2008 in Golf - Men's Professional Golf

Men's Professional Golf

Major championships

• 10–13 April: The Masters - South African Trevor Immelman won his first major by a three-stroke margin.
• 12–15, 16 June: U.S. Open - American Tiger Woods won his 14th major by making birdie on the 72nd hole in regulation, and forcing an 18-hole playoff with Rocco Mediate on Monday, 16 June. They each finished the playoff at even par 71, and then went to a sudden death playoff. Woods made a par to Mediate's bogey on the first hole for the win.
• 17–20 July: The Open Championship - Pádraig Harrington won his second consecutive Open Championship in a four stroke victory over Ian Poulter. 53 year old Greg Norman who led after three rounds, finished tied third.
• 7–10 August: PGA Championship - Pádraig Harrington won his second consecutive major by two shots over Ben Curtis and Sergio García.

FedEx Cup playoff events - see 2008 FedEx Cup Playoffs

• 21–24 August: The Barclays - Vijay Singh won in a playoff against Sergio García and Kevin Sutherland.
• 28 August – 1 September: Deutsche Bank Championship - Vijay Singh won his second consecutive playoff event with a tournament record 22 under par.
• 4–7 September: BMW Championship - Camilo Villegas won his first PGA Tour event. Vijay Singh's finish as tied 44th was enough to ensure ownsership of the 2008 FedEX Cup, providing he completed 72 holes at the final event.
• 25–28 September: The Tour Championship - Camilo Villegas defated Sergio García in a playoff. Vijay Singh won the FedEx Cup.

Other leading PGA Tour events

• 20–24 February: WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship - Tiger Woods won the tournament for the third time, beating Stewart Cink in the final 8 and 7. He also becomes the first golfer to hold all three individual World Golf Championships titles simultaneously.
• 20–23 March WGC-CA Championship - Geoff Ogilvy wrapped up the win on Monday after bad weather pushed the tournament into a fifth day.
• 8–11 May: The Players Championship - Sergio García outlasted Paul Goydos in a one-hole playoff to claim his first PGA Tour title in three years.
• 31 July – 3 August: WGC-Bridgestone Invitational - Vijay Singh won his first World Golf Championship event and his 32nd PGA Tour event overall, putting him in the record books for most victories by an international player.

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

Other leading European Tour events

• 22–25 May: BMW PGA Championship - Miguel Ángel Jiménez of Spain defeated Englishman Oliver Wilson in a playoff.
• 30 October – 2 November: Volvo Masters - Søren Kjeldsen

For a complete list of European Tour results see 2008 European Tour.

Team events

• 18–21 September: Ryder Cup - Team USA regains the trophy with a 16½–11½ win over Team Europe.

Tour leaders

• PGA Tour - Vijay Singh ($6,601,094)
• European Tour - Robert Karlsson (€2,732,748)
• Japan Golf Tour - Shingo Katayama (¥180,094,895)
• Asian Tour - Jeev Milkha Singh ($1,452,707)
• PGA Tour of Australasia - Mark Brown (A$440,027)
• Sunshine Tour - Richard Sterne (R5,599,265)

Awards

• PGA Tour
  • FedEx Cup – Vijay Singh
  • PGA Player of the Year - Pádraig Harrington
  • Player of the Year (Jack Nicklaus Trophy) - Pádraig Harrington
  • Leading money winner (Arnold Palmer Award) - Vijay Singh
  • Vardon Trophy - Sergio García
  • Byron Nelson Award - Sergio García
  • Rookie of the year - Andrés Romero
  • Comeback Player of the Year - Dudley Hart
• Champions Tour
  • Player of the Year - Bernhard Langer
  • Rookie of the Year - Bernhard Langer
  • Comeback Player of the Year -
• Nationwide Tour
  • Player of the Year - Brendon de Jonge
• European Tour
  • Player of the Year - Pádraig Harrington
  • Rookie of the Year - Pablo Larrazábal

Other tour results

• 2008 Asian Tour
• 2008 PGA Tour of Australasia
• 2008 Canadian Tour
• 2008 Challenge Tour
• 2008 Japan Golf Tour
• 2008 Nationwide Tour
• 2008 Tour de las Americas

Other happenings

• 18 June – Tiger Woods announced he will miss the remainder of the 2008 season to recover from reconstructive anterior cruciate ligament surgery on his left knee.
• 21 November – Jason Hak, an amateur from Hong Kong, became the youngest player ever to make the cut in a European Tour event, at 14 years and 304 days at the UBS Hong Kong Open.