The 1998 European Tour, titled as the 1998 PGA European Tour, was the 27th season of the European Tour, the main professional golf tour in Europe since its inaugural season in 1972.
Changes for 1998 For the first time the schedule included the Masters Tournament, U.S. Open and PGA Championship, although winnings did not count towards the Order of Merit. There were several changes from the previous season with the addition of the Qatar Masters, the return of the Belgian Open and the loss of the Dimension Data Pro-Am.
In March, the Chemapol Trophy Czech Open was cancelled in the wake of severe floods across the country in July 1997; it was later replaced on the schedule by the German Open. In July, the tour announced the cancellation of the Oki Pro-Am.
Schedule The following table lists official events during the 1998 season.
DateTournamentHost countryPurse(£)WinnerOWGRpointsOthertoursNotes25 JanJohnnie Walker ClassicThailand750,000 Tiger Woods (n/a)40ANZ1 FebHeineken ClassicAustraliaA$1,200,000 Thomas Bjørn (2)34ANZ8 FebSouth African OpenSouth Africa450,000 Ernie Els (6)30AFR15 FebAlfred Dunhill South African PGA ChampionshipSouth Africa400,000 Tony Johnstone (5)36AFR1 MarDubai Desert ClassicUAEUS$1,300,000 José María Olazábal (18)428 MarQatar MastersQatarUS$1,000,000 Andrew Coltart (1)30New tournament15 MarMoroccan OpenMorocco350,000 Stephen Leaney (1)2022 MarPortuguese OpenPortugal350,000 Peter Mitchell (3)2012 AprMasters TournamentUnited StatesUS$3,200,000 Mark O'Meara (n/a)100Major championship19 AprCannes OpenFrance300,000 Thomas Levet (1)2026 AprPeugeot Open de EspañaSpain550,000 Thomas Bjørn (3)283 MayItalian OpenItaly500,000 Patrik Sjöland (1)2210 MayTurespaña Masters Open BalearesSpain350,000 Miguel Ángel Jiménez (3)2017 MayBenson & Hedges International OpenEngland750,000 Darren Clarke (3)3625 MayVolvo PGA ChampionshipEngland1,200,000 Colin Montgomerie (15)64Flagship event1 JunDeutsche Bank - SAP Open TPC of EuropeGermany1,100,000 Lee Westwood (3)427 JunNational Car Rental English OpenEngland650,000 Lee Westwood (4)3414 JunCompaq European Grand PrixEngland–Abandoned–21 JunMadeira Island OpenPortugal300,000 Mats Lanner (3)2021 JunU.S. OpenUnited StatesUS$3,000,000 Lee Janzen (n/a)100Major championship28 JunPeugeot Open de FranceFrance500,000 Sam Torrance (21)225 JulMurphy's Irish OpenIreland1,000,000 David Carter (1)3811 JulStandard Life Loch LomondScotland850,000 Lee Westwood (5)4219 JulThe Open ChampionshipEngland1,700,000 Mark O'Meara (n/a)100Major championship26 JulTNT Dutch OpenNetherlands800,000 Stephen Leaney (2)362 AugVolvo Scandinavian MastersSweden800,000 Jesper Parnevik (4)349 AugChemapol Trophy Czech OpenCzech Republic–Cancelled–9 AugGerman OpenGermany700,000 Stephen Allan (1)2016 AugPGA ChampionshipUnited StatesUS$3,000,000 Vijay Singh (8)100Major championship23 AugSmurfit European OpenIreland1,200,000 Mathias Grönberg (2)3830 AugBMW International OpenGermany850,000 Russell Claydon (1)326 SepCanon European MastersSwitzerland800,000 Sven Strüver (3)3413 SepOne 2 One British MastersEngland750,000 Colin Montgomerie (16)3420 SepTrophée LancômeFrance800,000 Miguel Ángel Jiménez (4)4427 SepLinde German MastersGermany1,000,000 Colin Montgomerie (17)404 OctBelgacom OpenBelgium400,000 Lee Westwood (6)2225 OctOki Pro-AmSpain–Cancelled–1 NovVolvo MastersSpain1,000,000 Darren Clarke (4)42Tour Championship
Unofficial events The following events were sanctioned by the European Tour, but did not carry official money, nor were wins official.
DateTournamentHost countryPurse(£)Winner(s)OWGRpointsNotes11 OctAlfred Dunhill CupScotland1,000,000 Team South African/aTeam event18 OctCisco World Match Play ChampionshipEngland650,000 Mark O'Meara44Limited-field event18 OctOpen Novotel PerrierFrance350,000 Olle Karlsson and Jarmo Sandelinn/aTeam event8 NovSubaru Sarazen World OpenUnited StatesUS$2,000,000 Dudley Hart3822 NovWorld Cup of GolfNew ZealandUS$1,300,000 David Carter and Nick Faldon/aTeam eventWorld Cup of Golf Individual TrophyUS$200,000 Scott Verplankn/a
Order of Merit The Order of Merit was titled as the Volvo Order of Merit and was based on prize money won during the season, calculated in Pound sterling.
Position Player Prize money (£)1 Colin Montgomerie 993,0772 Darren Clarke 902,8673 Lee Westwood 814,3864 Miguel Ángel Jiménez 518,8195 Patrik Sjöland 500,1376 Thomas Bjørn 470,7987 José María Olazábal 449,1328 Ernie Els 433,8849 Andrew Coltart 388,81610 Mathias Grönberg 358,779
Awards AwardWinner Golfer of the Year Lee Westwood Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year Olivier Edmond
See also 1998 Challenge Tour 1998 European Seniors Tour
Notes
References
External links