The 2008 European Tour was the 37th season of the European Tour, the main professional golf tour in Europe since its inaugural season in 1972.
Changes for 2008 There were four new tournaments, the Emaar-MGF Indian Masters, the Ballantine's Championship in South Korea, and in Spain the Madrid Masters and the Castelló Masters Costa Azahar. Lost from the tour schedule were the Singapore Masters, the TCL Classic, the Deutsche Bank Players Championship of Europe, the Madrid Open and the Mallorca Classic. The World Match Play Championship was originally scheduled, but was not held; it returned in 2009 with a new sponsor and venue.
Schedule The following table lists official events during the 2008 season.
DateTournamentHost countryPurseWinnerOWGRpointsOthertoursNotes11 NovHSBC ChampionsChinaUS$5,000,000 Phil Mickelson (n/a)52AFR, ANZ, ASALimited-field event18 NovUBS Hong Kong OpenHong KongUS$2,250,000 Miguel Ángel Jiménez (14)36ASA25 NovMasterCard MastersAustraliaA$1,500,000 Aaron Baddeley (n/a)24ANZ2 DecMichael Hill New Zealand OpenNew ZealandNZ$1,500,000 Richard Finch (1)20ANZ9 DecAlfred Dunhill ChampionshipSouth Africa€1,000,000 John Bickerton (3)22AFR16 DecSouth African Airways OpenSouth Africa€1,000,000 James Kingston (1)32AFR13 JanJoburg OpenSouth Africa€1,100,000 Richard Sterne (3)20AFR20 JanAbu Dhabi Golf ChampionshipUAEUS$2,000,000 Martin Kaymer (1)4427 JanCommercialbank Qatar MastersQatarUS$2,500,000 Adam Scott (6)463 FebDubai Desert ClassicUAEUS$2,500,000 Tiger Woods (n/a)5010 FebEmaar-MGF Indian MastersIndiaUS$2,500,000 Shiv Chawrasia (1)26ASANew tournament17 FebSingapore MastersSingapore–Cancelled–ASA17 FebEnjoy Jakarta Astro Indonesia OpenIndonesiaUS$1,200,000 Felipe Aguilar (1)20ASA24 FebWGC-Accenture Match Play ChampionshipUnited StatesUS$8,000,000 Tiger Woods (n/a)76World Golf Championship 2 MarJohnnie Walker ClassicIndia£1,250,000 Mark Brown (1)38ANZ, ASA9 MarMaybank Malaysian OpenMalaysiaUS$2,000,000 Arjun Atwal (3)24ASA16 MarBallantine's ChampionshipSouth Korea€2,000,000 Graeme McDowell (3)28ASA, KORNew tournament23 MarMadeira Islands Open BPI - PortugalPortugal€700,000 Alastair Forsyth (2)2423 MarWGC-CA ChampionshipUnited StatesUS$8,000,000 Geoff Ogilvy (3)76World Golf Championship30 MarMAPFRE Open de AndaluciaSpain€1,000,000 Thomas Levet (4)246 AprEstoril Open de PortugalPortugal€1,250,000 Grégory Bourdy (2)2413 AprMasters TournamentUnited StatesUS$7,500,000 Trevor Immelman (4)100Major championship20 AprVolvo China OpenChinaUS$2,200,000 Damien McGrane (1)20ASA27 AprBMW Asian OpenChinaUS$2,300,000 Darren Clarke (11)32ASA4 MayOpen de EspañaSpain€2,000,000 Peter Lawrie (1)24 11 MayMethorios Capital Italian OpenItaly€1,700,000 Hennie Otto (1)2418 MayIrish OpenIreland€2,500,000 Richard Finch (2)28 25 MayBMW PGA ChampionshipEngland€4,500,000 Miguel Ángel Jiménez (15)64Flagship event1 JunCeltic Manor Wales OpenWales£1,800,000 Scott Strange (1)368 JunBank Austria GolfOpenAustria€1,300,000 Jeev Milkha Singh (3)2415 JunU.S. OpenUnited StatesUS$7,500,000 Tiger Woods (n/a)100Major championship15 JunSaint-Omer OpenFrance€600,000 David Dixon (1)18CHA22 JunBMW International OpenGermany€2,000,000 Martin Kaymer (2)30 29 JunOpen de France AlstomFrance€4,000,000 Pablo Larrazábal (1)386 JulEuropean OpenEngland£2,400,000 Ross Fisher (2)4013 JulBarclays Scottish OpenScotland£3,000,000 Graeme McDowell (4)5020 JulThe Open ChampionshipEngland£4,200,000 Pádraig Harrington (13)100Major championship27 JulInteco Russian Open Golf ChampionshipRussiaUS$2,000,000 Mikael Lundberg (2)243 AugWGC-Bridgestone InvitationalUnited StatesUS$8,000,000 Vijay Singh (13)74World Golf Championship10 AugPGA ChampionshipUnited StatesUS$7,500,000 Pádraig Harrington (14)100Major championship17 AugSAS MastersSweden€1,600,000 Peter Hanson (2)2424 AugKLM OpenNetherlands€1,800,000 Darren Clarke (12)30 31 AugJohnnie Walker Championship at GleneaglesScotland£1,400,000 Grégory Havret (3)327 SepOmega European MastersSwitzerland€2,000,000 Jean-François Lucquin (1)2414 SepMercedes-Benz ChampionshipGermany€2,000,000 Robert Karlsson (8)34Limited-field event28 SepQuinn Insurance British MastersEngland£1,800,000 Gonzalo Fernández-Castaño (4)305 OctAlfred Dunhill Links ChampionshipScotlandUS$5,000,000 Robert Karlsson (9)50Pro-Am12 OctWorld Match Play ChampionshipEngland–Cancelled–12 OctMadrid MastersSpain€1,000,000 Charl Schwartzel (3)24New tournament19 OctPortugal MastersPortugal€3,000,000 Álvaro Quirós (2)3826 OctCastelló Masters Costa AzaharSpain€2,000,000 Sergio García (7)38New tournament2 NovVolvo MastersSpain€4,250,000 Søren Kjeldsen (2)50Tour Championship
Unofficial events The following events were sanctioned by the European Tour, but did not carry official money, nor were wins official.
DateTournamentHost countryPurseWinnersOWGRpointsNotes21 SepRyder CupUnited Statesn/a Team USAn/aTeam event30 NovOmega Mission Hills World CupChinaUS$5,500,000 Robert Karlsson and Henrik Stensonn/aTeam event
Location of tournaments
Order of Merit The Order of Merit was based on prize money won during the season, calculated in Euros.
Position Player Prize money (€)1 Robert Karlsson 2,732,7482 Pádraig Harrington 2,459,1093 Lee Westwood 2,424,6424 Miguel Ángel Jiménez 2,066,5965 Graeme McDowell 1,859,3466 Ross Fisher 1,836,5307 Henrik Stenson 1,798,6178 Martin Kaymer 1,794,5009 Sergio García 1,591,91710 Søren Kjeldsen 1,440,979
Awards AwardWinner Golfer of the Year Pádraig Harrington Players' Player of the Year Pádraig Harrington Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year Pablo Larrazábal
See also 2008 in golf 2008 European Seniors Tour
Notes
References
External links