2015 European Tour


The 2015 European Tour is the seventh edition of the Race to Dubai and the 44th season of golf tournaments since the European Tour officially began in 1972.
Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy defended the Race to Dubai, winning the title for the third time. He was also named Golfer of the Year. South Korea's An Byeong-hun was the Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year.

Schedule

The table below shows the 2015 European Tour schedule which began with two events in late 2014.
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 Matchplay, 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 Paul Lawrie Matchplay.
DatesTournamentHost countryWinnerOWGR
points		Notes
4–7 DecNedbank Golf ChallengeSouth Africa Danny Willett 38Co-sanctioned with the Sunshine Tour
11–14 DecAlfred Dunhill ChampionshipSouth Africa Branden Grace 22Co-sanctioned with the Sunshine Tour
8–11 JanSouth African Open ChampionshipSouth Africa Andy Sullivan 32Co-sanctioned with the Sunshine Tour
15–18 JanAbu Dhabi HSBC Golf ChampionshipUnited Arab Emirates Gary Stal 50
21–24 JanCommercial Bank Qatar MastersQatar Branden Grace 42
29 Jan – 1 FebOmega Dubai Desert ClassicUnited Arab Emirates Rory McIlroy 50
5–8 FebMaybank Malaysian OpenMalaysia Anirban Lahiri 38Co-sanctioned with the Asian Tour
12–15 FebTrue Thailand ClassicThailand Andrew Dodt 28New tournament; co-sanctioned with the Asian Tour
19–22 FebHero Indian OpenIndia Anirban Lahiri 19New tournament; co-sanctioned with the Asian Tour
26 Feb – 1 MarJoburg OpenSouth Africa Andy Sullivan 19Co-sanctioned with the Sunshine Tour
5–8 MarWGC-Cadillac ChampionshipUnited States Dustin Johnson 76World Golf Championships
5–8 MarAfrica OpenSouth Africa Trevor Fisher Jnr 19Co-sanctioned with the Sunshine Tour
12–15 MarTshwane OpenSouth Africa George Coetzee 19Co-sanctioned with the Sunshine Tour
26–29 MarTrophée Hassan IIMorocco Richie Ramsay 24
9–12 AprMasters TournamentUnited States Jordan Spieth 100Major championship
16–19 AprShenzhen InternationalChina Kiradech Aphibarnrat 24New tournament
23–26 AprVolvo China OpenChina Wu Ashun 26Co-sanctioned with the OneAsia Tour
29 Apr – 3 MayWGC-Cadillac Match PlayUnited States Rory McIlroy 76World Golf Championships
7–10 MayAfrAsia Bank Mauritius OpenMauritius George Coetzee 17New tournament; co-sanctioned with the Sunshine Tour and the Asian Tour
14–17 MayOpen de EspañaSpain James Morrison 26
21–24 MayBMW PGA ChampionshipEngland An Byeong-hun 64Flagship event
28–31 MayDubai Duty Free Irish OpenNorthern Ireland Søren Kjeldsen 48
4–7 JunNordea MastersSweden Alexander Norén 26
11–14 JunLyoness OpenAustria Chris Wood 24
18–21 JunU.S. OpenUnited States Jordan Spieth 100Major championship
25–28 JunBMW International OpenGermany Pablo Larrazábal 32
2–5 JulAlstom Open de FranceFrance Bernd Wiesberger 36
9–12 JulAberdeen Asset Management Scottish OpenScotland Rickie Fowler 50
16–20 JulThe Open ChampionshipScotland Zach Johnson 100Major championship
23–26 JulOmega European MastersSwitzerland Danny Willett 32Co-sanctioned with the Asian Tour
30 Jul – 2 AugSaltire Energy Paul Lawrie MatchplayScotland Kiradech Aphibarnrat 24New tournament
30 Jul – 2 Aug
19–22 Mar		Madeira Islands Open - Portugal - BPIPortugal Roope Kakko 18Dual-ranking event with the Challenge Tour
6–9 AugWGC-Bridgestone InvitationalUnited States Shane Lowry 74World Golf Championships
13–16 AugPGA ChampionshipUnited States Jason Day 100Major championship
20–23 AugMade in DenmarkDenmark David Horsey 24
27–30 AugD+D Real Czech MastersCzech Republic Thomas Pieters 24
3–6 SepM2M Russian OpenRussia Lee Slattery 24
10–13 SepKLM OpenNetherlands Thomas Pieters 24
17–20 SepOpen d'ItaliaItaly Rikard Karlberg 24
24–27 SepPorsche European OpenGermany Thongchai Jaidee 30Last played in 2009
1–4 OctAlfred Dunhill Links ChampionshipScotland Thorbjørn Olesen 44Celebrity pro-am
8–11 OctBritish MastersEngland Matthew Fitzpatrick 36Last played in 2008
15–18 OctPortugal MastersPortugal Andy Sullivan 24
22–25 OctUBS Hong Kong OpenHong Kong Justin Rose 34Co-sanctioned with the Asian Tour
29 Oct – 1 NovTurkish Airlines OpenTurkey Victor Dubuisson 44Final Series event
5–8 NovWGC-HSBC ChampionsChina Russell Knox 66World Golf Championships; Final Series event
12–15 NovBMW MastersChina Kristoffer Broberg 50Final Series event
19–22 NovDP World Tour Championship, DubaiUnited Arab Emirates Rory McIlroy 52Tour Championship; Final Series event

Location of tournaments

Race to Dubai

Since 2009, the European Tour's money list has been known as the "Race to Dubai", and is based on money earned during the season. In a change for the 2015 season, the system was slightly modified to a full points system, with one euro equal to one point for all events leading up to the Final Series, where additional points were awarded ; earnings from tournaments that award prize money in other currencies were converted at the exchange rate available the week of the event.
The following table shows the final top-10 in the 2015 standings.
RankPlayerCountryEventsPoints
1Rory McIlroy124,727,253
2Danny Willett233,670,310
3Branden Grace193,056,948
4Justin Rose142,827,024
5Shane Lowry182,729,144
6Louis Oosthuizen132,711,457
7An Byeong-hun262,417,356
8Andy Sullivan282,263,573
9Bernd Wiesberger252,163,180
10Thongchai Jaidee262,150,076

Golfer of the Month

The winners of the European Tour Golfer of the Month award:
MonthPlayerCountry
JanuaryGary Stal
FebruaryAnirban Lahiri
MarchRichie Ramsay
AprilWu Ashun
MayAn Byeong-hun
JuneAlexander Norén
JulyDanny Willett
AugustShane Lowry
SeptemberLee Slattery
OctoberMatthew Fitzpatrick
NovemberRory McIlroy