Tiger Woods became the first golfer to win three consecutive U.S. Amateur titles. This was the sixth consecutive year in which he won a USGA championship, one short of Bobby Jones' record of seven. In September, he turned professional. He receives a number of sponsors' invitations to PGA Tour events, but is still expected by most to have to return to the qualifying school to earn a full players' card for 1997. However, in the last five regular tournaments of the year on the PGA Tour, his finishes were 5–3–1–3–1, placing him among the tour's top 30 money-winners for the year and thereby qualifying him for the season-ending The Tour Championship. Woods was named the PGA Tour's Rookie of the Year.