When it comes to breakthroughs, 2018 was filled with them, from maiden major victories to Tiger Woods’ first victory post-back fusion.
At 40 years old, Stanford’s wait for a major title finally came to an end. Stanford rallied from five shots back entering the final day before hoisting the trophy Sept. 16 at the Evian Championship. Click here to read more.
Playing alongside a resurgent Tiger Woods in the final round at Carnoustie, Molinari, at age 35, became a major champion for the first time by winning the Open Championship. The victory also marked the first major championship by an Italian golfer. Click here to read more.
New-look Tiger Woods wins No. 80 Yes, Woods’ Tour Championship victory on Sept. 23 was his 80th career win on the PGA Tour. However, it was his first since 2013 and his first since an April 2017 back fusion. Click here to read more.
With her dad, Wayne, on her golf bag, the 22-year-old Hall won her first LPGA title in a big way, capturing the Women’s British Open on Aug. 5. Hall’s win was the first by an Englishwoman at the Women’s British in 14 years. Click here to read more.
After six years and 156 starts on the LPGA, Moriya Jutanugarn won her first title on the tour, April 22 at the Hugel-JTBC L.A. Open. The 23-year-old joined her sister, Ariya, as an LPGA champion, the two sisters becoming just the second set of siblings to win on the LPGA. Click here to read more.
It took 10 years, but a No. 1 seed finally won an NCAA title in the match-play era of Division I men’s golf. Oklahoma State, No. 1 all season, won the stroke-play portion and then capped its year with a 5-0 win over Alabama in the final. Click here to read more.
Wise, the 21-year-old former NCAA individual champion at Oregon, won for the first time on Tour, May 20 at the AT&T Byron Nelson. Wise held the 54-hole lead before winning by three shots at Trinity Forest, which was making its Tour debut. More memorable, though, may have been the awkward moment between Wise and his girlfriend, who accidentally snubbed Wise’s kiss attempt. Click here to read more.
The 25-year-old Kim, who won the Haskins Award in 2013 while at Cal, won the John Deere Classic by eight shots on July 15. It not only was Kim’s first PGA Tour victory, but it also earned him the final spot in The Open at Carnoustie. Click here to read more.
Three months after losing a four-hole playoff to Jon Rahm in Palm Springs, the 30-year-old Landry notched his first PGA Tour victory, April 22 at the Valero Texas Open. Making the moment even better: Landry had become a dad a month earlier as his wife gave birth to a son, Brooks. Click here to read more.
Already a two-time winner on the European Tour, Sharma introduced himself to U.S. fans by tying for ninth in his first WGC, the WGC-Mexico Championship in March. He also introduced himself that week to Phil Mickelson, who initially mistook the 21-year-old Sharma for a media member. Sharma then played alongside Mickelson in Sunday’s final pairing, though he closed in 74. Click here to read more.
