Golf Compendium

Did Colin Montgomerie cheat at the 2005 Indonesian Open? Some say yes. The European Tour and Monty say no — although Monty did admit to making a mistake, and apologized for it. That wasn't enough for some of his peers, however. Some — most notably, Sandy Lyle — in later years outright called Montgomerie a cheater because of the incident. In the wake of Montgomerie's election to the World Golf Hall of Fame (announced on Dec. 18, 2012), the irascible Scottish golf journalist John Huggan made his thoughts about Monty perfectly clear on Twitter:

Which golfer holds the U.S. Open golf tournament record for lowest winning stroke total? That golfer is Rory McIlroy, who in 2011 became the first golfer to finish below 270 in this major championship.

The U.S. Open is one of the four major championships of men's professional golf, and is considered the toughest of them all. The USGA, which runs the tournament, is notorious for setting up harsh golf course conditions in an effort, in their words, to "defend par."

The 1935 Ryder Cup was just the fifth time this event was played, and Team USA's victory over Team Great Britain gave the U.S. an overall 3-2 lead in series history. The American side didn't lose the Ryder Cup again until 1957 .

This Champions Tour tournament is best-remembered as either the AT&T Championship or the SBC Championship, two of the many names it had during its 30-plus-year run on the senior circuit.

The women's college golf championship today is awarded at the Division I NCAA Women's Golf Championship tournament. That event takes place in May every year following a series of regional tournaments that whittle the field.

Skee Riegel didn't even start playing golf until he was in his 20s. But in the second half of the 1940s he was one of the best amateur golfers in the world. Later, he played on the PGA Tour and was a longtime, highly respected PGA professional.

In golf, the term "center cut" has two meanings. One applies to the position of the hole on the putting green. The other applies to the position of the golf ball as it falls into the hole.

Today, the NCAA Division I Women's Golf Championship receives plenty of attention from fans and media alike. It is even broadcast on television. That's a change from earlier years, even though the list of winners below is full of big names, including future LPGA Hall of Fame members .

Brooks Koepka won the 2019 PGA Championship in wire-to-wire fashion, the first such winner since 1983. And he became just the second golfer in the tournament's stroke-play era to win back-to-back.

The Michelob Light Classic was a golf tournament on the LPGA Tour that had a short but strong run beginning in the mid-1990s. All eight of its champions were tour stars at the time of their victories, and one of the greatest golfers of all-time won half of the tournament titles.

Which golfers hold the big scoring records at the PGA Championship? The ones who follow in the categories below. We take a look at the 72-hole records for both total strokes and strokes under par, plus the 18-hole and 9-hole records.

The Doral Open was a golf tournament on the PGA Tour played for 45 consecutive years, from the early 1960s into the 2000s. It went by numerous names over that span, but was often simply known, to both players and fans, as "The Doral." It was played on the Blue Monster Course in Doral, Fla., and was typically considered one of the premiere non-majors on tour.

Which LPGA golfers hold the record for winning the same tournament the most times? Four golfers share that record, and all four are Hall of Famers.

Big Break Atlantis was a television series that aired on the Golf Channel in 2012. It was the 17th season of the Golf Channel's The Big Break franchise, in which golfers competed in skills challenges and golf matches, with golfer(s) eliminated each week. The first episode of Big Break Atlantis aired on May 14, 2012.

The 1977 Ryder Cup was the last of an era: It was the final time Team Great Britain & Ireland competed; beginning in 1979, the opponent for Team USA became Team Europe. Alas for the GB&I squad, it was unable to go out a winner.

The Presidents Cup is the international men's pro team golf tournament in which United States golfers play against a team of International golfers. It was launched in 1994, created by the PGA Tour as a way for internationals — defined as golfers who are not eligible to play for the U.S. or Europe in the Ryder Cup — to get to play in a major, Ryder Cup-style event.

The Tucson Open (called the Chrysler Classic of Tucson when it was last played) was a PGA Tour golf tournament played from the 1940s into the 2000s. It boasted a rich history of champions and notable happenings, and was part of the tour's early season " desert swing ."

The PGA Tour's past, including its recent past, includes some famous celebrities. We're not talking about pro-ams, though, which have always been plenty. Or tournaments at which a non-golf celebrity (an actor, singer, entertainer) acted as the host. We're talking about PGA Tour tournaments named for celebrities — celebs whose names were part of the tournament's official title.

The Dunhill Cup, named for luxury good maker Alfred Dunhill Ltd., the title sponsor, was an international team tournament played at The Old Course at St. Andrews in Scotland for 16 years beginning in the mid-1980s. Each country that entered was represented by three golfers, and most of the top teams brought three of their best.

The 2004 Ryder Cup was the 35th time the tournament was played, and it marked a low point to this point for Team USA in Ryder Cup history. The American captain's swagger and strategy bombed, and Europe claimed a big win on Team USA's home turf.

At the 2019 Mediheal Championship on the LPGA Tour, Bronte Law started the final round 10 strokes off the lead. But after a 65, she found herself in first place for much of the final day — until, ultimately, Law lost in playoff. Which brings up the question: What is the largest final-round comeback to win in LPGA history? And the answer: 10 strokes.

The Jack Nicklaus Award is the name of a trophy presented annually to the best golfer in men's college golf in the United States. That selection is made by the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA). It is presented at all levels of collegiate competition (Division I, II, III, NAIA and NJCAA).

The Johnnie Walker Classic was a pro golf tournament on the European Tour that was played form the early 1990s until nearly the 2010s. It was always played in the Asia-Pacific region (e.g., Australia, Thailand, Taiwan) and, at one time, was one of the biggest events on the European Tour. Its roster of champions is full of huge names.

"Below the hole" is an expression used by golfers and by golf media that applies to a golf ball that is in a position such that when the golfer putts, she'll be putting that ball uphill.

Remember Top-Flite? Of course you do! It was once the go-to golf ball brand for recreational golfers. Cheap (relatively speaking), durable, and long. A distance ball for golfers who loved to let it rip but had no idea where it was going. It's fun to bash it long! Whatever happened to Top-Flite?

The "air press" is a wager between golfers in a group that can be automatically invoked by a golfer who has not yet played his or her tee shot — and can only be invoked while another golfer's shot is still in the air.