The 1996 PGA Tour was the 81st season of the PGA Tour, the main professional golf tour in the United States. It was also the 28th season since separating from the PGA of America.

1996 PGA Tour season
DurationJanuary 4, 1996 (1996-01-04) – October 28, 1996 (1996-10-28)
Number of official events44[a]
Most winsUnited States Phil Mickelson (4)
Money listUnited States Tom Lehman
Player of the YearUnited States Tom Lehman
PGA Player of the YearUnited States Tom Lehman
Rookie of the YearUnited States Tiger Woods
1995
1997

Schedule edit

The following table lists official events during the 1996 season.[1][2]

Date Tournament Location Purse
(US$)
Winner[b] OWGR
points
Notes
Jan 7 Mercedes Championships California 1,000,000   Mark O'Meara (11) 52 Winners-only event
Jan 14 Nortel Open Arizona 1,250,000   Phil Mickelson (6) 42
Jan 21 Bob Hope Chrysler Classic California 1,300,000   Mark Brooks (5) 42 Pro-Am
Jan 27 Phoenix Open Arizona 1,300,000   Phil Mickelson (7) 48
Feb 4 AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am California Canceled[c] Pro-Am
Feb 11 Buick Invitational California 1,200,000   Davis Love III (10) 52
Feb 18 United Airlines Hawaiian Open Hawaii 1,200,000   Jim Furyk (2) 38
Feb 25 Nissan Open California 1,200,000   Craig Stadler (12) 46
Mar 3 Doral-Ryder Open Florida 1,800,000   Greg Norman (18) 68
Mar 10 Honda Classic Florida 1,300,000   Tim Herron (1) 50
Mar 17 Bay Hill Invitational Florida 1,200,000   Paul Goydos (1) 68 Invitational
Mar 24 Freeport-McDermott Classic Louisiana 1,200,000   Scott McCarron (1) 42
Mar 31 The Players Championship Florida 3,500,000   Fred Couples (12) 80 Flagship event
Apr 7 BellSouth Classic Georgia 1,300,000   Paul Stankowski (1) 54
Apr 14 Masters Tournament Georgia 2,500,000   Nick Faldo (8) 100 Major championship
Apr 21 MCI Classic South Carolina 1,400,000   Loren Roberts (3) 60 Invitational
Apr 28 Greater Greensboro Chrysler Classic North Carolina 1,800,000   Mark O'Meara (12) 44
May 5 Shell Houston Open Texas 1,500,000   Mark Brooks (6) 40
May 12 GTE Byron Nelson Golf Classic Texas 1,500,000   Phil Mickelson (8) 56
May 19 MasterCard Colonial Texas 1,500,000   Corey Pavin (14) 60 Invitational
May 26 Kemper Open Maryland 1,500,000   Steve Stricker (1) 40
Jun 2 Memorial Tournament Ohio 1,800,000   Tom Watson (38) 68 Invitational
Jun 9 Buick Classic New York 1,200,000   Ernie Els (3) 56
Jun 16 U.S. Open Michigan 2,400,000   Steve Jones (5) 100 Major championship
Jun 23 FedEx St. Jude Classic Tennessee 1,350,000   John Cook (7) 40
Jun 30 Canon Greater Hartford Open Connecticut 1,500,000   D. A. Weibring (5) 42
Jul 7 Motorola Western Open Illinois 2,000,000   Steve Stricker (2) 68
Jul 14 Michelob Championship at Kingsmill Virginia 1,250,000   Scott Hoch (7) 24
Jul 21 The Open Championship England £1,500,000   Tom Lehman (3) 100 Major championship
Jul 21 Deposit Guaranty Golf Classic Mississippi 1,000,000   Willie Wood (1) 20 Alternate event
Jul 28 CVS Charity Classic Massachusetts 1,200,000   John Cook (8) 26
Aug 4 Buick Open Michigan 1,200,000   Justin Leonard (1) 50
Aug 11 PGA Championship Kentucky 2,400,000   Mark Brooks (7) 100 Major championship
Aug 18 Sprint International Colorado 1,600,000   Clarence Rose (1) 66
Aug 25 NEC World Series of Golf Ohio 2,100,000   Phil Mickelson (9) 58 Limited-field event
Aug 25 Greater Vancouver Open Canada 1,000,000   Guy Boros (1) 22 Alternate event
Sep 1 Greater Milwaukee Open Wisconsin 1,200,000   Loren Roberts (4) 38
Sep 8 Bell Canadian Open Canada 1,500,000   Dudley Hart (1) 40
Sep 15 Quad City Classic Illinois 1,200,000   Ed Fiori (4) 32
Sep 22 B.C. Open New York 1,000,000   Fred Funk (4) 28
Sep 29 Buick Challenge Georgia 1,000,000   Michael Bradley (1) 26
Oct 6 Las Vegas Invitational Nevada 1,650,000   Tiger Woods (1) 50
Oct 13 LaCantera Texas Open Texas 1,200,000   David Ogrin (1) 40
Oct 20 Walt Disney World/Oldsmobile Classic Florida 1,200,000   Tiger Woods (2) 46
Oct 28 The Tour Championship Oklahoma 3,000,000   Tom Lehman (4) 60 Tour Championship

Unofficial events edit

The following events were sanctioned by the PGA Tour, but did not carry official money, nor were wins official.

Date Tournament Location Purse
($)
Winner(s) OWGR
points
Notes
Sep 15 Presidents Cup Virginia n/a   Team USA n/a Team event
Nov 3 Subaru Sarazen World Open Georgia 1,900,000   Frank Nobilo 40
Nov 10 Lincoln-Mercury Kapalua International Hawaii 1,200,000   Paul Stankowski 40
Nov 15 MasterCard PGA Grand Slam of Golf Hawaii 1,000,000   Tom Lehman n/a Limited-field event
Nov 17 Franklin Templeton Shark Shootout California 1,100,000   Jay Haas and
  Tom Kite
n/a Team event
Nov 24 World Cup of Golf South Africa 1,300,000   Ernie Els and
  Wayne Westner
n/a Team event
World Cup of Golf Individual Trophy 200,000   Ernie Els n/a
Dec 1 Skins Game California 540,000   Fred Couples n/a Limited-field event
Dec 8 JCPenney Classic Florida 1,500,000   Donna Andrews and
  Mike Hulbert
n/a Team event
Dec 15 Diners Club Matches California 700,000   Tom Lehman and
  Duffy Waldorf
n/a Team event

Money list edit

The money list was based on prize money won during the season, calculated in U.S. dollars.[4][5]

Position Player Prize money ($)
1   Tom Lehman 1,780,159
2   Phil Mickelson 1,697,799
3   Mark Brooks 1,429,396
4   Steve Stricker 1,383,739
5   Mark O'Meara 1,255,749
6   Fred Couples 1,248,694
7   Davis Love III 1,211,139
8   Brad Faxon 1,055,050
9   Scott Hoch 1,039,564
10   David Duval 977,079

Awards edit

Award Winner Ref.
PGA Tour Player of the Year (Jack Nicklaus Trophy)   Tom Lehman [5]
PGA Player of the Year   Tom Lehman [6]
Rookie of the Year   Tiger Woods [5]
Scoring leader (PGA Tour – Byron Nelson Award)   Tom Lehman [5]
Scoring leader (PGA – Vardon Trophy)   Tom Lehman [6]
Comeback Player of the Year   Steve Jones [5]

See also edit

Notes edit

  1. ^ A further one tournament was scheduled but was canceled.
  2. ^ The number in parentheses after each winner's name is the number of PGA Tour events they had won up to and including that tournament. This information is only shown for PGA Tour members.
  3. ^ Canceled after 36 holes due to weather.[3]

References edit

  1. ^ "1996 Tournament schedule". PGA Tour. Archived from the original on September 7, 2018. Retrieved November 2, 2023.
  2. ^ "1997 PGA Tour Media Guide" (PDF). PGA Tour. Retrieved November 2, 2023.
  3. ^ "Weather ends Pebble Beach Pro-Am". Wilmington Morning Star. Wilmington, North Carolina. Associated Press. February 5, 1996. p. 8 (7B in paper). Retrieved November 2, 2023.
  4. ^ "1996 Official money". PGA Tour. Archived from the original on October 10, 2014. Retrieved November 2, 2023.
  5. ^ a b c d e "Lehman is voted top player of '96; Woods top rookie". York Sunday News. York, Pennsylvania. January 12, 1997. p. 32 (C12 in paper). Retrieved November 2, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ a b "Lehman Best Of Best; Woods Best Of Youngest On Tour". Tyler Morning Telegraph. Tyler, Texas. October 30, 1996. p. 25 (5 in paper). Retrieved November 2, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.

External links edit