2008 - The Year In Golf, 2008

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Bob Kurtz, age 67, plays 405 holes of golf consecutively at Chesley Oaks Golf Club in Fairview, Alabama. It is a new record for most holes played in a "golf marathon." Kurtz twice shoots his age and breaks par in nine different 18-hole "rounds."

Tiger Woods and underdog Rocco Mediate stage a dramatic U.S. Open duel, with Woods eventually besting Mediate in a 19-hole, Monday playoff.

Shortly after that U.S. Open victory, Tiger Woods announces he will undergo reconstructive knee surgery to repair a torn ligament. The surgery is successful, but Woods misses the remainder of the 2008 season.

Padraig Harrington wins two majors, the British Open and the PGA Championship.

LPGA majors herald the arrival of a youthful corps of golfers, with 19-year-olds Yani Tseng and Inbee Park claiming the LPGA Championship and U.S. Women's Open, respectively. Tseng becomes the second-youngest to win an LPGA major, and Park the third-youngest.

In the early part of the LPGA season, Lorena Ochoa runs off a streak of four consecutive wins, including the Kraft Nabisco Championship, her second win in a major.

Annika Sorenstam, while never using the word "retirement," announces her departure from the LPGA Tour, saying she is "stepping away" from competitive golf. If Sorenstam's departure is permanent, she ends her career with 72 wins and 10 major championships.

Gordon J. Brand and Gordon Brand Jr. (no relation) face off in a playoff for the European Senior Tour's PGA Seniors Championship. Gordon J. Brand wins on the sixth extra hole.

Coming off a disastrous 2007, caused mostly by injuries, Michelle Wie has an up-and-down, but mostly down, 2008 season. The lowlight happens at the State Farm Classic where Wie ties for the third-round lead ... but is disqualified for failing to sign her scorecard.

At age 10 years, 3 months, Allisen Corpuz of Hawaii plays in the U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links Championship, becoming the youngest person to play in a USGA championship. Corpuz breaks the record previously held by Michelle Wie, who was 10 years, 9 months in the 2000 USWAPL.

• Tommy Bolt, World Golf Hall of Fame member, 15-time winner on PGA Tour
• Orville Moody, 1969 U.S. Open winner
• Mike Souchak, 15-time PGA Tour winner

PGA Tour: Vijay Singh, $6,601,094
Champions Tour: Bernhard Langer, $2,035,073
LPGA Tour: Lorena Ochoa, $2,763,193
European Tour: Robert Karlsson, € 2,732,748

PGA Tour (Vardon Trophy): Sergio Garcia, 69.12
Champions Tour: Bernhard Langer, 69.65
LPGA Tour (Vare Trophy): Lorena Ochoa, 69.70

Men's Major Championship Winners
The Masters: Trevor Immelman
U.S. Open: Tiger Woods
British Open: Padraig Harrington
PGA Championship: Padraig Harrington

Women's Major Championship Winners
Kraft Nabisco Championship: Lorena Ochoa
LPGA Championship: Yani Tseng
U.S. Women's Open: Inbee Park
Women's British Open: Jiyai Shin

Amateur Champions
U.S.: Danny Lee
British: Reinier Saxton
U.S. Women's: Amanda Blumenherst
British Women's: Anna Nordqvist

Ryder Cup
United States 16.5, Europe 11.5

Curtis Cup
United States 13, Great Britain & Ireland 7

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