# 1996 PGA Tour

The 1996 PGA Tour was the 81st season of the PGA Tour, the main professional golf tour in the United States. It was also the 28th season since separating from the PGA of America.

## Schedule

The following table lists official events during the 1996 season.
| Date | Tournament | Location | Purse (US$) | Winner | OWGR points | Notes |
| Jan 7 | Mercedes Championships | California | 1,000,000 | Mark O'Meara (11) | 52 | Winners-only event |
| Jan 14 | Nortel Open | Arizona | 1,250,000 | Phil Mickelson (6) | 42 | |
| Jan 21 | Bob Hope Chrysler Classic | California | 1,300,000 | Mark Brooks (5) | 42 | Pro-Am |
| Jan 27 | Phoenix Open | Arizona | 1,300,000 | Phil Mickelson (7) | 48 | |
| Feb 4 | AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am | California | – | Canceled | – | Pro-Am |
| Feb 11 | Buick Invitational | California | 1,200,000 | Davis Love III (10) | 52 | |
| Feb 18 | United Airlines Hawaiian Open | Hawaii | 1,200,000 | Jim Furyk (2) | 38 | |
| Feb 25 | Nissan Open | California | 1,200,000 | Craig Stadler (12) | 46 | |
| Mar 3 | Doral-Ryder Open | Florida | 1,800,000 | Greg Norman (18) | 68 | |
| Mar 10 | Honda Classic | Florida | 1,300,000 | Tim Herron (1) | 50 | |
| Mar 17 | Bay Hill Invitational | Florida | 1,200,000 | Paul Goydos (1) | 68 | Invitational |
| Mar 24 | Freeport-McDermott Classic | Louisiana | 1,200,000 | Scott McCarron (1) | 42 | |
| Mar 31 | The Players Championship | Florida | 3,500,000 | Fred Couples (12) | 80 | Flagship event |
| Apr 7 | BellSouth Classic | Georgia | 1,300,000 | Paul Stankowski (1) | 54 | |
| Apr 14 | Masters Tournament | Georgia | 2,500,000 | Nick Faldo (8) | 100 | Major championship |
| Apr 21 | MCI Classic | South Carolina | 1,400,000 | Loren Roberts (3) | 60 | Invitational |
| Apr 28 | Greater Greensboro Chrysler Classic | North Carolina | 1,800,000 | Mark O'Meara (12) | 44 | |
| May 5 | Shell Houston Open | Texas | 1,500,000 | Mark Brooks (6) | 40 | |
| May 12 | GTE Byron Nelson Golf Classic | Texas | 1,500,000 | Phil Mickelson (8) | 56 | |
| May 19 | MasterCard Colonial | Texas | 1,500,000 | Corey Pavin (14) | 60 | Invitational |
| May 26 | Kemper Open | Maryland | 1,500,000 | Steve Stricker (1) | 40 | |
| Jun 2 | Memorial Tournament | Ohio | 1,800,000 | Tom Watson (38) | 68 | Invitational |
| Jun 9 | Buick Classic | New York | 1,200,000 | Ernie Els (3) | 56 | |
| Jun 16 | U.S. Open | Michigan | 2,400,000 | Steve Jones (5) | 100 | Major championship |
| Jun 23 | FedEx St. Jude Classic | Tennessee | 1,350,000 | John Cook (7) | 40 | |
| Jun 30 | Canon Greater Hartford Open | Connecticut | 1,500,000 | D. A. Weibring (5) | 42 | |
| Jul 7 | Motorola Western Open | Illinois | 2,000,000 | Steve Stricker (2) | 68 | |
| Jul 14 | Michelob Championship at Kingsmill | Virginia | 1,250,000 | Scott Hoch (7) | 24 | |
| Jul 21 | The Open Championship | England | £1,500,000 | Tom Lehman (3) | 100 | Major championship |
| Jul 21 | Deposit Guaranty Golf Classic | Mississippi | 1,000,000 | Willie Wood (1) | 20 | Alternate event |
| Jul 28 | CVS Charity Classic | Massachusetts | 1,200,000 | John Cook (8) | 26 | |
| Aug 4 | Buick Open | Michigan | 1,200,000 | Justin Leonard (1) | 50 | |
| Aug 11 | PGA Championship | Kentucky | 2,400,000 | Mark Brooks (7) | 100 | Major championship |
| Aug 18 | Sprint International | Colorado | 1,600,000 | Clarence Rose (1) | 66 | |
| Aug 25 | NEC World Series of Golf | Ohio | 2,100,000 | Phil Mickelson (9) | 58 | Limited-field event |
| Aug 25 | Greater Vancouver Open | Canada | 1,000,000 | Guy Boros (1) | 22 | Alternate event |
| Sep 1 | Greater Milwaukee Open | Wisconsin | 1,200,000 | Loren Roberts (4) | 38 | |
| Sep 8 | Bell Canadian Open | Canada | 1,500,000 | Dudley Hart (1) | 40 | |
| Sep 15 | Quad City Classic | Illinois | 1,200,000 | Ed Fiori (4) | 32 | |
| Sep 22 | B.C. Open | New York | 1,000,000 | Fred Funk (4) | 28 | |
| Sep 29 | Buick Challenge | Georgia | 1,000,000 | Michael Bradley (1) | 26 | |
| Oct 6 | Las Vegas Invitational | Nevada | 1,650,000 | Tiger Woods (1) | 50 | |
| Oct 13 | LaCantera Texas Open | Texas | 1,200,000 | David Ogrin (1) | 40 | |
| Oct 20 | Walt Disney World/Oldsmobile Classic | Florida | 1,200,000 | Tiger Woods (2) | 46 | |
| Oct 28 | The Tour Championship | Oklahoma | 3,000,000 | Tom Lehman (4) | 60 | Tour Championship |

### Unofficial events

The following events were sanctioned by the PGA Tour, but did not carry official money, nor were wins official.
| Date | Tournament | Location | Purse ($) | Winner(s) | OWGR points | Notes |
| Sep 15 | Presidents Cup | Virginia | n/a | Team USA | n/a | Team event |
| Nov 3 | Subaru Sarazen World Open | Georgia | 1,900,000 | Frank Nobilo | 40 | |
| Nov 10 | Lincoln-Mercury Kapalua International | Hawaii | 1,200,000 | Paul Stankowski | 40 | |
| Nov 15 | MasterCard PGA Grand Slam of Golf | Hawaii | 1,000,000 | Tom Lehman | n/a | Limited-field event |
| Nov 17 | Franklin Templeton Shark Shootout | California | 1,100,000 | Jay Haas and Tom Kite | n/a | Team event |
| Nov 24 | World Cup of Golf | South Africa | 1,300,000 | Ernie Els and Wayne Westner | n/a | Team event |
| Nov 24 | World Cup of Golf Individual Trophy | South Africa | 200,000 | Ernie Els | n/a | |
| Dec 1 | Skins Game | California | 540,000 | Fred Couples | n/a | Limited-field event |
| Dec 8 | JCPenney Classic | Florida | 1,500,000 | Donna Andrews and Mike Hulbert | n/a | Team event |
| Dec 15 | Diners Club Matches | California | 700,000 | Tom Lehman and Duffy Waldorf | n/a | Team event |

## Money list

The money list was based on prize money won during the season, calculated in U.S. dollars.
| Position | Player | Prize money ($) |
| 1 | Tom Lehman | 1,780,159 |
| 2 | Phil Mickelson | 1,697,799 |
| 3 | Mark Brooks | 1,429,396 |
| 4 | Steve Stricker | 1,383,739 |
| 5 | Mark O'Meara | 1,255,749 |
| 6 | Fred Couples | 1,248,694 |
| 7 | Davis Love III | 1,211,139 |
| 8 | Brad Faxon | 1,055,050 |
| 9 | Scott Hoch | 1,039,564 |
| 10 | David Duval | 977,079 |

## Awards

| Award | Winner |
| PGA Tour Player of the Year (Jack Nicklaus Trophy) | Tom Lehman |
| PGA Player of the Year | Tom Lehman |
| Rookie of the Year | Tiger Woods |
| Scoring leader (PGA Tour – Byron Nelson Award) | Tom Lehman |
| Scoring leader (PGA – Vardon Trophy) | Tom Lehman |
| Comeback Player of the Year | Steve Jones |