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.

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.

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; 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; 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. 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.

Schedule

The following table lists official events during the 2015 season.

DateTournamentHost countryPurseWinnerOWGR pointsOther toursNotes
7 DecNedbank Golf ChallengeSouth AfricaUS$6,500,000England Danny Willett (2)38AFRLimited-field event
14 DecAlfred Dunhill ChampionshipSouth Africa€1,500,000South Africa Branden Grace (5)22AFR
11 JanSouth African Open ChampionshipSouth AfricaR14,000,000England Andy Sullivan (1)32AFR
18 JanAbu Dhabi HSBC Golf ChampionshipUAEUS$2,700,000France Gary Stal (1)50
24 JanCommercial Bank Qatar MastersQatarUS$2,500,000South Africa Branden Grace (6)42
1 FebOmega Dubai Desert ClassicUAEUS$2,650,000Northern Ireland Rory McIlroy (10)50
8 FebMaybank Malaysian OpenMalaysiaUS$3,000,000India Anirban Lahiri (1)38ASA
15 FebTrue Thailand ClassicThailandUS$2,000,000Australia Andrew Dodt (2)28ASANew tournament
22 FebHero Indian OpenIndiaUS$1,500,000India Anirban Lahiri (2)19ASANew to European Tour
1 MarJoburg OpenSouth Africa€1,300,000England Andy Sullivan (2)19AFR
8 MarAfrica OpenSouth AfricaR14,500,000South Africa Trevor Fisher Jnr (1)19AFR
8 MarWGC-Cadillac ChampionshipUnited StatesUS$9,250,000United States Dustin Johnson (n/a)76World Golf Championship
15 MarTshwane OpenSouth AfricaR18,500,000South Africa George Coetzee (2)19AFR
29 MarTrophée Hassan IIMorocco€1,500,000Scotland Richie Ramsay (3)24
12 AprMasters TournamentUnited StatesUS$10,000,000United States Jordan Spieth (n/a)100Major championship
19 AprShenzhen InternationalChinaUS$2,500,000Thailand Kiradech Aphibarnrat (2)24New tournament
26 AprVolvo China OpenChinaCN¥20,000,000China Wu Ashun (1)26ONE
3 MayWGC-Cadillac Match PlayUnited StatesUS$9,250,000Northern Ireland Rory McIlroy (11)76World Golf Championship
10 MayAfrAsia Bank Mauritius OpenMauritius€1,000,000South Africa George Coetzee (3)17AFR, ASANew tournament
17 MayOpen de EspañaSpain€1,500,000England James Morrison (2)26
24 MayBMW PGA ChampionshipEngland€5,000,000South Korea An Byeong-hun (1)64Flagship event
31 MayDubai Duty Free Irish OpenNorthern Ireland€2,500,000Denmark Søren Kjeldsen (4)48
7 JunNordea MastersSweden€1,500,000Sweden Alex Norén (4)26
14 JunLyoness OpenAustria€1,500,000England Chris Wood (2)24
21 JunU.S. OpenUnited StatesUS$9,000,000United States Jordan Spieth (n/a)100Major championship
28 JunBMW International OpenGermany€2,000,000Spain Pablo Larrazábal (4)32
5 JulAlstom Open de FranceFrance€3,000,000Austria Bernd Wiesberger (3)36
12 JulAberdeen Asset Management Scottish OpenScotland£3,250,000United States Rickie Fowler (n/a)50
20 JulThe Open ChampionshipScotland£6,300,000United States Zach Johnson (n/a)100Major championship
26 JulOmega European MastersSwitzerland€2,700,000England Danny Willett (3)32ASA
2 AugSaltire Energy Paul Lawrie Match PlayScotland€1,000,000Thailand Kiradech Aphibarnrat (3)24New tournament Limited-field event
2 Aug 22 MarMadeira Islands Open - Portugal - BPIPortugal€600,000Finland Roope Kakko (1)18CHA
9 AugWGC-Bridgestone InvitationalUnited StatesUS$9,250,000Republic of Ireland Shane Lowry (3)74World Golf Championship
16 AugPGA ChampionshipUnited StatesUS$10,000,000Australia Jason Day (n/a)100Major championship
23 AugMade in DenmarkDenmark€1,500,000England David Horsey (4)24
30 AugD+D Real Czech MastersCzech Republic€1,000,000Belgium Thomas Pieters (1)24
6 SepM2M Russian OpenRussia€1,000,000England Lee Slattery (2)24
13 SepKLM OpenNetherlands€1,800,000Belgium Thomas Pieters (2)24
20 SepOpen d'ItaliaItaly€1,500,000Sweden Rikard Karlberg (1)24
27 SepPorsche European OpenGermany€2,000,000Thailand Thongchai Jaidee (7)30
4 OctAlfred Dunhill Links ChampionshipScotlandUS$5,000,000Denmark Thorbjørn Olesen (3)44Pro-Am
11 OctBritish MastersEngland£3,000,000England Matt Fitzpatrick (1)36
18 OctPortugal MastersPortugal€2,000,000England Andy Sullivan (3)24
25 OctUBS Hong Kong OpenHong KongUS$2,000,000England Justin Rose (8)34ASA
1 NovTurkish Airlines OpenTurkeyUS$7,000,000France Victor Dubuisson (2)44Race to Dubai finals series
8 NovWGC-HSBC ChampionsChinaUS$8,500,000Scotland Russell Knox (1)66World Golf Championship Race to Dubai finals series
15 NovBMW MastersChinaUS$7,000,000Sweden Kristoffer Broberg (1)50Race to Dubai finals series
22 NovDP World Tour Championship, DubaiUAEUS$8,000,000Northern Ireland Rory McIlroy (12)52Race to Dubai finals series

Location of tournaments

&Location of official tournaments of the 2015 European Tour in Europe. Major Championship Flagship event Final Series event Regular eventLocation of official tournaments of the 2015 European Tour outside Europe. Major Championship World Golf Championship Final Series event Regular event South Africa United Arab Emirates
South AfricaUnited Arab Emirates

Race to Dubai

The Race to Dubai was based on tournament results during the season, calculated using a points-based system.

Pos.PlayerMajorsWGCsFlagship event and R2D finals seriesTop 10s in other ET eventsTmtsPoints and money
MasUSOOpnPGAWGC CadWGC MPWGC InvWGC ChaBMW PGATurBMW MasDPW TC12345678Total pointsBon. ($)FS bonus ($)
1Northern Ireland McIlroy4thT9T91stT11CUTT61st2nd1st124,727,2531,250,000625,000
2England WillettT38CUTT6T54T123rdT17T3T38T11T28T41stT4T61stT3233,670,310800,000200,000
3South Africa GraceCUTT4T203rd54thT9T17T5T11T223rd1st1st183,056,948530,000132,500
4England RoseT2T27T64th55thT17T3T38T7T221st142,827,024400,000100,000
5Republic of Ireland LowryCUTT9CUTCUTT17T341stT68T68thT56T48T2182,729,144350,00087,500
6South Africa OosthuizenT19T2T2T306thT5T42T44T37T38T72nd122,711,457300,00045,000
7South Korea AnCUTCUTCUTT57T191st4thT3T4T5T7T8262,417,356250,00037,500
8England SullivanCUTT30CUTT34T6417thT60T172nd1stT41stT6T61st282,263,573200,00030,000
9Austria WiesbergerT22CUTT68CUTT31T34T25T17CUTT50T24T17T63rdT42ndT21stT4252,163,181170,00025,500
10Thailand Jaidee55thCUTT65CUT69thT34T57T11T2T26T3T31T7T2T101st252,150,076150,00022,500
11France DubuissonCUTCUTCUTT18T62T52T50T631stT17T13T4T10212,132,753140,00014,000
12England FitzpatrickT7T26T13T4T5T8T32nd3rdT31stT3322,094,933130,00013,000
13Thailand AphibarnratCUTT68T30T273rdT31T225thT41stT41stT4T5252,055,618120,00012,000
14Sweden BrobergCUTT501stT17T10T6T10T2T8322,003,321110,00011,000
15Denmark KjeldsenCUTCUTT12T46T18T11T9T10T91st2ndT2T9T9T2311,996,684100,00010,000

Awards

AwardWinnerRef.
Golfer of the YearNorthern Ireland Rory McIlroy
Players' Player of the YearNorthern Ireland Rory McIlroy
Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the YearSouth Korea An Byeong-hun
Graduate of the YearSouth Korea An Byeong-hun

See also

Notes

External links