The 2018 European Tour was the 47th season of the European Tour, the main professional golf tour in Europe since its inaugural season in 1972.

2018 European Tour season
Duration23 November 2017 (2017-11-23) – 18 November 2018 (2018-11-18)
Number of official events47
Most winsEngland Matt Wallace (3)
Race to DubaiItaly Francesco Molinari
Golfer of the YearItaly Francesco Molinari
Players' Player of the YearItaly Francesco Molinari
Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the YearIndia Shubhankar Sharma
Graduate of the YearSouth Africa Erik van Rooyen
2017
2019

Changes for 2018 edit

There were changes to membership criteria with the reversal of some of the changes introduced for the 2017 season; the number of players gaining exemption from the final Race to Dubai standings reverted to the top 110 and the Access List was scrapped, largely replaced by a re-ranking system.[1]

The Race to Dubai points system was adjusted, with all prize money being converted into U.S. dollars before translating into points (1 point = 1 dollar) having previously been calculated after converting into euro. The points for all tournaments were also fixed prior to the start of the season, having previously been set during each tournament week, thereby negating any fluctuation in exchange rates.[1]

Tournament changes edit

Schedule edit

The following table lists official events during the 2018 season.[2]

Date Tournament Host country Purse Winner[a] OWGR
points
Other
tours[b]
Notes
26 Nov UBS Hong Kong Open Hong Kong US$2,000,000   Wade Ormsby (1) 34 ASA
3 Dec Australian PGA Championship Australia A$1,500,000   Cameron Smith (n/a) 23 ANZ
3 Dec AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open Mauritius €1,000,000   Dylan Frittelli (2) 17 AFR, ASA
11 Dec Joburg Open South Africa R16,500,000   Shubhankar Sharma (1) 17 AFR, ASA
14 Jan BMW SA Open South Africa R15,000,000   Chris Paisley (1) 32 AFR[c]
21 Jan Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship UAE US$3,000,000   Tommy Fleetwood (4) 52
28 Jan Omega Dubai Desert Classic UAE US$3,000,000   Li Haotong (2) 48
4 Feb Maybank Championship Malaysia US$3,000,000   Shubhankar Sharma (2) 38 ASA
11 Feb ISPS Handa World Super 6 Perth Australia A$1,750,000   Kiradech Aphibarnrat (4) 23 ANZ, ASA
18 Feb NBO Oman Open Oman US$1,750,000   Joost Luiten (6) 24 New tournament
25 Feb Commercial Bank Qatar Masters Qatar US$1,750,000   Eddie Pepperell (1) 24
4 Mar WGC-Mexico Championship Mexico US$10,000,000   Phil Mickelson (n/a) 72 World Golf Championship
4 Mar Tshwane Open South Africa R15,000,000   George Coetzee (4) 19 AFR
11 Mar Hero Indian Open India US$1,750,000   Matt Wallace (2) 22 ASA
25 Mar WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play United States US$10,000,000   Bubba Watson (n/a) 74 World Golf Championship
8 Apr Masters Tournament United States US$11,000,000   Patrick Reed (2) 100 Major championship
15 Apr Open de España Spain €1,500,000   Jon Rahm (3) 26
22 Apr Trophée Hassan II Morocco €2,500,000   Alexander Lévy (5) 24
29 Apr Volvo China Open China CN¥20,000,000   Alexander Björk (1) 32 ASA
13 May Rocco Forte Sicilian Open Italy €1,000,000   Joakim Lagergren (1) 24
20 May Belgian Knockout Belgium €1,000,000   Adrián Otaegui (2) 24
27 May BMW PGA Championship England US$7,000,000   Francesco Molinari (5) 64 Flagship event[d]
3 Jun Italian Open Italy US$7,000,000   Thorbjørn Olesen (5) 38 Rolex Series
10 Jun Shot Clock Masters Austria €1,000,000   Mikko Korhonen (1) 24
17 Jun U.S. Open United States US$12,000,000   Brooks Koepka (3) 100 Major championship
24 Jun BMW International Open Germany €2,000,000   Matt Wallace (3) 24
1 Jul HNA Open de France France US$7,000,000   Alex Norén (10) 48 Rolex Series
8 Jul Dubai Duty Free Irish Open Ireland US$7,000,000   Russell Knox (2) 38 Rolex Series
15 Jul Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open Scotland US$7,000,000   Brandon Stone (3) 48 Rolex Series
22 Jul The Open Championship Scotland US$10,500,000   Francesco Molinari (6) 100 Major championship
29 Jul Porsche European Open Germany €2,000,000   Richard McEvoy (1) 24
5 Aug Fiji International Fiji A$1,250,000   Gaganjeet Bhullar (1) 15 ANZ, ASA
5 Aug WGC-Bridgestone Invitational United States US$10,000,000   Justin Thomas (2) 74 World Golf Championship
12 Aug PGA Championship United States US$10,500,000   Brooks Koepka (4) 100 Major championship
19 Aug Nordea Masters Sweden €1,500,000   Paul Waring (1) 24
26 Aug D+D Real Czech Masters Czech Republic €1,000,000   Andrea Pavan (1) 24
2 Sep Made in Denmark Denmark €1,500,000   Matt Wallace (4) 24
9 Sep Omega European Masters Switzerland €2,500,000   Matt Fitzpatrick (5) 26
16 Sep KLM Open Netherlands €1,800,000   Wu Ashun (3) 24
23 Sep Portugal Masters Portugal €2,000,000   Tom Lewis (2) 24
7 Oct Alfred Dunhill Links Championship Scotland US$5,000,000   Lucas Bjerregaard (2) 38 Pro-Am
14 Oct Sky Sports British Masters England £3,000,000   Eddie Pepperell (2) 38
22 Oct Andalucía Valderrama Masters Spain €2,000,000   Sergio García (15) 24
28 Oct WGC-HSBC Champions China US$10,000,000   Xander Schauffele (1) 66 World Golf Championship
4 Nov Turkish Airlines Open Turkey US$7,000,000   Justin Rose (11) 36 Rolex Series
Limited-field event
11 Nov Nedbank Golf Challenge South Africa US$7,500,000   Lee Westwood (24) 34 Rolex Series
Limited-field event
18 Nov DP World Tour Championship, Dubai UAE US$8,000,000   Danny Willett (6) 52 Tour Championship[d]

Unofficial events edit

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
14 Jan EurAsia Cup Malaysia n/a   Team Europe n/a Team event
6 May GolfSixes England €1,000,000   Paul Dunne and
  Gavin Moynihan
n/a Team event
12 Aug European Golf Team Championships Scotland €550,000   Scott Fernández and
  Pedro Oriol (Men)
n/a Team event
  Cajsa Persson and
  Linda Wessberg (Women)
  Iceland (Team)
30 Sep Ryder Cup France n/a   Team Europe n/a Team event
25 Nov ISPS Handa Melbourne World Cup of Golf Australia US$7,000,000   Thomas Detry and
  Thomas Pieters
n/a Team event

Location of tournaments edit

Race to Dubai edit

The Race to Dubai was based on tournament results during the season, calculated using a points-based system.[3][4]

Pos. Player Majors WGCs Rolex Series Top 10s in other ET events Tmts Points and money
Mas USO Opn PGA WGC
Mex
WGC
MP
WGC
Inv
WGC
Cha
BMW
PGA
Ita Fra Ire Sco Tur Ned DPW
TC
1 2 3 4 5 Reg.
points
Bon.
($)
Total
points
1   Molinari T20 T25 1st T6 T25 17th T39 T43 1st 2nd T26 12 4,791,521 1,250,000 6,041,521
2   Reed 1st 4th T28 CUT T37 T9 T28 T7 T23 T2 T9 11 3,963,351 750,000 4,713,351
3   Fleetwood T17 2nd T12 T35 T14 T17 T14 T7 T20 T23 CUT T7 T16 6th 1st T6 T2 T9 19 3,799,755 600,000 4,399,755
4   Schauffele T50 T6 T2 T35 T18 T17 68th 1st T16 9 3,207,488 400,000 3,607,488
5   Rose T12 T10 T2 T19 T37 T3 T9 1st T10 8th 11 3,431,616 500,000[e] 3,431,616
6   Norén CUT T25 T17 CUT T14 3rd T31 T18 T3 T23 1st T9 12 3,001,488 350,000 3,351,488
7   McIlroy T5 CUT T2 T50 T36 T6 T54 T2 T28 T21 T20 T3 2nd 13 2,990,654 325,000 3,315,654
8   Olesen CUT T12 T56 T3 T7 T60 1st CUT T6 T7 T45 10th T2 4th 27 2,923,149 300,000 3,223,149
9   Li T32 T16 T39 WD 63rd T59 T39 T11 T43 T19 T21 CUT T23 2nd T5 T30 1st T5 T9 27 2,843,291 275,000 3,118,291
10   Wallace CUT CUT T50 T20 T51 CUT CUT CUT T47 T5 T2 1st T3 1st 1st 32 2,637,527 250,000 2,887,527
  Win
  Top 10
  Made cut
  Missed cut
  Withdrew
 Did not play

Awards edit

Award Winner Ref.
Golfer of the Year   Francesco Molinari [5]
Players' Player of the Year (Seve Ballesteros Award)   Francesco Molinari [6]
Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year   Shubhankar Sharma [7]
Graduate of the Year   Erik van Rooyen [8]

See also edit

Notes edit

  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.
  3. ^ Sunshine Tour flagship event
  4. ^ a b Also a Rolex Series tournament.
  5. ^ By missing the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai, Rose was not eligible for the bonus pool.

References edit

  1. ^ a b "European Tour reveals changes for 2018 season". Bunkered. 14 November 2017. Retrieved 22 June 2020.
  2. ^ "2018 Tournament schedule". European Tour. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
  3. ^ "Race to Dubai Rankings". European Tour. 18 November 2018. Archived from the original on 24 November 2018. Retrieved 19 April 2023.
  4. ^ Jackson, Keith (18 November 2018). "Francesco Molinari savours winning Race to Dubai in career-best year". Sky Sports. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
  5. ^ "Francesco Molinari named 2018 Hilton European Tour Golfer of the Year". Today's Golfer. 11 December 2018. Retrieved 19 April 2023.
  6. ^ "Irish Open champ Rahm receives Seve Ballesteros Award". Irish Golfer. 20 February 2020. Retrieved 23 April 2023. Ahead of the WGC-Mexico Championship, the 2018 Seve Ballesteros Award winner Francesco Molinari presented Rahm with the trophy...
  7. ^ "Golfer Shubhankar Sharma wins Rookie of the year honours". The Times of India. 18 November 2018. Retrieved 19 April 2023.
  8. ^ "Van Rooyen wins Graduate award". Compleat Golfer. 20 November 2018. Retrieved 30 August 2023.

External links edit