This article summarizes the highlights of professional and amateur golf in the year 2015.
Men's professional golf
Major championships
9–12 April: The Masters – Jordan Spieth won by four strokes over Phil Mickelson and Justin Rose. It was his first major victory. He also tied the Tiger Woods' tournament record of 270 (−18) 18–21 June: U.S. Open – Jordan Spieth won by one stroke when Dustin Johnson failed to make birdie at the 18th hole. He became the sixth player ever to win the Masters and U.S. Open in the same year. 16–19 July: The Open Championship – Zach Johnson won in a 4-hole aggregate playoff, when Louis Oosthuizen failed to make his putt on the 4th and final hole of the playoff. It was Johnson's first Open Championship victory, and his second major victory. 13–16 August: PGA Championship – Jason Day won his first major by three strokes over Jordan Spieth. Day played consistently during the final round, never allowing Spieth an opportunity to get closer than 3 strokes, while setting a record for a major at 20 under par, besting Tiger Woods' previous record of 19 under at the 2000 British Open.
World Golf Championships
5–8 March WGC-Cadillac Championship – Dustin Johnson won by one stroke over J. B. Holmes 29 April – 3 May: WGC-Cadillac Match Play – Rory McIlroy defeated Gary Woodland, 4 & 2, in the championship match. It was McIlroy's first WGC-Match Play championship, and his second WGC championship overall. 6–9 August: WGC-Bridgestone Invitational – Shane Lowry won by two strokes over Bubba Watson. It was his first WGC victory. 5–8 November: WGC-HSBC Champions – Russell Knox won by two strokes over Kevin Kisner. It was his first World Golf Championship victory, and also his first PGA Tour and European Tour victory.
FedEx Cup playoff events - see 2015 FedEx Cup Playoffs
27–30 August: The Barclays – Jason Day tied the tournament record and won by six strokes over Henrik Stenson. 4–7 September: Deutsche Bank Championship – Rickie Fowler won by one stroke over Henrik Stenson. 17–20 September: BMW Championship – Jason Day won his second FedEx Cup event of the season and moved to number one in the Official World Golf Ranking. 24–27 September: Tour Championship – Jordan Spieth won by three strokes over Danny Lee, Justin Rose, and Henrik Stenson. The victory for him also won his first FedEx Cup.
Other leading PGA Tour events
7–10 May: The Players Championship – Rickie Fowler defeated Kevin Kisner and Sergio García in a three-hole aggregate playoff, eliminating García after the third hole, and eliminating Kisner on a sudden-death fourth hole. It was Fowler's first Players title.
For a complete list of PGA Tour results see 2015 PGA Tour.
Leading European Tour events
21–24 May: BMW PGA Championship – An Byeong-hun won by six strokes over Thongchai Jaidee and Miguel Ángel Jiménez. It was his first European Tour victory. 29 October – 1 November: Turkish Airlines Open – Victor Dubuisson won by one stroke over Jaco van Zyl. 12–15 November: BMW Masters – Kristoffer Broberg won in a playoff over Patrick Reed, with a birdie on the first extra hole. It was his first European Tour victory. 19–22 November: DP World Tour Championship, Dubai – Rory McIlroy won by one stroke over Andy Sullivan, clinching the Race to Dubai title. It was his second Tour Championship victory, and his third Race to Dubai title.
For a complete list of European Tour results see 2015 European Tour.
Team events
8–11 October: Presidents Cup – The U.S. team won, 15½–14½, for the sixth straight time.
Tour leaders
PGA Tour – Jordan Spieth (US$12,030,465) This total does not include FedEx Cup bonuses. European Tour – Rory McIlroy (4,727,253 points) This total does not include the US$1.875 million bonus for winning the Race to Dubai. Japan Golf Tour – Kim Kyung-tae (¥165,981,625) Asian Tour – Anirban Lahiri (US$1,139,084) PGA Tour of Australasia – Nathan Holman (A$346,702) Sunshine Tour – George Coetzee (R 5,470,684)