Top 10 in 2015: Surprises
1 / 10
10. U.S Solheim Cup comeback
Inspired by "Gimmegate," the U.S. team came storming out of the gates during Sunday singles and shocked the Europeans, rallying from a 10-6 deficit to win the Solheim Cup, 14 1/2 to 13 1/2, the Americans' first win since 2009. U.S. anchor and captain's pick Paula Creamer finished off the biggest comeback in event history with a 4-and-3 win over Sandra Gal. (Getty Images)
Getty Images
2 / 10
9. Anthony Kim gives interview
Anthony Kim hasn't played on the PGA Tour since 2012, and he's been notoriously hard to get in touch with since then. So in September, when Kim agreed to his first interview in three years, he had the golf world's attention. While he admitted the injuries have piled up and it is possible he has played his last round on Tour, he left the door open for return once he can get healthy. (Getty Images)
Getty Images
3 / 10
8. Winless year for Stacy Lewis
A year after sweeping the LPGA's Rolex Player of the Year award, money title and Vare Trophy for lowest scoring average, Stacy Lewis simply couldn't find the winner's circle. Lewis admitted the year was more than a little frustrating but conceded that she's learned to accept that the bounces won't always go her way. She finished runner-up six times this season and in third place three times. (Getty Images)
Getty Images
4 / 10
7. Dufners get divorced
Jason and Amanda Dufner shocked the golf world when they filed for divorce in March. Golf's "It Couple" had been married for nearly three years before citing “irretrievable breakdown of the marriage” as the reason for their separation. Though Jason is known for his stoic personality, the two had become a hit on social media, always keeping their followers updated (Getty Images)
Getty Images
5 / 10
6. Kaymer blows 10-shot lead in Abu Dhabi
On the sixth hole of the final round of the Abu Dhabi Championship, Martin Kaymer had a 10-stroke lead and looked like a lock for his fourth win at the event. But the two-time major champion dropped six shots in seven holes around the turn, and eventually coughed up his lead, losing to 357th-ranked Frenchman Gary Stal. Kaymer summed up the collapse with, "I don't know how to put it into words." (Getty Images)
Getty Images
6 / 10
5. Love wins Wyndham at 51
Competing against a field featuring many players half his age or younger, Davis Love III turned back the clock to win his 21st PGA Tour event, the Wyndham Championship, at age 51. Love charged from four shots back at the start of the final round to become the third-oldest winner in PGA Tour history. It was his first Tour win in seven years. (Getty Images)
Getty Images
7 / 10
4. Day collapses at U.S. Open
Jason Day was involved in the scariest moment of the year on the course, as the golf world held its collective breath when he collapsed at the U.S. Open. On his final hole of the second round, Day fell over and paramedics rushed to his side to to treat him for vertigo-like symptoms. He eventually recovered enough to complete the round, and the tournament, finishing T-9. The episode was eventually linked to a viral ear infection and he was treated with medication before going on a late-season tear that included his first major victory. (Getty Images)
Getty Images
8 / 10
3. Tiger's surgeries
While 2015 wasn't the first year Tiger Woods dealt with injuries, it was the first year he admitted he doesn't know exactly what the future holds. After his first top-10 finish in nearly two years at the Wyndham in August, Woods underwent a second microdiscectomy surgery on his back, and another follow-up procedure soon after. As the host of December's Hero World Challenge, Woods talked about those surgeries and what the future holds in a somber, depressing tone, saying there was no timetable for return and responding to a question about ever winning again with, "pretty much everything beyond this will be gravy.” (Getty Images)
Getty Images
9 / 10
2. McIlroy injures ankle playing soccer
The week before the Open Championship at St. Andrews, Rory McIlroy stunned the golf world by posting this photo of himself on crutches and in a protective boot, announcing a “total rupture” of a ligament in his left ankle that he suffered playing soccer with friends. McIlroy missed his title defense and six weeks in total as he rehabbed the injury, returning to defend his PGA title at Whistling Straits and eventually finishing17th. McIlroy never truly looked like he knocked the rust off until the end of the year, when he won the DP World Tour Championship and his second straight Race to Dubai title. (Instagram)
Getty Images
10 / 10
1. Tiger's chipping yips
Perhaps nothing exemplified Tiger Woods' abysmal year inside the ropes more than the fact that he, especially at the beginning of the year, couldn't execute a straightforward chip. After missing the cut in Phoenix after a (at the time) career-worst Friday 82 that included plenty of chunks, chili-dips and bladed shots around the green, Woods maintained that he was "caught between swing patterns." He followed that embarrassment with a WD the next week at Torrey Pines, not returning until two months later, at the Masters. (Getty Images)
Getty Images
Recent Galleries
