Golf Compendium

The early history of the U.S. Open golf tournament was dominated by British golfers. The tournament was first played in 1895, but it wasn't until 1911 that an American golfer won it. That first American winner of the U.S. Open was Johnny McDermott.

The 2026 U.S. Open golf championship will be the 126th time this tournament is played. The U.S. Open, run by the United States Golf Association (USGA), dates to 1895. It is one of the four major championships of men's professional golf, and the second-oldest (after the British Open).

Alex Smith was one of a trio of famous golfing brothers from Scotland who made their names as pros in America. In the early 1900s, Smith compiled one of the most-impressive U.S. Open records, including winning that major championship twice. He had other big wins, and also became famous as an instructor: Three of his pupils later joined the World Golf Hall of Fame.

What is the largest-ever come-from-behind win in the U.S. Open? If we qualify that to mean that most strokes made up by a golfer in the final round, the answer is seven strokes. And one of the giants of the game set the record.

The 2024 U.S. Women's Open was the 79th time this major championship was played. And it was the second time that Yuka Saso won this title.

There are 156 golfers in the field at the U.S. Open each year. But how do those players make the field? Some of them qualify automatically by meeting selection criteria (such as winning majors, ranking high in the world rankings, and so on). Others play their way in through qualifier tournaments.

How many golfers have won back-to-back U.S. Open titles? So far the number is seven. Neither Jack Nicklaus nor Tiger Woods did it, but there is one golfer who won this tournament three times in a row.

Ken Still was a professional golfer on the PGA Tour in the 1960s and 1970s. All of his PGA Tour wins, though, happened in the two-year stretch of 1969 and 1970. He also made the American Ryder Cup team during that time.

The PGA Championship and the British Open (Open Championship) are two of the four "major championships" in men's professional golf. That makes them two of the most important tournaments on the schedule every year. Winning just one of them earns a golfer a place in history. Winning them both? That is an uncommon achievement. Winning them both in the same calendar year? That's something that has happened well under 10 times in golf history.

The 2026 PGA Championship will be the 108th time this golf tournament is played. The PGA Championship was first played in 1916. It is one of the four major championships of men's professional golf and is run by the PGA of America.

The 2025 Ryder Cup will be the 45th time this competition is played. One of the most-watched golf tournaments of the year in the years it is played (it is an every-other-year competition), the Ryder Cup pits teams representing Europe and the United States. The teams are comprised of the top male professional golfers from each region.

Thw 2025 PGA Championship will be the 107th time this golf tournament is played. The PGA Championship, run by the PGA of America, is one of the four major championships of men's professional golf. It was first played in 1916.

What is the best score in LPGA Tour history for 54 holes? Multiple golfers have recorded a total of 192 over three rounds of tournament play to share that record. But Annika Sorenstam was the first to do it.

Jay Hebert had a short period of PGA Tour success, but it was productive: From 1957-61, he won seven tournaments, including a PGA Championship. His brother was also on tour at that time, and the Heberts were one of the most-successful brother duos in PGA Tour history. Jay played in two Ryder Cups and also served as a captain of Team USA.

What is the lowest stroke in LPGA Tour history for a four-round, 72-hole tournament? That record is 257, established by a golfer who played four rounds of 65 and lower to win her tournament.

In golf, "Murphy" is the name of a side bet that can be invoked by a golfer who is chipping to the green. When a group of golfers agrees to play Murphys, any golfer who declares a "Murphy" is betting that he can get up and down (get her ball into the hole in two or fewer strokes) when chipping from off the green.

The youngest-ever winner on the Epson Tour was 16 years old at the time, and she is the only golfer younger than 17 to win on that tour. Several other golfers won at the age of 17, and three of the golfers on the list below were amateurs at the times of their victories.

Big Break Florida was the 21st season of the Golf Channel reality/competition series The Big Break . As with several earlier seasons of The Big Break , this series featured an all-women cast of golfers. It aired weekly beginning on Monday, February 24, 2014.

Lionel Hebert was a PGA Tour winner in the 1950s and 1960s who also played in the Ryder Cup. He won one major championship, and his older brother won the same major several years later.

The 500 Festival Open Invitation was a golf tournament in Indiana that was part of the PGA Tour for much of the 1960s. It had some big-name winners. The tournament promoted the Indianapolis 500 auto race and was played on the Speedway Golf Course, which, at that time, had nine holes inside the race track. (The tournament is sometimes referred to as the Indianapolis 500 Festival Open.)

What is the PGA Championship tournament record for lowest winning score in relation to par? That record is 21-under-par and it was set at the 2024 PGA Championship played at Valhalla Golf Club.

Arnold Palmer first played in the PGA Championship in 1958, and last played in this major in 1994. He played in the PGA Championship a total of 37 times. And while Palmer recorded good finishes in the PGA, it is the only one of the four professional major championships that he never won.

A nun was sitting with her Mother Superior, chatting, when she felt the need to unburden herself: "I used some horrible language this week and feel absolutely terrible about it," the nun said.

Rocky Thompson was a PGA Tour player in the 1960s and 1970s who was particularly skilled at playing his way into events through qualifiers. In fact, that's the only way he got into tournaments: He was never exempt. And Thompson never won ... until joining the Champions Tour, where he not only won multiple tournaments but also set some senior tour records.