PGA European Tour

The European Tour, currently titled as the DP World Tour for sponsorship reasons, and legally the PGA European Tour or the European Tour Group, is the leading men's professional golf tour in Europe. The organisation also operates the European Senior Tour (for players aged 50 or older) and the developmental Challenge Tour; the second tier of men's professional golf in Europe. The tour's headquarters are at Wentworth Club in Virginia Water, Surrey, England. The European Tour was established by the British-based Professional Golfers' Association (PGA) through the 1970s, and responsibility was transferred to an independent PGA European Tour organisation in 1984.

Most tournaments on the PGA European Tour's three tours are held in Europe, but starting in the 1980s, an increasing number have been held in other parts of the world. In 2015, a majority of the ranking events on the European Tour were held outside Europe, though this included both Majors and World Golf Championship events that are ranking events for multiple tours. Europe-based events are nearly all played in Western Europe, with the most lucrative of them taking place in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, France and Spain.

The PGA European Tour is a golfer-controlled organisation whose primary purpose is to maximise the income of tournament golfers. It is a company limited by guarantee and is run by a professional staff but controlled by its playing members via a board of directors composed of 12 elected past and present tour players and a tournament committee of 14 current players. The Chairman of the Board is Eric Nicoli, who replaced David Williams in 2023. The chairman of the tournament committee is David Howell.

The PGA European Tour is the lead partner in Ryder Cup Europe, a joint venture also including the PGA of Great Britain and Ireland and PGA of Europe that operates the Ryder Cup Matches in cooperation with the PGA of America. The PGA European Tour has a 60% interest in Ryder Cup Europe, with each of its junior partners holding 20%.

In June 2023, it was announced that the PGA Tour, LIV Golf and the European Tour would merge under a single organisation.

History

Professional golf began in Europe, specifically in Scotland. The first professionals were clubmakers and greenkeepers who also taught golf to the wealthy men who could afford to play the game (early handmade equipment was expensive) and played "challenge matches" against one another for purses put up by wealthy backers. The first multi-competitor stroke play tournament was The Open Championship, which was introduced in 1860. Over the following decades, the number of golf tournaments offering prize money increased slowly but steadily. Most were in the United Kingdom, but there were also several "national opens" in various countries of Continental Europe.

In 1901, The Professional Golfers' Association was founded to represent the interests of professional golfers throughout Great Britain and Ireland. It was this body that ultimately created the European Tour. As the tournament circuit grew, in 1937 the Harry Vardon Trophy was created to be awarded to the member of the PGA with the best stroke average in select major stroke play tournaments of the season. This would later become known as the Order of Merit, and at different times has been calculated using stroke average, a points system and money earned. Each year the PGA would determine which tournaments were to be included for the Order of Merit.

By the post-World War II period, prize money was becoming more significant, with sponsors being attracted by the introduction of television coverage, and as such it was becoming more feasible for professional golfers to make a living by playing alone. In the United States, a formal organised tour, which later became known as the PGA Tour, had been administered by the PGA of America since the 1930s. However, even into the 1960s and 1970s, the majority of tournaments in Europe were still organised separately by the host golf club or association, or a commercial promoter.

In 1972, The Professional Golfers' Association created an integrated "European tour" with the inclusion of eight major tournaments in Continental Europe on their Order of Merit schedule. These tournaments were the French Open, which was first included in 1970; the Italian, Spanish, German and Swiss Opens, which were included in 1971; and the Dutch Open, the Madrid Open and the Lancia d'Oro tournament, which were included for the first time. As such, the 1972 season is now officially recognised as the first season of the PGA European Tour. For several years, the British PGA and continental circuits continued to run separately, each with their own Order of Merit. Following the example set in the U.S., and having been threatened with a breakaway, in 1975 the PGA agreed to amend their constitution, giving the tournament side more autonomy with the formation of the Tournament Players Division. In 1977, the Tournament Players Division joined with the Continental Tournament Players Association to become the European Tournament Players Division. The following year, it was agreed with the European Golf Association that the Continental Order of Merit would be discontinued.

In its early years, the season ran for 20 tournaments from April to October, and took place in nine European countries: Spain, England, Ireland, Scotland, France, Switzerland, West Germany, the Netherlands and Italy.

The European Tour has always been sensitive to the risk that its best players will leave to play on the PGA Tour for many reasons. The PGA Tour usually offers higher purses and European players want to increase their chances of glory in the three majors played in the U.S. by playing on more U.S.-style courses to acclimate themselves. In an attempt to counter this phenomenon, the European Tour introduced the "Volvo Bonus Pool" in 1988. This was extra prize money which was distributed at the end of the season to the most successful players of the year—but only golfers who had played in a high number of the European Tour's events could receive a share. This system continued until 1998, after which renewed emphasis was placed on maximising prize money in individual tournaments.

In 1989, the tour visited Asia for the first time for the Dubai Desert Classic. By 1990, there were 38 events on the schedule, including 37 in Europe, and the start of the season had moved up to February. A first visit to East Asia for the Tour occurred at the 1992 Johnnie Walker Classic in Bangkok. This has since proven to be one of the most notable initiatives in the history of the tour, as East Asia is becoming almost its second home. Shortly afterwards, the tour also made its debut in the former Soviet Bloc at the 1994 Czech Open, but much less has come of this development as participation in golf in the former Soviet region remains low and sponsors there are unable to compete financially with their Western European rivals for the limited number of slots available on the main tour each summer. However, the second-tier Challenge Tour has visited Central and Eastern Europe somewhat more frequently. In 1995, the European Tour began a policy of co-sanctioning tournaments with other PGA Tours, by endorsing the South African PGA Championship on the Southern African Tour (now the Sunshine Tour). This policy was extended to the PGA Tour of Australasia in 1996, and to the Asian Tour in 1999, starting with the Malaysian Open.

In 1998, the European Tour added the three U.S. majors – the Masters Tournament, the PGA Championship and the U.S. Open – to its official schedule.

Since the minimum number of events a player must play to retain membership of the European Tour was 11, and Retief Goosen have taken advantage of this to play the PGA and European Tours concurrently. For the 2009 season, the minimum number of events required for members was increased to 12; this coincided with the elevation of the HSBC Champions, previously a European Tour event co-sanctioned by three other tours, to World Golf Championships status. The minimum increased to 13 in 2011, but beginning in 2013, team events such as the Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup were allowed to count towards the minimum. In 2016, the 13-event minimum was changed to five events, not counting the four majors and four WGCs; while this change did not affect players eligible for all the majors and WGCs, it made it easier for players not eligible for these to retain European Tour membership while playing a full PGA Tour schedule. The minimum was reduced from five to four in 2018.

In November 2021, the tour was retitled as the DP World Tour as part of a sponsorship agreement with Dubai-based DP World.

Strategic alliance with the PGA Tour

In November 2020, the tour entered into a "strategic alliance" with the PGA Tour. As part of the agreement, the PGA Tour acquired a 15% stake in European Tour Productions, the Scottish Open gained a new title sponsor and became co-sanctioned by the PGA Tour, and two regular PGA Tour tournaments also became co-sanctioned by the European Tour: the Barbasol Championship and the Barracuda Championship. There was also a new sponsor and increased prize fund for the Irish Open. In June 2022, in response to the emergence of LIV Golf, the tours announced that the PGA Tour were increasing their stake to 40% and further changes to the tour, including increased prize funds and leading players in the DP World Tour Rankings gaining PGA Tour cards for the following season.

Status and prize money

The European Tour is considered the second most important tour in men's golf, behind the U.S.-based PGA Tour, but it retains significantly higher standing than other leading golf tours around the world. This status is reflected by the minimum world ranking points available in each tours respective tournaments, and prize money available. The total prize money available on the European Tour is approximately half that of the PGA Tour. However, this includes the majors and World Golf Championships, which are the most lucrative on the schedule, so the difference for regular tournaments is substantially higher. There is also much more variation in prize funds between tournaments on the European Tour than on the PGA Tour. Even though the prize funds of many European Tour events have increased rapidly since the late 1990s, especially with the introduction of the Race to Dubai and the Rolex Series, on occasion the European Tour has failed to attract as many leading players to its events as in the past, with even some of the top European players staying away.

For many players, the European Tour is seen as a stepping-stone to the PGA Tour. During the late 20th century, the European Tour was traditionally the first overseas move for outstanding players from non-European countries, particularly in the Commonwealth, and a major source for elite golfers, such as Greg Norman, Nick Price and Ernie Els. These players tended to move to the PGA Tour as a second step. When Continental Europe produced its first global golf stars in the 1970s, such as Seve Ballesteros, and especially when Europe began to notch wins over the U.S. in the Ryder Cup in the mid-1980s, there was widespread optimism about the future standing of the European Tour relative to the PGA Tour. This has ebbed away as leading players continued to base themselves in the U.S. and several major European countries, such as Germany and Italy, have not regularly produced high-ranked golfers, as was formerly anticipated. Nonetheless, the number of European countries which have produced winners on the European Tour and PGA Tour has increased, with notable golfing depth developing in the Scandinavian countries.

However, since the late-1990s, more young golfers from around the world are starting their careers directly in the U.S., often having attended college as amateurs, usually with golf scholarships, before turning professional. Conversely, some young American players have sought to kick-start their professional careers in Europe, having failed to qualify for either PGA Tour or its development tour. For example, former world number one amateur, Peter Uihlein, announced in December 2011 that he would not return for his final semester at Oklahoma State University and would begin professional play in Europe the following month, both through sponsor's exemptions on the main European Tour and on the developmental Challenge Tour. It is a route that has been successfully followed, most notably by multiple major winner Brooks Koepka. the season has actually started late in the previous calendar year, but the seasons are still named by calendar year, rather than for example 2005–06, which would reflect the actual span of play. All of the events up until late March take place outside Europe, with most of these being co-sanctioned with other tours. From then on, the tour plays mainly in Europe, and the events in its home continent generally have higher prize money than those held elsewhere, excluding the major championships, which were added to the tour schedule in 1998; and quite often change name, particularly when they get a new sponsor, (originally $10 million) distributed among the top 15 players at the end of the season, with the winner taking $1.5 million The reduction in prize money, announced in September 2009, The bonus pool was increased to $5 million in 2014 with the top 15 players earning part of the pool. 2019 saw further changes: in 2018, the top 10 finishers on the Race to Dubai shared the bonus pool of $5 million, but as of 2019, the sum was split between only the leading five finishers. Whoever topped the standings received an additional $2 million compared with the $1.25 million won by Francesco Molinari in 2018. In addition, the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai was cut to the top 50 golfers on the Race to Dubai list, the prize fund was kept at $8 million, but the winner's share was increased to $3 million. This was designed to increase interest and player participation in the event.

In November 2021, the Race to Dubai was renamed the DP World Tour Rankings in line with the tour being retitled as the DP World Tour. However, in November 2022, the tour announced that the Rankings would be reverted to the Race to Dubai, starting from the 2023 season.

As of November 2025, the players with the most Race to Dubai/Order of Merit victories, dating back to the European Tour’s beginning in 1972, included Colin Montgomerie with eight wins, Rory McIlroy with seven wins, and Seve Ballesteros with six wins.

Rolex Series

For the 2017 season, the European Tour launched the Rolex Series, a series of events with higher prize funds than regular tour events, to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the partnership between Rolex and the Tour. The series began with eight events, each with a minimum prize fund of $7 million. As of 2025, the Rolex Series consists of five events, each with a purse of $9 million (except for the DP World Tour Championship with $10 million).

In January 2026, the DP World Tour and Rolex announced a "long-term extension of their long-running partnership", with the later continuing its role as the official timekeeper of the tour, which it has done sine 1997.

Awards

Golfer of the Year

The European Tour Golfer of the Year was an award handed out by a panel comprising members of the Association of Golf Writers (AGW) and commentators from television and radio. The award was created in 1985 and lasted until 2020, when it merged with the Players' Player of the Year award in 2021. From 2021 onwards, the Seve Ballesteros Award merged with the Golfer of the Year award, creating one singular honour voted for by the players.

Rookie of the Year

The Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year award is named after the English three-time Open Champion Sir Henry Cotton. Originally chosen by Henry Cotton himself, the winner was later selected by a panel consisting of the PGA European Tour, The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews, and the Association of Golf Writers. It is currently given to the rookie who places highest in the Race to Dubai. The award was first presented in 1960, and thus predates the official start of the tour in 1972. There were five years (1962, 1964, 1965, 1967, and 1975) in which the Rookie of the Year Award was not given.

Graduate of the Year

The European Challenge Tour Graduate of the Year was inaugurated in 2013 and is awarded to the highest ranked player in the Race to Dubai who graduated from the Challenge Tour in the previous season.

Winners

{| class="wikitable"

!Year!!colspan=2|Player of the Year!!Rookie of the Year!!Graduate of the Year

| align=center|2025 || colspan=2| Marco Penge || Martin Couvra || rowspan=2 align=center|No award

| align=center|2024 || colspan=2| Rory McIlroy (4) || Jesper Svensson

| align=center|2023 || colspan=2| Adrian Meronk || Ryo Hisatsune || Daniel Hillier

| align=center|2022 || colspan=2| Ryan Fox || Thriston Lawrence || rowspan=2 align=center|No award

|align=center|2021 || colspan=2| Jon Rahm (2) || Matti Schmid

!Year!!Golfer of the Year!!Players' Player of the Year!!Rookie of the Year!!Graduate of the Year

|align=center|2020 || Lee Westwood (4) || Lee Westwood (2)|| Sami Välimäki || Antoine Rozner

|align=center|2019 || Jon Rahm || Jon Rahm|| Robert MacIntyre || Robert MacIntyre

|align=center|2018 || Francesco Molinari || Francesco Molinari|| Shubhankar Sharma || Erik van Rooyen

|align=center|2017 || Sergio García || Tommy Fleetwood|| Jon Rahm || Dylan Frittelli

|align=center|2016 || Henrik Stenson (2) || Henrik Stenson (2)|| Wang Jeung-hun || Nacho Elvira

|align=center|2015 || Rory McIlroy (3) || Rory McIlroy (3)|| An Byeong-hun || An Byeong-hun

|align=center|2014 || Rory McIlroy (2) || Rory McIlroy (2)|| Brooks Koepka || Brooks Koepka

|align=center|2013 || Henrik Stenson || Henrik Stenson|| Peter Uihlein || Justin Walters

|align=center|2012 || Rory McIlroy || Rory McIlroy|| Ricardo Santos || rowspan=53 align=center|No award

|align=center|2011 || Luke Donald || Luke Donald|| Tom Lewis

|align=center|2010 || Martin Kaymer and<br /> Graeme McDowell (shared) || Martin Kaymer|| Matteo Manassero

|align=center|2009 || Lee Westwood (3) || Lee Westwood|| Chris Wood

|align=center|2008 || Pádraig Harrington (2) || Pádraig Harrington|| Pablo Larrazábal

|align=center|2007 || Pádraig Harrington || rowspan=48 align=center|No award || Martin Kaymer

|align=center|2006 || Paul Casey || Marc Warren

|align=center|2005 || Michael Campbell || Gonzalo Fernández-Castaño

|align=center|2004 || Vijay Singh || Scott Drummond

|align=center|2003 || Ernie Els (3) || Peter Lawrie

|align=center|2002 || Ernie Els (2) || Nick Dougherty

|align=center|2001 || Retief Goosen || Paul Casey

|align=center|2000 || Lee Westwood (2) || Ian Poulter

|align=center|1999 || Colin Montgomerie (4) || Sergio García

|align=center|1998 || Lee Westwood || Olivier Edmond

|align=center|1997 || Colin Montgomerie (3) || Scott Henderson

|align=center|1996 || Colin Montgomerie (2) || Thomas Bjørn

|align=center|1995 || Colin Montgomerie || Jarmo Sandelin

|align=center|1994 || Ernie Els || Jonathan Lomas

|align=center|1993 || Bernhard Langer (2) || Gary Orr

|align=center|1992 || Nick Faldo (3) || Jim Payne

|align=center|1991 || Seve Ballesteros (3) || Per-Ulrik Johansson

|align=center|1990 || Nick Faldo (2) || Russell Claydon

|align=center|1989 || Nick Faldo || Paul Broadhurst

|align=center|1988 || Seve Ballesteros (2) || Colin Montgomerie

|align=center|1987 || Ian Woosnam || Peter Baker

|align=center|1986 || Seve Ballesteros || José María Olazábal

|align=center|1985 || Bernhard Langer || Paul Thomas

|align=center|1984 || rowspan=25 align=center|No award || Philip Parkin

|align=center|1983 || Grant Turner

|align=center|1982 || Gordon Brand Jnr

|align=center|1981 || Jeremy Bennett

|align=center|1980 || Paul Hoad

|align=center|1979 || Mike Miller

|align=center|1978 || Sandy Lyle

|align=center|1977 || Nick Faldo

|align=center|1976 || Mark James

|align=center|1975 || align=center|No award

|align=center|1974 || Carl Mason

|align=center|1973 || Pip Elson

|align=center|1972 || Sam Torrance

|align=center|1971 || David Llewellyn

|align=center|1970 || Stuart Brown

|align=center|1969 || Peter Oosterhuis

|align=center|1968 || Bernard Gallacher

|align=center|1967 || align=center|No award

|align=center|1966 || Robin Liddle

|align=center|1965 || align=center rowspan=2|No award

|align=center|1964

|align=center|1963 || Tony Jacklin

|align=center|1962 || align=center|No award

|align=center|1961 || Alex Caygill

|align=center|1960 || Tommy Goodwin

Chief Executives

Since the tour's formation in 1972, there have been five Chief Executives. They are as follows:

John Jacobs (1972–1975)
Ken Schofield (1975–2004)
George O'Grady (2005–2015)
Keith Pelley (2015–2024)
Guy Kinnings (2024–present)

Television

France: Canal+ Sport
Germany: Sky Deutschland
Italy: Sky Italia
Portugal: Sport TV
Spain: Movistar Golf
United Kingdom and Ireland: Sky Sports
Americas: Golf Channel
Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia: Golf Channel
Balkans: Sportklub
Middle East and North Africa: Golflife
Sub-Saharan Africa: SuperSport
China: CCTV
Japan: U-NEXT
Korea: JTBC Golf
India: Sony TEN
Thailandia, Malaysia: Golf Channel
Singapore: StarHub
Hong Kong: Now Sports
Scandinavia: Viasat Golf
Vietnam: VTVCab
Australia: Fox Sports
New Zealand: Sky Sport NZ