013: Solheim Cup, Walker Cup, Presidents Cup, Seve Trophy, World Cup. References Category:Golf by year