2015 European Tour

Last updated

2015 European Tour season
Duration4 December 2014 (2014-12-04) – 22 November 2015 (2015-11-22)
Number of official events48
Most wins Ulster Banner.svg Rory McIlroy (3)
Flag of England.svg Andy Sullivan (3)
Race to Dubai Ulster Banner.svg Rory McIlroy
Golfer of the Year Ulster Banner.svg Rory McIlroy
Players' Player of the Year Ulster Banner.svg Rory McIlroy
Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year Flag of South Korea.svg An Byeong-hun
Graduate of the Year Flag of South Korea.svg An Byeong-hun
2014
2016

The 2015 European Tour was the 44th season of the European Tour, the main professional golf tour in Europe since its inaugural season in 1972.

Contents

Changes for 2015

There were many changes from the previous season. There were six additions to the schedule, made up of four new tournaments: the True Thailand Classic, the Shenzhen International, the Saltire Energy Paul Lawrie Match Play, and the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open; the Hero Indian Open, which was co-sanctioned by the European Tour for the first time; and the return of the European Open, which was last played in 2009. [1]

Seven events were lost from the schedule: the Volvo World Match Play Championship and Volvo Golf Champions, as a result of Volvo reducing their sponsorship commitments; [2] the Nelson Mandela Championship; the NH Collection Open; The Championship at Laguna National; the Wales Open, as a 15-year deal with Celtic Manor Resort came to an end; [3] and the Perth International, which wasn't played in 2015 due to rescheduling from October to February.

In March, the tour confirmed that the British Masters, last held in 2008, was also being revived and added to the schedule. [4] Later in the month, the Madeira Islands Open was cancelled due to persistent heavy rain; it was later rescheduled to the end of July, opposite the Saltire Energy Paul Lawrie Match Play. [5]

Schedule

The following table lists official events during the 2015 season. [6]

DateTournamentHost countryPurseWinner [lower-alpha 1] OWGR
points
Other
tours [lower-alpha 2]
Notes
7 Dec Nedbank Golf Challenge South AfricaUS$6,500,000 Flag of England.svg Danny Willett (2)38 AFR Limited-field event
14 Dec Alfred Dunhill Championship South Africa€1,500,000 Flag of South Africa.svg Branden Grace (5)22 AFR
11 Jan South African Open Championship South AfricaR14,000,000 Flag of England.svg Andy Sullivan (1)32 AFR [lower-alpha 3]
18 Jan Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship UAEUS$2,700,000 Flag of France.svg Gary Stal (1)50
24 Jan Commercial Bank Qatar Masters QatarUS$2,500,000 Flag of South Africa.svg Branden Grace (6)42
1 Feb Omega Dubai Desert Classic UAEUS$2,650,000 Ulster Banner.svg Rory McIlroy (10)50
8 Feb Maybank Malaysian Open MalaysiaUS$3,000,000 Flag of India.svg Anirban Lahiri (1)38 ASA
15 Feb True Thailand Classic ThailandUS$2,000,000 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Andrew Dodt (2)28 ASA New tournament
22 Feb Hero Indian Open IndiaUS$1,500,000 Flag of India.svg Anirban Lahiri (2)19 ASA New to European Tour
1 Mar Joburg Open South Africa€1,300,000 Flag of England.svg Andy Sullivan (2)19 AFR
8 Mar Africa Open South AfricaR14,500,000 Flag of South Africa.svg Trevor Fisher Jnr (1)19 AFR
8 Mar WGC-Cadillac Championship United StatesUS$9,250,000 Flag of the United States.svg Dustin Johnson (n/a)76 World Golf Championship
15 Mar Tshwane Open South AfricaR18,500,000 Flag of South Africa.svg George Coetzee (2)19 AFR
29 Mar Trophée Hassan II Morocco€1,500,000 Flag of Scotland.svg Richie Ramsay (3)24
12 Apr Masters Tournament United StatesUS$10,000,000 Flag of the United States.svg Jordan Spieth (n/a)100 Major championship
19 Apr Shenzhen International ChinaUS$2,500,000 Flag of Thailand.svg Kiradech Aphibarnrat (2)24New tournament
26 Apr Volvo China Open ChinaCN¥20,000,000 Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Wu Ashun (1)26 ONE
3 May WGC-Cadillac Match Play United StatesUS$9,250,000 Ulster Banner.svg Rory McIlroy (11)76 World Golf Championship
10 May AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open Mauritius€1,000,000 Flag of South Africa.svg George Coetzee (3)17 AFR, ASA New tournament
17 May Open de España Spain€1,500,000 Flag of England.svg James Morrison (2)26
24 May BMW PGA Championship England€5,000,000 Flag of South Korea.svg An Byeong-hun (1)64Flagship event
31 May Dubai Duty Free Irish Open Northern Ireland€2,500,000 Flag of Denmark.svg Søren Kjeldsen (4)48
7 Jun Nordea Masters Sweden€1,500,000 Flag of Sweden.svg Alex Norén (4)26
14 Jun Lyoness Open Austria€1,500,000 Flag of England.svg Chris Wood (2)24
21 Jun U.S. Open United StatesUS$9,000,000 Flag of the United States.svg Jordan Spieth (n/a)100 Major championship
28 Jun BMW International Open Germany€2,000,000 Flag of Spain.svg Pablo Larrazábal (4)32
5 Jul Alstom Open de France France€3,000,000 Flag of Austria.svg Bernd Wiesberger (3)36
12 Jul Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open Scotland£3,250,000 Flag of the United States.svg Rickie Fowler (n/a)50
20 Jul The Open Championship Scotland£6,300,000 Flag of the United States.svg Zach Johnson (n/a)100 Major championship
26 Jul Omega European Masters Switzerland€2,700,000 Flag of England.svg Danny Willett (3)32 ASA
2 Aug Saltire Energy Paul Lawrie Match Play Scotland€1,000,000 Flag of Thailand.svg Kiradech Aphibarnrat (3)24New tournament
Limited-field event
2 Aug [lower-alpha 4]
22 Mar
Madeira Islands Open - Portugal - BPI Portugal€600,000 Flag of Finland.svg Roope Kakko (1)18 CHA
9 Aug WGC-Bridgestone Invitational United StatesUS$9,250,000 Flag of Ireland.svg Shane Lowry (3)74 World Golf Championship
16 Aug PGA Championship United StatesUS$10,000,000 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Jason Day (n/a)100 Major championship
23 Aug Made in Denmark Denmark€1,500,000 Flag of England.svg David Horsey (4)24
30 Aug D+D Real Czech Masters Czech Republic€1,000,000 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Thomas Pieters (1)24
6 Sep M2M Russian Open Russia€1,000,000 Flag of England.svg Lee Slattery (2)24
13 Sep KLM Open Netherlands€1,800,000 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Thomas Pieters (2)24
20 Sep Open d'Italia Italy€1,500,000 Flag of Sweden.svg Rikard Karlberg (1)24
27 Sep Porsche European Open Germany€2,000,000 Flag of Thailand.svg Thongchai Jaidee (7)30
4 Oct Alfred Dunhill Links Championship ScotlandUS$5,000,000 Flag of Denmark.svg Thorbjørn Olesen (3)44Pro-Am
11 Oct British Masters England£3,000,000 Flag of England.svg Matt Fitzpatrick (1)36
18 Oct Portugal Masters Portugal€2,000,000 Flag of England.svg Andy Sullivan (3)24
25 Oct UBS Hong Kong Open Hong KongUS$2,000,000 Flag of England.svg Justin Rose (8)34 ASA
1 Nov Turkish Airlines Open TurkeyUS$7,000,000 Flag of France.svg Victor Dubuisson (2)44Race to Dubai finals series
8 Nov WGC-HSBC Champions ChinaUS$8,500,000 Flag of Scotland.svg Russell Knox (1)66 World Golf Championship
Race to Dubai finals series
15 Nov BMW Masters ChinaUS$7,000,000 Flag of Sweden.svg Kristoffer Broberg (1)50Race to Dubai finals series
22 Nov DP World Tour Championship, Dubai UAEUS$8,000,000 Ulster Banner.svg Rory McIlroy (12)52Race to Dubai finals series

Location of tournaments

Race to Dubai

The Race to Dubai was based on tournament results during the season, calculated using a points-based system. [7] [8] [9] [10]

Pos.Player Majors WGCs Flagship event and R2D finals series [lower-alpha 5] Top 10s in other ET eventsTmtsPoints and money
Mas USO Opn PGA WGC
Cad
WGC
MP
WGC
Inv
WGC
Cha
BMW
PGA
Tur BMW
Mas
DPW
TC
12345678Total
points
Bon.
($)
FS
bonus

($)
1 Ulster Banner.svg McIlroy 4thT9T91stT11CUTT61st 2nd 1st 124,727,2531,250,000625,000
2 Flag of England.svg Willett T38CUTT6T54T123rdT17T3T38T11T28T4 1st T4 T6 1st T3 233,670,310800,000200,000
3 Flag of South Africa.svg Grace CUTT4T203rd54thT9T17T5T11T223rd 1st 1st 183,056,948530,000132,500
4 Flag of England.svg Rose T2T27T64th55thT17T3T38T7T22 1st 142,827,024400,000(100,000) [lower-alpha 6]
5 Flag of Ireland.svg Lowry CUTT9CUTCUTT17T341stT68T68thT56T48 T2 182,729,144350,00087,500
6 Flag of South Africa.svg Oosthuizen T19T2T2T306thT5T42T44T37T38 T7 2nd 122,711,457300,00045,000
7 Flag of South Korea.svg An CUTCUTCUTT57T191st4thT3T4 T5 T7 T8 262,417,356250,00037,500
8 Flag of England.svg Sullivan CUTT30CUTT34T6417thT60T172nd 1st T4 1st T6 T6 1st 282,263,573200,00030,000
9 Flag of Austria.svg Wiesberger T22CUTT68CUTT31T34T25T17CUTT50T24T17 T6 3rd T4 2nd T2 1st T4 252,163,181170,00025,500
10 Flag of Thailand.svg Jaidee 55thCUTT65CUT69thT34T57T11T2T26T3T31 T7 T2 T10 1st 252,150,076150,00022,500
11 Flag of France.svg Dubuisson CUTCUTCUTT18T62T52T50T631stT17T13 T4 T10 212,132,753140,00014,000
12 Flag of England.svg Fitzpatrick T7T26T13T4 T5 T8 T3 2nd 3rd T3 1st T3 322,094,933130,00013,000
13 Flag of Thailand.svg Aphibarnrat CUTT68T30T273rdT31T22 5th T4 1st T4 1st T4 T5 252,055,618120,00012,000
14 Flag of Sweden.svg Broberg CUTT501stT17 T10 T6 T10 T2 T8 322,003,321110,00011,000
15 Flag of Denmark.svg Kjeldsen CUTCUTT12T46T18T11T9T10 T9 1st 2nd T2 T9 T9 T2 311,996,684100,00010,000
  Win
  Top 10
  Made cut
  Missed cut
 Did not play

Awards

AwardWinnerRef.
Golfer of the Year Ulster Banner.svg Rory McIlroy [12]
Players' Player of the Year Ulster Banner.svg Rory McIlroy [13]
Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year Flag of South Korea.svg An Byeong-hun [14]
Graduate of the Year Flag of South Korea.svg An Byeong-hun [14]

See also

Notes

  1. The number in brackets after each winner's name is the number of European Tour events they had won up to and including that tournament. This information is only shown for European Tour members.
  2. AFR − Sunshine Tour; ANZ − PGA Tour of Australasia; ASA − Asian Tour; CHA − Challenge Tour; ONE − OneAsia Tour.
  3. Sunshine Tour flagship event
  4. Rescheduled due to persistent bad weather.
  5. The WGC-HSBC Champions was also a Race to Dubai finals series event.
  6. Having only played two Race to Dubai finals series events, Rose was not eligible for the additional finals series bonus. [11]

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References

  1. "European Tour 2015: New events in Scotland, Germany, Thailand". BBC Sport. 23 November 2014. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
  2. "European Tour: Volvo withdraw sponsorship of two events". Sky Sports. 8 October 2014. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
  3. Corrigan, James (19 September 2014). "Wales Open becomes latest professional tournament to bite the dust after being handed last rites by Celtic Manor" . The Telegraph. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
  4. "European Tour: British Masters returns after seven-year absence". BBC Sport. 4 March 2015. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
  5. Lavner, Ryan (24 March 2015). "Canceled Euro Tour event rescheduled for July". Golf Channel. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
  6. "2015 Tournament schedule". European Tour. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
  7. "New points system announced for European Tour Race to Dubai in 2015". Sky Sports. 2 December 2014. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
  8. "Race to Dubai enhanced by additional bonus pool scheme". European Tour. 6 July 2015. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  9. "Golf-Race to Dubai rankings". Reuters. 23 November 2015. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
  10. Gittings, Paul (23 November 2015). "DP World Tour Championship: Rory McIlroy wins to wrap up Race to Dubai". CNN. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
  11. "The Race to Dubai 2015". Golf Punk. 29 October 2015. Retrieved 15 August 2024. This is to allow for the operation of an additional bonus scheme that will be paid out only to those players who participate in 3 out of 4 of the Final Series events...
  12. Stafford, Ali (15 December 2015). "Rory McIlroy named European Tour Golfer of the Year for 2015". Sky Sports. Retrieved 19 April 2023.
  13. "McIlroy gunning for more glory". European Tour. 18 May 2016. Retrieved 23 April 2023. The Northern Irishman overcame an injury-plagued 2015 season to win his third Harry Vardon Trophy and was then honoured by his peers as he was voted Players' Player of the year for the second season in succession.
  14. 1 2 McGarr, Rob (4 December 2015). "Byeong Hun An is the European Tour Rookie of the Year". Today's Golfer. Retrieved 19 April 2023. Much like American Brooks Koepka last year, An's remarkable rise through The European Tour's developmental system was recognised by a second prestigious title, the Graduate of the Year Award, given to the highest-ranked player in The Race to Dubai to have graduated directly from the Challenge Tour the previous season.