2009 European Tour

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2009 European Tour season
Duration6 November 2008 (2008-11-06) – 30 November 2009 (2009-11-30)
Number of official events51[a]
Most wins2:[b]
England Paul Casey
England Simon Dyson
Germany Martin Kaymer
Thailand Thongchai Jaidee
South Africa Richard Sterne
England Lee Westwood
Race to DubaiEngland Lee Westwood
Golfer of the YearEngland Lee Westwood
Players' Player of the YearEngland Lee Westwood
Sir Henry Cotton rookie of the yearEngland Chris Wood
← 2008
2010 →

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.[1]

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.[2] Westwood was also named Golfer of the Year,[3] 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.[4]

Major tournaments[]

Main article: 2009 in golf

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

Changes for 2009[]

Changes from the 2009 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,[5] 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.[6] 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.[7]

Schedule[]

The following table lists official events during the 2009 season.[8][9] The season 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.

Date Tournament Host country Purse Winner[c] OWGR
points 		Other
tours[d] 		Notes
10 Nov HSBC Champions China US$5,000,000 Spain Sergio García (8) 52 AFR, ANZ, ASA
23 Nov UBS Hong Kong Open Hong Kong US$2,250,000 Taiwan Lin Wen-tang (1) 32 ASA
30 Nov Sportsbet Australian Masters Australia A$1,500,000 Australia Rod Pampling (1) 22 ANZ
14 Dec Alfred Dunhill Championship South Africa €1,000,000 South Africa Richard Sterne (4) 24 AFR
21 Dec South African Open Championship South Africa €1,000,000 South Africa Richard Sterne (5) 40 AFR[e]
11 Jan Joburg Open South Africa €1,100,000 Denmark Anders Hansen (3) 20 AFR
18 Jan Abu Dhabi Golf Championship UAE US$2,000,000 England Paul Casey (9) 48
25 Jan Commercialbank Qatar Masters Qatar US$2,500,000 Spain Álvaro Quirós (3) 54
1 Feb Dubai Desert Classic UAE US$2,500,000 Northern Ireland Rory McIlroy (1) 52
8 Feb Indian Masters India – Cancelled – ASA
15 Feb Maybank Malaysian Open Malaysia US$2,000,000 United States Anthony Kang (1) 30 ASA
22 Feb Johnnie Walker Classic Australia £1,250,000 New Zealand Danny Lee (a) (1) 32 ANZ, ASA
1 Mar WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship United States US$8,500,000 Australia Geoff Ogilvy (4) 76 World Golf Championship
1 Mar Enjoy Jakarta Indonesia Open Indonesia US$1,250,000 Thailand Thongchai Jaidee (3) 20 ASA
15 Mar WGC-CA Championship United States US$8,500,000 United States Phil Mickelson (n/a) 78 World Golf Championship
22 Mar Madeira Islands Open BPI - Portugal Portugal €700,000 Argentina Estanislao Goya (1) 24
29 Mar Open de Andalucía Spain €1,000,000 Denmark Søren Kjeldsen (3) 24
5 Apr Estoril Open de Portugal Portugal €1,250,000 Northern Ireland Michael Hoey (1) 24
12 Apr Masters Tournament United States US$7,500,000 Argentina Ángel Cabrera (5) 100 Major championship
19 Apr Volvo China Open China US$2,200,000 Australia Scott Strange (2) 18 ONE
26 Apr Ballantine's Championship South Korea €2,100,000 Thailand Thongchai Jaidee (4) 32 ASA, KOR
3 May Open de España Spain €2,000,000 France Thomas Levet (5) 24
10 May BMW Italian Open Italy €1,300,000 Argentina Daniel Vancsik (2) 24
17 May 3 Irish Open Ireland €3,000,000 Republic of Ireland Shane Lowry (a) (1) 40
24 May BMW PGA Championship England €4,500,000 England Paul Casey (10) 64 Flagship event
31 May European Open England £1,800,000 France Christian Cévaër (2) 48
7 Jun Celtic Manor Wales Open Wales £1,800,000 Denmark Jeppe Huldahl (1) 24
21 Jun Saint-Omer Open France €600,000 Sweden Christian Nilsson (1) 18 CHA
22 Jun U.S. Open United States US$7,500,000 United States Lucas Glover (n/a) 100 Major championship
28 Jun BMW International Open Germany €2,000,000 England Nick Dougherty (3) 36
5 Jul Open de France Alstom France €4,000,000 Germany Martin Kaymer (3) 44
12 Jul Barclays Scottish Open Scotland £3,000,000 Germany Martin Kaymer (4) 54
19 Jul The Open Championship Scotland £4,200,000 United States Stewart Cink (1) 100 Major championship
26 Jul SAS Masters Sweden €1,000,000 Argentina Ricardo González (4) 24
2 Aug Moravia Silesia Open Czech Republic €2,000,000 Sweden Oskar Henningsson (1) 24 Not played since 1997
9 Aug WGC-Bridgestone Invitational United States US$8,500,000 United States Tiger Woods (n/a) 76 World Golf Championship
16 Aug English Open England – Cancelled –
16 Aug PGA Championship United States US$7,500,000 South Korea Yang Yong-eun (2) 100 Major championship
23 Aug KLM Open Netherlands €1,800,000 England Simon Dyson (3) 24
30 Aug Johnnie Walker Championship
at Gleneagles 		Scotland £1,400,000 Sweden Peter Hedblom (3) 24
6 Sep Omega European Masters Switzerland €2,000,000 Sweden Alex Norén (1) 32 ASA
13 Sep Mercedes-Benz Championship Germany €2,000,000 South Africa James Kingston (2) 40
20 Sep British Masters England – Cancelled –
20 Sep
14 Jun 		Austrian Golf Open Austria €1,000,000 Spain Rafa Cabrera-Bello (1) 24
5 Oct Alfred Dunhill Links Championship Scotland US$5,000,000 England Simon Dyson (4) 46
11 Oct Madrid Masters Spain €1,500,000 England Ross McGowan (1) 26
18 Oct Portugal Masters Portugal €3,000,000 England Lee Westwood (19) 46
25 Oct Castelló Masters Costa Azahar Spain €2,000,000 Sweden Michael Jonzon (2) 28
1 Nov Volvo World Match Play Championship Spain €3,250,000 England Ross Fisher (3) 42 Not played since 2007
1 Nov Barclays Singapore Open Singapore US$5,000,000 England Ian Poulter (8) 46 ASA New to European Tour
8 Nov WGC-HSBC Champions China US$7,000,000 United States Phil Mickelson (n/a) 66 World Golf Championship
15 Nov JBWere Masters Australia A$1,500,000 United States Tiger Woods (n/a) 28 ANZ
15 Nov UBS Hong Kong Open Hong Kong US$2,500,000 France Grégory Bourdy (3) 44 ASA
22 Nov Dubai World Championship UAE US$7,500,000 England Lee Westwood (20) 56 New tournament
Tour Championship

Unofficial events[]

The following events were sanctioned by the European Tour, but did not carry official money, nor were wins official.

Date Tournament Host country Purse Winners OWGR
points 		Notes
11 Jan Royal Trophy Thailand €1,000,000 Team Asia n/a Team event
27 Sep Vivendi Trophy with Seve Ballesteros France €1,150,000 Team GB&I n/a Team event
30 Nov Omega Mission Hills World Cup China US$5,500,000 Italy Edoardo Molinari and
Italy Francesco Molinari 		n/a 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[10] (originally $10 million) to be distributed among the top 15 players at the end of the season, of which the winner received $1.5 million[10] (originally $2 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[10] (originally $10 million), 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.[11][1][12][13] The reduction in prize money, announced in September 2009,[10] 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.[14]

Rank Player Events Prize money (€)
1 England Lee Westwood 26 4,237,762
2 Northern Ireland Rory McIlroy 25 3,610,020
3 Germany Martin Kaymer 20 2,864,342
4 England Ross Fisher 22 2,531,183
5 England Paul Casey 14 2,362,947
6 Australia Geoff Ogilvy 13 2,202,814
7 England Oliver Wilson 25 2,010,158
8 England Simon Dyson 32 1,807,753
9 England Ian Poulter 15 1,773,470
10 Spain Sergio García 17 1,660,788
11 South Africa Ernie Els 17 1,571,577
12 England Ross McGowan 30 1,558,808
13 Denmark Søren Kjeldsen 26 1,529,253
14 Italy Francesco Molinari 27 1,505,010
15 Republic of Ireland Pádraig Harrington 16 1,468,232

Awards[]

Award Winner
European Tour Golfer of the Year England Lee Westwood
European Tour Players' Player of the Year England Lee Westwood
Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year England Chris Wood

Golfer of the Month[]

The winners of the European Tour Golfer of the Month Award were as follows:

Month Player
January Northern Ireland Rory McIlroy
February Australia Geoff Ogilvy
March Denmark Søren Kjeldsen
April Argentina Ángel Cabrera
May Republic of Ireland Shane Lowry
June England Nick Dougherty
July Germany Martin Kaymer
August England Lee Westwood
September Spain Rafa Cabrera-Bello
October England Ross Fisher
November England Lee Westwood

See also[]

Notes[]

  1. ^ A further three tournaments were cancelled.
  2. ^ Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods also won 2 events, but were not European Tour members.
  3. ^ The numbers in parentheses after the winners' names show the number of official career wins they had on the European Tour up to and including that event. Totals are only shown for members of the European Tour and are inclusive of the three United States-based major championships which were included on the schedule for the first time in 1998, with earlier editions having retrospectively been recognised as official tour wins. Victories in "Approved Special Events" are not recognised as official tour wins.
  4. ^ AFR − Sunshine Tour; ANZ − PGA Tour of Australasia; ASA − Asian Tour; CHA − Challenge Tour; KOR − Korean Tour; ONE − OneAsia Tour.
  5. ^ Sunshine Tour flagship event

References[]

  1. ^ "Lee Westwood wins Race to Dubai title". BBC Sport. 22 November 2009. Archived from the original on 26 November 2009. Retrieved 22 November 2009.
  2. ^ "Lee Westwood named as European Tour golfer of the year". BBC Sport. 8 December 2009. Archived from the original on 13 December 2009. Retrieved 8 December 2009.
  3. ^ "Golfer Wood wins top rookie award". BBC Sport. 25 November 2009. Archived from the original on 28 November 2009. Retrieved 25 November 2009.
  4. ^ "Golf-Financial crisis claims next year's Indian Masters". Reuters. 5 December 2008. Retrieved 5 December 2008.
  5. ^ "Crunch delays golf championships". BBC News. 21 January 2009. Archived from the original on 29 January 2009. Retrieved 14 February 2009.
  6. ^ "British Masters dropped from Tour". BBC Sport. 13 May 2009. Archived from the original on 16 May 2009. Retrieved 14 May 2009.
  7. ^ "Uncertainty for Irish Open in Race to Dubai". The Irish Times. 6 October 2008. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
  8. ^ "European Tour Schedule – 2009". PGA European Tour. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
  9. ^ a b c d "Dubai tourney winnings cut 25 percent". ESPN. 21 September 2009. Retrieved 22 November 2009.
  10. ^ "US boss welcomes European windfall". BBC Sport. 21 November 2007. Archived from the original on 17 December 2008. Retrieved 12 November 2008.
  11. ^ "Race to Dubai". PGA European Tour. Archived from the original on 9 December 2008. Retrieved 12 November 2008.
  12. ^ "Euro Tour Unveils Race to Dubai". Golf Channel. 19 November 2007. Retrieved 6 October 2008.
  13. ^ "European Tour Race To Dubai – 2009". PGA European Tour. Retrieved 20 April 2016.

External links[]

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