1. Willett is a Major player
It’s not how you start, but how you finish. Just ask Danny Willett. The Yorkshireman began the 2016 Masters Tournament as an outside bet and finished it with a Green Jacket. In hindsight there might have been a hint of destiny about Willett’s capture of one of golf’s most coveted prizes, but it was a champion’s mind-set that got him over the line.
The 29 year old’s wife, Nicole, gave birth to the couple’s first child a week earlier than expected, allowing Willett to make his second journey to Augusta National Golf Club. If the stars seemed to be aligning, Willett still needed every part of his game to do the same thing. When his moment arrived on Sunday he was ready and waiting with a faultless round of 67. Three birdies in his final six holes sealed victory and confirmed what followers of the European Tour had long foreseen - that Willett’s game was geared towards the biggest stage.
2. The Iceman delivered…big!
After 25 birdies, one eagle, 110 putts and an Open Championship Sunday that will go down as one of the greatest of all time, Henrik Stenson put any lingering doubts to bed - no longer was he one of the game’s finest to have never won a Major Championship. Now he had delivered and done so in devastating fashion, as Royal Troon Golf Club provided the backdrop for a scintillating face-off between the Swede and five-time Major winner Phil Mickelson.
The 2013 Open Champion used all his experience in an attempt to wrestle back the Claret Jug, but Stenson played up to his moniker to coolly see off the field assembled around him. A 72-hole total of 264 was the lowest in Major Championship history and his 63 was also the joint-lowest round ever completed in a Major. Factor in that Stenson’s performance was 28.6 strokes better than the field average and it’s undeniable that the Iceman doesn’t just deliver, but delivers in style.
Asia’s hottest young talents weren’t quiet about announcing their arrival on the European Tour in 2016. In four consecutive tournaments, Soomin Lee, Haotong Li and Jeunghun Wang took a clean sweep of the trophies on offer and ensured that for the first time in European Tour history there had been four Asian wins in a row.
Lee triumphed first at the weather-affected Shenzhen International, edging out the experienced Joost Luiten to win by two strokes. As the tour stayed in China, the baton was passed to Haotong Li, who also saw off seasoned professionals Richard Bland and Felipe Aguilar to finish at the summit. Perhaps the most impressive display of that four-week masterclass came from Wang, whose superb putting fended off Nacho Elvira in a play-off in Morocco, before winning the following week in Mauritius to become the first back-to-back winner on tour since Rory McIlroy in 2014.
You don’t need a crystal ball to realise the future of the game is in very capable hands. England’s Matt Fitzpatrick, just 21 years old at the time, saw off Henrik Stenson and Nicolas Colsaerts to record a three-shot victory at the Nordea Masters and in the process put himself in prime position for a place on Darren Clarke’s Ryder Cup team. He showed an even greater touch of class to surge to victory at the season-ending DP World Tour Championship, Dubai, and capture a third European Tour win.
Joining Fitzpatrick in flying the flag for youth was countryman Tyrrell Hatton, who earned an astonishing €3,690,027 in 2016, finishing fourth in the Race to Dubai Rankings presented by Rolex. Outstanding back-to-back top tens at The Open and US PGA Championship preceded his course record-equalling 62 at St Andrews on the way to the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship title. Belgium’s Thomas Pieters also enjoyed another successful year on tour, that included a third European Tour win at the Made in Denmark and a seriously impressive points haul on his Ryder Cup debut. Make no mistake, the kids are all right.
5. Home sweet home
An incredible run of homecoming heroes in 2016 was kick-started by Charl Schwartzel as he won a fourth Alfred Dunhill Championship, his third in four years. Across the Indian Ocean, and just one week later, Nathan Holman secured his first win on tour on home turf at the Australian PGA Championship after a three-man play-off. Brandon Stone and Haydn Porteous, two more of the game’s most exciting young players, won back-to-back in their native South Africa, with Stone the first of six men to win their home Open in 2016.
SSP Chawrasia continued his love affair with his home country, winning a third European Tour event there at the Hero Indian Open. Haotong Li defied his rookie status to claim the Volvo China Open title in late April, before a Rory McIlroy masterclass at The K Club earned him a special first win in Ireland. The following week Chris Wood took a leaf out of his future Ryder Cup teammate’s book to win the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth Club, before Joost Luiten and Francesco Molinari also went back-to-back at their respective home Opens to show the value of home comforts.
Don’t tell Padraig Harrington that golf is a young man’s game. In a week where tour status was on the line for many players, the 45 year old Irishman rolled back the years at the Portugal Masters to become part of the winner’s circle for the first time since his 2008 US PGA Championship victory. Despite being without a top ten finish all season heading to Victoria Clube de Golf, Harrington played the kind of golf that helped him win 14 European Tour titles and made him one of the most beloved icons of the game. However, the honour of being the most senior winner on tour last season lies elsewhere.
In a landmark week for the Open de France, the 100th edition was clinched by then 46 year old Thongchai Jaidee, who sealed his third European Tour win in as many years with victory at Le Golf National. Similarly to Harrington, Jaidee teed it up without the kind of recent form to make the Thai one of the favourites, but set out his stall with an impressive opening round of 67. With only one dropped shot in his final 36 holes, Jaidee said afterwards that “sometimes you need one perfect week.” His win in France proved it’s never too late to find it.
You might think a serious wrist injury would define most golfers’ careers. Alex Noren isn’t most golfers. In June, the Swede was the world number 108, but blistering form then saw him win four times on the European Tour and finish the season in ninth place. Considering that Noren didn’t even play four events in 2014 due his troublesome wrist , the magnitude of his historic season looms larger.
He got the ball rolling at the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open, his first victory since triumphing on home soil at the 2015 Nordea Masters. He made the scenic Crans-sur-Sierre GC the site of his next conquest, beating Scott Hend in a play-off to win the Omega European Masters for a second time. Lighter work was made of the British Masters supported by Sky Sports and the Nedbank Golf Challenge hosted by Gary Player, with victory all but guaranteed as he took to the 18th tees on the respective Sundays. The old saying has never been truer - beware the injured golfer.
8. Bland by name, not by nature
One of the storylines of the season was undoubtedly the rise of Richard Bland. The 43 year old Englishman enjoyed a stunning year, accumulating seven top tens in 2016, including four in six weeks. By the time the British Masters came around in October, it was more surprising not to see Bland challenging at the top of the leaderboard.
A run that started with a share of fifth at the Omega European Masters and concluded with a tie for fourth at The Grove catapulted Bland up the Race to Dubai rankings, and eventually led him to a 27th place finish. In the space of 12 months, Bland reduced his average finishing position from 49th to 27th and earned €793, 470 more than he did in 2015. The name might be Bland, but 2016 was anything but for Richard.
Perhaps one of the most obvious things we learned in 2016 was that when Rory McIlroy gets it going at The Ryder Cup, he’s a force to be reckoned with. The Northern Irishman, who has been on three victorious European teams, took his influence on the team to a whole new level at Hazeltine National in September. Inspired by huge clutch putts and his clash with American talisman Patrick Reed in the Sunday singles, McIlroy became the living embodiment of what it means to represent your continent.
His performance in Minnesota proved that his effect on the team can never be underestimated, particularly when it comes to pairings. McIlroy partnered debutant Thomas Pieters in three matches and the duo proved deadly, winning each one to make a revival of the partnership in 2018 a mouth-watering prospect. The impressive Pieters referenced his excitement and pride at playing alongside McIlroy on more than one occasion during the week, confirming the four-time Major winners’ increasing importance to Team Europe.
The name is famous and now so is the beard. Andrew ‘Beef’ Johnston became one of the leading poster boys for the European Tour last season, thanks to a maiden win at the Real Club Valderrama Open de España hosted by the Sergio Garcia Foundation. A down to earth personality and regular engagement on social media has seen his popularity soar, leading to fans lining fairways all over the world to chant his affectionate nickname. However, it was his breakthrough at Real Club Valderrama that proved the catalyst for Beef’s arrival.
With a winning score of one over par – one of two 72-hole totals at par or higher that won a European Tour event last season – Beef was thrust into the spotlight, maintaining his personable nature and producing some stunning golf on his way to finishing 26th in the Race to Dubai rankings. You only have to look back at his Miguel Angel Jiménez-inspired jig following a hole-out eagle at the 2015 Scottish Open to see the seeds being sown for the Englishman’s rise, with Jiménez himself joining in with the celebration. It’s official – everyone loves Beef.
