How professional golf grew.

The first professionals

Golf's early professionals were Scottish. The Open describes Allan Robertson, who died in 1859 aged 43, as the best golfer of his day and one of the first professionals to make a living from the game. His death prompted the first Open in 1860, played by eight professionals and described on the Open history page. Old Tom Morris, runner-up that day, was still playing The Open in 1896, at 74.

The PGA of America, 1916

History.com says that on 17 January 1916 golf professionals and leading amateurs met for lunch at the Taplow Club in New York, at Rodman Wanamaker's invitation, to talk about a national professional body. The Professional Golfers' Association of America was formally established on 10 April 1916 with 35 charter members. LINKS Magazine and Wikipedia say Wanamaker, a department-store owner, expected an association of professionals with its own championship to help sell equipment, and he offered a trophy; that is their reading of his motive.

The first PGA Championship followed in October 1916 at Siwanoy Country Club, Bronxville, New York, where Jim Barnes beat Jock Hutchison in the final match. The Golf News Net (May 2026) describes the PGA of America today as an organisation of club professionals and teachers, based in Frisco, Texas, that runs the PGA Championship and co-owns the Ryder Cup with the European Tour.

Membership was once restricted by race. PBS NewsHour says the PGA's Caucasian-only rule had been in place since 1934; it was removed in 1961. That history is on the access and integration page.

The Ryder Cup, 1927

According to Wikipedia, the first official Ryder Cup was played on 3 and 4 June 1927 at Worcester Country Club, Massachusetts. The United States, captained by Walter Hagen, beat Great Britain, captained by Ted Ray, 9.5 to 2.5. The founder, Samuel Ryder, was too ill to attend. The DP World Tour says continental European players joined the Great Britain and Ireland side from 1979, when Antonio Garrido and Seve Ballesteros became the first to play. The current match is covered on the Ryder Cup page.

The Masters, 1934

Bobby Jones and the investment banker Clifford Roberts co-founded Augusta National Golf Club, which Free Malaysia Today's 2019 report says opened in 1933. National Club Golfer tells the story of the first tournament:

• The Augusta National Invitation Tournament began on 22 March 1934, and Johnny Kinder hit the first shot, from the 10th tee.
• Horton Smith won, Craig Wood was second, and Jones, retired since his 1930 Grand Slam, tied for 13th.
• The nines were reversed the following year.

CBS News adds that Roberts proposed the name "Masters" but Jones thought it presumptuous, and the event was officially renamed in 1939 after five years under its original title. In 1935 Gene Sarazen made a double eagle at the par-5 15th to catch Craig Wood and won the playoff. No Masters was played from 1943 to 1945, during the Second World War. The Par 3 contest began in 1960, and Jack Nicklaus, in 1965 and 1966, became the first champion to defend the title.

The PGA Tour

The touring professionals split from the PGA of America to form the Tournament Players Division. The date of the split is reported two ways: Wikipedia, as summarised in a search result, says late 1968, while The Golf News Net says 1969.

• Joe Dey, a former USGA executive director, became the division's first commissioner. Wikipedia says he was selected in January 1969.
• Deane Beman became the second commissioner in 1974, the year the division was renamed the PGA Tour, according to The Golf News Net, and moved its headquarters to Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. The year 1975 is also widely repeated for the renaming, but our research found no source to support it.

The PGA Tour's FedEx Cup is decided at the Tour Championship. Scottie Scheffler won the 2026 Tour Championship on 30 August 2026, his second FedEx Cup, and the autumn events that settle 2027 status were still being played on 20 October 2026. The PGA Tour page has the current structure.

The European Tour and the DP World Tour

The European Tour's first official event was the Open de Espana at Golf Club de Pals, Girona, which began on 12 April 1972; Antonio Garrido of Spain won on 15 April. The Tour calls John Jacobs, a former Ryder Cup player, its founding father, after a campaign of nearly 20 years to modernise tournament golf in Europe.

On 9 November 2021 Khaleej Times reported that the European Tour would be renamed the DP World Tour from 2022, after the Dubai logistics company that sponsored its season-ending event, held in Dubai since 2009. The 2026 Race to Dubai was in progress on 20 October 2026: The National reported on 6 October 2026 that Patrick Reed led, with Rory McIlroy second, ahead of the play-offs in November. See the DP World Tour page.

LIV Golf, 2022 onward

The first LIV Golf Invitational, a 54-hole event at the Centurion Club, St Albans, near London, ended on 11 June 2022 with a one-shot win for Charl Schwartzel of South Africa. AP described it as the first of eight events in LIV's first year and reported that the PGA Tour had banned players who signed up.

On 6 June 2023 the PGA Tour, the DP World Tour and Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, which backs LIV, announced a "framework agreement", Sports Illustrated reported. A search summary of other reports says the document was signed on 30 May 2023, which we could not confirm.

LIV moved from 54-hole to 72-hole events from 2026, a change The Golf News Net linked to the earlier format's lack of world ranking points. The 2026 LIV season is complete, and LIV's own report gives Jon Rahm the individual title and Legion XIII the team title. Sources differ on when the individual title was settled. Sports Illustrated reported on 17 August 2026 that the planned team finale had been cancelled and that LIV Golf Indianapolis would decide both titles. LIV's report, and a Daily Tribune report seen only in a search summary, say Rahm had already clinched the individual title after LIV Golf New York, before Indianapolis was played. This page does not settle which is right. The same Sports Illustrated report said LIV's chief executive described plans for a player-owned league and a possible 2027 season tied to an unnamed investor; whether that happens was unresolved on the latest source. The LIV Golf page has the details.