2009 European Tour


The 2009 European Tour was the 38th series of golf tournaments since the European Tour officially began in 1972. There were major changes for the 2009 season as the tour entered a partnership agreement with Dubai based Leisurecorp. The Order of Merit was renamed the Race to Dubai with the addition of a new season ending tournament, the Dubai World Championship, being contested by the leading 60 players after the penultimate event for a US$7.5 million prize fund and a US$7.5 million bonus pool.
The Race to Dubai was won by Lee Westwood, who finished as European number one for the second time. He won the season ending Dubai World Championship to overtake Rory McIlroy in the standings. Westwood was also named Golfer of the Year, with Chris Wood being named the Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year, having recorded a 3rd-place finish in The Open Championship on his way to 44th on the end of season money list.

Major tournaments

For a summary of the major tournaments and events of 2009, including the major championships and the World Golf Championships, see 2009 in golf.

Schedule

The table below shows the 2009 season schedule, which began with five events in late 2008 and consisted of 54 official money tournaments. This was an increase of four from the previous year, although three events were ultimately cancelled, and included the four major championships and four World Golf Championships, which are also sanctioned by the PGA Tour. 27 events took place in Europe, 14 in Asia, 6 in the United States, 3 in South Africa and 3 in Australia.
Changes from the 2008 season included two new tournaments, the Moravia Silesia Open in the Czech Republic and the Dubai World Championship, the addition of the Singapore Open, and the return of the World Match Play Championship after being cancelled in 2008. In addition, as a result of plans to realign the schedule with the calendar year for 2010, the HSBC Champions, Hong Kong Open and the Australian Masters were held twice during the 2009 season. The HSBC Champions became a World Golf Championships event effective with its November 2009 edition.
In December 2008 the Indian Masters, scheduled for February, was cancelled due to fallout from the ongoing financial crisis, and then in January 2009 it was announced that the revival of the English Open, scheduled for August, would be postponed for at least two years after developers of the St. Mellion International Resort ran into financial difficulties. In May it was announced that due to lack of sponsorship the British Masters had also been dropped from the schedule, with the Austrian Open being rescheduled from June to take its place on the calendar in September.
DatesTournamentHost countryWinnerOWGR
points		Notes
6–10 NovHSBC ChampionsChina Sergio García 52Co-sanctioned with the Asian Tour, PGA Tour of Australasia, and Sunshine Tour
20–23 NovUBS Hong Kong OpenHong Kong Lin Wen-tang 32Co-sanctioned with the Asian Tour
27–30 NovSportsbet Australian MastersAustralia Rod Pampling 22Co-sanctioned with the PGA Tour of Australasia
11–14 DecAlfred Dunhill ChampionshipSouth Africa Richard Sterne 24Co-sanctioned with the Sunshine Tour
18–21 DecSouth African Open ChampionshipSouth Africa Richard Sterne 40Co-sanctioned with the Sunshine Tour
8–11 JanJoburg OpenSouth Africa Anders Hansen 20Co-sanctioned with the Sunshine Tour
8–11 JanRoyal TrophyThailandAsian/aApproved special event; team event; co-sanctioned with the Asian and the Japan Golf Tour
15–18 JanAbu Dhabi Golf ChampionshipUnited Arab Emirates Paul Casey 48
22–25 JanCommercialbank Qatar MastersQatar Álvaro Quirós 54
29 Jan – 1 FebDubai Desert ClassicUnited Arab Emirates Rory McIlroy 52
5–8 FebIndian MastersIndiaCancelled
12–15 FebMaybank Malaysian OpenMalaysia Anthony Kang 30Co-sanctioned with the Asian Tour
19–22 FebJohnnie Walker ClassicAustralia Danny Lee 32Co-sanctioned with the PGA Tour of Australasia and the Asian Tour
25 Feb – 1 MarWGC-Accenture Match Play ChampionshipUnited States Geoff Ogilvy 76World Golf Championships
26 Feb – 1 MarEnjoy Jakarta Indonesia OpenIndonesia Thongchai Jaidee 20Co-sanctioned with the Asian Tour
12–15 MarWGC-CA ChampionshipUnited States Phil Mickelson 78World Golf Championships
19–22 MarMadeira Islands Open BPI - PortugalPortugal Estanislao Goya 24
26–29 MarOpen de AndalucíaSpain Søren Kjeldsen 24
2–5 AprEstoril Open de PortugalPortugal Michael Hoey 24
9–12 AprMasters TournamentUnited States Ángel Cabrera 100Major championship
16–19 AprVolvo China OpenChina Scott Strange 18Co-sanctioned with the OneAsia Tour
23–26 AprBallantine's ChampionshipSouth Korea Thongchai Jaidee 32Co-sanctioned with the Asian Tour
30 Apr – 3 MayOpen de EspañaSpain Thomas Levet 24
7–10 MayBMW Italian OpenItaly Daniel Vancsik 24
14–17 MayThe 3 Irish OpenIreland Shane Lowry 40
21–24 MayBMW PGA ChampionshipEngland Paul Casey 64Flagship event
28–31 MayEuropean OpenEngland Christian Cévaër 48
4–7 JunCeltic Manor Wales OpenWales Jeppe Huldahl 24
18–22 JunU.S. OpenUnited States Lucas Glover 100Major championship
18–21 JunSaint-Omer OpenFrance Christian Nilsson 18Alternate event; dual-ranking event with the Challenge Tour
25–28 JunBMW International OpenGermany Nick Dougherty 36
2–5 JulOpen de FranceFrance Martin Kaymer 44
9–12 JulBarclays Scottish OpenScotland Martin Kaymer 54
16–19 JulThe Open ChampionshipScotland Stewart Cink 100Major championship
23–26 JulSAS MastersSweden Ricardo González 24
30 Jul – 2 AugMoravia Silesia OpenCzech Republic Oskar Henningsson 24New tournament
6–9 AugWGC-Bridgestone InvitationalUnited States Tiger Woods 76World Golf Championships
13–16 AugPGA ChampionshipUnited States Yang Yong-eun 100Major championship
13–16 AugEnglish OpenEnglandCancelledAlternate event
20–23 AugKLM OpenNetherlands Simon Dyson 24
27–30 AugJohnnie Walker Championship at GleneaglesScotland Peter Hedblom 24
3–6 SepOmega European MastersSwitzerland Alexander Norén 32Co-sanctioned with the Asian Tour
10–13 SepMercedes-Benz ChampionshipGermany James Kingston 40
17–20 SepBritish MastersEnglandCancelled
17–20 SepAustrian Golf OpenAustria Rafael Cabrera-Bello 24
24–27 SepThe Vivendi Trophy with Severiano BallesterosFrance Great Britain & Irelandn/aApproved special event; team event
1–5 OctAlfred Dunhill Links ChampionshipScotland Simon Dyson 46
8–11 OctMadrid MastersSpain Ross McGowan 26
15–18 OctPortugal MastersPortugal Lee Westwood 46
22–25 OctCastelló Masters Costa AzaharSpain Michael Jonzon 28
29 Oct - 1 NovVolvo World Match Play ChampionshipSpain Ross Fisher 42Returning tournament, last played in 2007
29 Oct - 1 NovBarclays Singapore OpenSingapore Ian Poulter 46New to the European Tour; co-sanctioned with the Asian Tour
5–8 NovWGC-HSBC ChampionsChina Phil Mickelson 66World Golf Championships
12–15 NovUBS Hong Kong OpenHong Kong Grégory Bourdy 44Co-sanctioned with the Asian Tour
12–15 NovJBWere MastersAustralia Tiger Woods 28Co-sanctioned with the PGA Tour of Australasia
19–22 NovDubai World ChampionshipUnited Arab Emirates Lee Westwood 56New tournament
27–30 NovOmega Mission Hills World CupChina Italyn/aApproved special event; team event

Location of tournaments

Race to Dubai

In 2009, the Order of Merit was rebranded as the Race To Dubai, with a bonus pool of $7.5 million to be distributed among the top 15 players at the end of the season, of which the winner received $1.5 million. The new name reflects the addition of a new season ending tournament, the Dubai World Championship, held at the end of November in Dubai. The tournament also had a $7.5 million prize fund, and was contested by the leading 60 players in the race following the seasons penultimate event, the Hong Kong Open. The winner of the Race To Dubai also receives a ten-year European Tour exemption, while the winner of the Dubai World Championship tournament receives a five-year European Tour exemption. The reduction in prize money, announced in September 2009, was due to the global economic downturn.

Final standings

The following table shows the final Race to Dubai standings for 2009, including the top 15 players who qualified for the bonus pool.
RankPlayerCountryEventsPrize money
1Lee Westwood264,237,762
2Rory McIlroy253,610,020
3Martin Kaymer202,864,342
4Ross Fisher222,531,183
5Paul Casey142,362,947
6Geoff Ogilvy132,202,814
7Oliver Wilson252,010,158
8Simon Dyson321,807,753
9Ian Poulter151,773,470
10Sergio García171,660,788
11Ernie Els171,571,577
12Ross McGowan301,558,808
13Søren Kjeldsen261,529,253
14Francesco Molinari271,505,010
15Pádraig Harrington161,468,232

Awards

Golfer of the Month

The winners of the European Tour Golfer of the Month Award were as follows:
MonthPlayerCountry
JanuaryRory McIlroy
FebruaryGeoff Ogilvy
MarchSøren Kjeldsen
AprilÁngel Cabrera
MayShane Lowry
JuneNick Dougherty
JulyMartin Kaymer
AugustLee Westwood
SeptemberRafael Cabrera-Bello
OctoberRoss Fisher
NovemberLee Westwood