Wednesday 21 December 2016 14:05, UK
Ewen Murray continues his look back at the most memorable moments of a hectic 2016, and part two features an incredible duel at Royal Troon and Team USA's first Ryder Cup victory since 2008...
What a month! In France, Thongchai Jaidee enjoyed his finest moment and when Alex Noren won the Scottish Open at Castle Stuart, no one could have predicted what was to come from the Swede.
Sky Sports presented the Open for the first time and gave this great old Championship the coverage it deserved. Monty back home at Royal Troon set the ball rolling by hitting the first tee shot. Five shots later, he opened with a six. When he arrived into the commentary box later, I said to him, "Monty, I did not get up at 4.30 am to see you hacking your way down the first"!
I wouldn't have said that 10 years ago, but he took it well and played all four rounds in what was a very special week for him and his family.
Phil Mickelson came within a fraction of an inch of creating history, how his putt for a 62 lipped out, I still don't know. Mickelson was to play a big part in what was the finest Open in recent years, as he went head-to-head with Henrik Stenson on Sunday. Their performance was mesmerising. Henrik's putt on the 15th makes my top five shots of the year, but to be honest, I could have picked virtually any one of his 63 shots that day.
His tee shot at 17, his putt at the last, the list is a long one. Golf of that quality comes along every decade or so, and it was one of these moments you will remember where you were when Sweden celebrated their first male major champion.
The final round on the Ayrshire coastline will be remembered, revered and enjoyed for many years to come, but spare a thought for Mickelson. Had Stenson taken the week off, Phil would have won the Open ... by 11 shots!
Over on the east coast, Paul Broadhurst won his first major at Carnoustie, taking the British Senior Open Championship.
Just two weeks after the drama at Royal Troon, Jimmy Walker won the PGA Championship at famed Baltusrol and made it four first-time major winners this year. For the part-time astrologer, perhaps it was written in the stars as he produced a flawless final round to edge out Jason Day by a shot.
There were tears at the last when Jimmy embraced his caddie, Andy Sanders. They had played together at this venue as youngsters before illness ended Andy's professional career. I glanced at Butch Harmon, who had guided Walker to this moment, and he had tear trickling down his cheek. Such was the emotion, I felt like crying with them.
Day produced a shot from heaven at the last to set up the grand finale, his two-iron second splitting the pin and setting up an eagle three make up my top five shots of the year. Day was still the game's top player.
Russell Knox won the Travelers, an event where Jim Furyk shot 58, an Olympian performance you might say, but not quite. That award and the gold medal went to Justin Rose as golf once again became part of the greatest sporting show on earth after a gap of 112 years.
There were doubts golf would fit the Olympic model, but it did that and more and its inclusion was a resounding success. For the record, Stenson took silver and Matt Kuchar bronze.
Thomas Pieters, playing alongside European Ryder Cup captain, Darren Clarke, for the first two rounds in Denmark, birdied the final three holes on Sunday to win, and his magnificent performance persuaded Clarke to award him a wild card for Hazeltine National.
Lee Westwood and Martin Kaymer received the remaining two picks, but there was no place for Knox as he decided not to play in the Wyndham Championship - the final qualifying event through the world's points list.
September began with a bang as Alex Noren won again, this time in Switzerland, while the FedExCup Play-offs got underway with Patrick Reed winning the Barclays. Rory won in Boston, Dustin in Indiana, and there were home wins for Joost Luiten and Francesco Molinari in Holland and Italy, with Alex Levy winning in Germany.
But on September 25, the golfing world stopped. The passing of Arnold Palmer was felt by all who has played and supported golf. Tributes flowed in from all over the world as many paid their respect to The King, a man who had graced many lives during his 87 years.
An extraordinary golfer, yes, but more than that, Arnold was an outstanding human being. He and his great rivals, Gary Player and Jack Nicklaus, made up the "the Big Three". How many of us playing today were inspired by them?.
Jack's words following his passing, "I wish I could talk to him just one more time". Great rivals, great friends. How fortunate we were to live alongside, Arnold Daniel Palmer.
The Fed-Ex was into its last event at East Lake, home of another golfing legend in Bobby Jones. The closing holes of the Tour Championship were just fantastic. It looked like Kevin Chappell, then Ryan Moore, but McIlroy produced the loudest roar of the season when he holed his approach for an eagle at the 16th.
The Northern Irishman went on to beat Moore on the fourth play-off hole and pocket the $10m bonus. It was Palmer style golf, a fitting tribute to the legacy Arnold left behind.
Friday, September 30, 7:35am, Hazeltine National, Minnesota, USA. It's the most anticipated event in the game, the hype was over, Olympic champion Justin Rose struck the opening blow through the morning mist and the Ryder Cup was underway. Five hours later after a 4-0 drubbing in the morning foursomes, it was always going to be a mountainous task for Europe.
Pete Willett will wish he had never said the things he did, a couple of local supporters will hang their heads in shame after the over-the-top mutterings that interrupted play, but in general, the home fans were fine as they roared their side to victory after three successive defeats.
The two captains were first class, and the better team won. The USA had a team with no weaknesses and Samuel Ryder's Cup will reside in the USPGA's trophy cabinet for two years.
The winning margin looked big on paper, but it was closer than that during the final nine holes on Sunday. McIlroy v Reed will go down as one of the finest contests, and Phil Mickelson's sensational battle with Sergio Garcia was a joy to watch as each gave as good as they got, both going round in an approximate 63.
Wild-card Pieters was the star of the European side, winning four of his five matches.
Back in the normal world, the promising Tyrrell Hatton collected his maiden win at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, Brandt Snedeker won in far-away Fiji and the British Master was none other than, Alex Noren.
All that before Ireland's three-time major champion returned to the winner's circle. Padraig Harrington taking the Portugal Masters. Before the month was out, Japan had its first World Golf Championship winner in Hideki Matsuyama, the first player from that country to win on the European tour since Isao Aoki in 1978.
Matsuyama would go on to enjoy an Indian summer and sits comfortably inside the world's top 10. He's the form player and next on his agenda is a major title.
The European final series was disappointing. Fears over safety resulted in a weakened field for such a high-profile event in Turkey, but take nothing away from the winner, Thorbjorn Olesen. After a run of eight missed cuts in 10 events, he produced some of his best golf and was rewarded with the biggest win of his career in Antalya.
The Nedbank Challenge joined the final series for the first time and, again, some high-profile players were missing despite the huge financial rewards. There's nothing like the habit of winning, and Alex Noren made it four wins in 11 starts to enter the final furlong in the Race to Dubai alongside Stenson, Willett and McIlroy.
Matt Fitzpatrick won the coveted DP World Championship, his third European Tour title in the space of just 13 months, and Stenson did enough to cap a golden year. major winner, and Race To Dubai champion for the second time.
I'm thinking it is time to do what the PGA Tour have done and reward only good play over the last three events of the season. I'd like to see 70 players in Turkey, 50 at the Nedbank and the top 40 advancing to Dubai. This year's Final Series was not what it should have been given the huge purses on offer. Like the FedExCup in its early years, this series needs tweaking.
Another fairytale, this time Down Under, was Denmark becoming World Cup champions for the first time. Soren Kjeldsen and Olesen played some superb golf at Kingston Heath, one of Australia's finest courses. Everyone who supports European golf will be thrilled as the Made in Denmark event is fast-becoming one of the Tour's gems.
Rather fittingly, and with good timing, Thomas Bjorn was unveiled as the captain of the European Ryder Cup side that will attempt to regain the trophy at Versailles in 2018. The Dane is an excellent appointment, backed by many and will skipper his side at a course which may well be the best venue for this event since Walton Heath in 1981.
The R&A, in conjunction with their USGA counterparts, confirmed the rule change that all but took away the drama at Oakmont. With the advance in agronomy, moving golf balls on quick greens will happen more often.
Impressive young South African, Brandon Stone, enjoys book-end wins. Having won his national title at Glendower back in January, he added the Alfred Dunhill Championship with an emphatic seven-shot victory at Leopard Creek.
We then saw Tiger's long-anticipated return to competitive golf in the Bahamas, and I thought there was much to admire after almost 16 months out of the game. The biggest plus for him was that there were no complaints health-wise, no niggling pains and it was good to see him smiling and happy to be back to where he is most comfortable.
On the evidence of those four rounds, Woods will win again. Of course there was the odd mistake, a few loose shots, but he made more birdies than the winner of the Hero Challenge, the brilliant Matsuyama.
For Hideki, his last five outings of 2016 produced four wins and a runner-up place. He occupies sixth place in the world rankings as Jason Day ended the year as No 1, with the current top five slots all occupied by major champions.
It was fitting that 2016 enjoyed an enchanting storyline in the final event of the year, and we had just that in Hong Kong. The 37-year-old Australian Sam Brazel had never had a top-three finish on any tour, yet he birdied the 72nd hole at Fanling to beat a quality field and claim his maiden victory.
Sam said after the best day in his golfing career, "it will be a privilege to play on the European Tour", and he is now exempt for the best part of three years. Now that is some Christmas present!
There were many more moments worth mentioning and you will have your favourites. It has been splendid year from start to finish, and very soon we will begin the journey again in Hawaii and then South Africa.
On behalf of all of the golf team, I would like to thank you for your support over the past year. Merry Christmas and a happy and healthy New Year, in which I hope the birdies will flow like the festive wine.
