2012 European Tour season
Duration5 January 2012 (2012-01-05) – 25 November 2012 (2012-11-25)
Number of official events45[a]
Most winsSouth Africa Branden Grace (4)
Race to DubaiNorthern Ireland Rory McIlroy
Golfer of the YearNorthern Ireland Rory McIlroy
Players' Player of the YearNorthern Ireland Rory McIlroy
Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the YearPortugal Ricardo Santos
← 2011
2013 →

The 2012 European Tour was the 41st season of the European Tour, the main professional golf tour in Europe since its inaugural season in 1972.

Changes for 2012

Prior to the start of the 2011 season, the tour had announced their intention to realign the schedule with the calendar.[1] As a result, in 2012 there were several changes from the previous season. There was initially one new tournament in 2012, the ISPS Handa Perth International, and several tournaments were dropped: the Castelló Masters, the Iskandar Johor Open, and the Alfred Dunhill Championship,[2] which was played in December as part of the 2013 season.

During the season, the BMW Masters in China was added to the schedule,[3] the Czech Open was cancelled,[4] and three tournaments in Spain were also cancelled: the Iberdrola Open,[5] the Madrid Masters,[6] and the Andalucía Masters.[7]

Schedule

The following table lists official events during the 2012 season.[8]

Date Tournament Host country Purse Winner[b] OWGR
points 		Other
tours[c] 		Notes
8 Jan Africa Open South Africa €1,000,000 South Africa Louis Oosthuizen (4) 20 AFR
15 Jan Joburg Open South Africa €1,300,000 South Africa Branden Grace (1) 22 AFR
22 Jan Volvo Golf Champions South Africa €2,000,000 South Africa Branden Grace (2) 32 Limited-field event
29 Jan Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship UAE US$2,700,000 England Robert Rock (2) 58
5 Feb Commercialbank Qatar Masters Qatar US$2,500,000 Scotland Paul Lawrie (7) 48
12 Feb Omega Dubai Desert Classic UAE US$2,500,000 Spain Rafa Cabrera-Bello (2) 48
19 Feb Avantha Masters India €1,800,000 South Africa Jbe' Kruger (1) 20 ASA
26 Feb WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship United States US$8,500,000 United States Hunter Mahan (n/a) 76 World Golf Championship
11 Mar WGC-Cadillac Championship United States US$8,500,000 England Justin Rose (5) 78 World Golf Championship
18 Mar Open de Andalucía Costa del Sol Spain €1,000,000 France Julien Quesne (1) 24
25 Mar Trophée Hassan II Morocco €1,500,000 Northern Ireland Michael Hoey (4) 24
1 Apr Sicilian Open Italy €1,000,000 Denmark Thorbjørn Olesen (1) 24
8 Apr Masters Tournament United States US$8,000,000 United States Bubba Watson (n/a) 100 Major championship
15 Apr Maybank Malaysian Open Malaysia US$2,500,000 South Africa Louis Oosthuizen (5) 36 ASA
22 Apr Volvo China Open China CN¥20,000,000 South Africa Branden Grace (3) 32 ONE
29 Apr Ballantine's Championship South Korea €2,205,000 Austria Bernd Wiesberger (1) 32 ASA, KOR
6 May Reale Seguros Open de España Spain €2,000,000 Italy Francesco Molinari (3) 30
13 May Iberdrola Open Spain – Cancelled –
13 May Madeira Islands Open - Portugal Portugal €675,000 Portugal Ricardo Santos (1) 18 CHA
20 May Volvo World Match Play Championship Spain €2,750,000 Belgium Nicolas Colsaerts (2) 34 Limited-field event
27 May BMW PGA Championship England €4,500,000 England Luke Donald (7) 64 Flagship event
3 Jun ISPS Handa Wales Open Wales £1,800,000 Thailand Thongchai Jaidee (5) 28
9 Jun Nordea Masters Sweden €1,500,000 England Lee Westwood (22) 26
17 Jun Saint-Omer Open France €500,000 South Africa Darren Fichardt (3) 18 CHA
17 Jun U.S. Open United States US$8,000,000 United States Webb Simpson (n/a) 100 Major championship
24 Jun BMW International Open Germany €2,000,000 England Danny Willett (1) 30
1 Jul Irish Open Northern Ireland €2,000,000 Wales Jamie Donaldson (1) 38
8 Jul Alstom Open de France France €3,000,000 Germany Marcel Siem (2) 46
15 Jul Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open Scotland £2,500,000 India Jeev Milkha Singh (4) 48
22 Jul The Open Championship England £5,000,000 South Africa Ernie Els (27) 100 Major championship
28 Jul Lyoness Open Austria €1,000,000 Austria Bernd Wiesberger (2) 24
5 Aug WGC-Bridgestone Invitational United States US$8,500,000 United States Keegan Bradley (n/a) 76 World Golf Championship
12 Aug PGA Championship United States US$8,000,000 Northern Ireland Rory McIlroy (4) 100 Major championship
19 Aug Czech Open Czech Republic – Cancelled –
26 Aug Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles Scotland £1,400,000 Scotland Paul Lawrie (8) 30
2 Sep Omega European Masters Switzerland €2,100,000 Scotland Richie Ramsay (2) 32 ASA
9 Sep KLM Open Netherlands €1,800,000 Sweden Peter Hanson (5) 30
16 Sep BMW Italian Open Italy €1,500,000 Spain Gonzalo Fernández-Castaño (6) 28
23 Sep Madrid Masters Spain – Cancelled –
7 Oct Alfred Dunhill Links Championship Scotland US$5,000,000 South Africa Branden Grace (4) 46 Pro-Am
14 Oct Portugal Masters Portugal €2,200,000 Republic of Ireland Shane Lowry (2) 34
21 Oct Andalucía Masters Spain – Cancelled –
21 Oct ISPS Handa Perth International Australia US$2,000,000 United States Bo Van Pelt (n/a) 22 ANZ New tournament
28 Oct BMW Masters China US$7,000,000 Sweden Peter Hanson (6) 56 New to European Tour
Limited-field event
4 Nov WGC-HSBC Champions China US$7,000,000 England Ian Poulter (12) 64 World Golf Championship
11 Nov Barclays Singapore Open Singapore US$6,000,000 Italy Matteo Manassero (3) 48 ASA
18 Nov UBS Hong Kong Open Hong Kong US$2,750,000 Spain Miguel Ángel Jiménez (19) 32 ASA
18 Nov SA Open Championship South Africa €1,000,000 Sweden Henrik Stenson (7) 32 AFR[d]
25 Nov DP World Tour Championship, Dubai UAE US$8,000,000 Northern Ireland Rory McIlroy (5) 58 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
30 Sep Ryder Cup United States n/a Team Europe n/a Team event

Location of tournaments

Race to Dubai

The Race to Dubai was based on prize money won during the season, calculated in Euros.[9][10][11][12]

Pos. Player Majors WGCs Principal events Top 10s in other ET events Tmts Money
Mas USO Opn PGA WGC
MP 		WGC
Cad 		WGC
Inv 		WGC
Cha 		BMW
PGA 		DPW
TC 		1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Reg.
(€) 		Bon.
($) 		Total
(€)
1 Northern Ireland McIlroy T40 CUT T60 1st 2nd 3rd T5 • CUT 1st 2nd T5 T10 2nd 3rd 15 4,738,027 1,000,000 5,519,118
2 England Rose T8 T21 CUT T3 T33 1st T5 T24 T2 2nd T9 T9 T6 13 3,260,635 650,000 3,768,345
3 South Africa Oosthuizen 2nd CUT T19 T21 T17 T60 4th T6 • 5th 1st T7 1st T6 16 2,796,819 500,000 3,187,364
4 Sweden Hanson T3 CUT T23 T7 T5 T4 T63 T24 CUT T16 T2 T3 1st 1st 21 2,730,006 375,000 3,022,916
5 England Poulter 7th T41 T9 T3 T33 T60 T29 1st T10 T26 T9 T4 4th 15 2,327,402 325,000 2,581,257
6 South Africa Grace • T51 T77 CUT • T35 T36 T62 5th 6th 1st 1st 1st 1st 26 2,287,701 275,000 2,502,501
7 England Donald T32 CUT T5 T32 T33 T6 T8 T18 1st T3 3rd 13 2,197,794 225,000 2,373,540
8 Italy F. Molinari T19 T29 T39 T54 T17 T13 T40 T39 T7 T34 T8 T6 1st 2nd 2nd T6 T5 25 2,078,538 175,000 2,215,229
9 Northern Ireland McDowell T12 T2 T5 T11 T33 T13 T24 T42 CUT T52 T3 2nd 16 1,847,420 125,000 1,945,056
10 Scotland Lawrie T24 • T34 T48 T9 T60 T50 T36 T2 T48 T10 T8 1st T3 1st T6 T10 25 1,832,272 100,000 1,910,381
  Win
  Top 10
  Made cut
  Missed cut
• Did not play

Awards

Award Winner Ref.
Golfer of the Year Northern Ireland Rory McIlroy [13]
Players' Player of the Year Northern Ireland Rory McIlroy [14]
Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year Portugal Ricardo Santos [15]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ A further four tournaments were scheduled but were cancelled.
  2. ^ 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 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.
  3. ^ AFR − Sunshine Tour; ANZ − PGA Tour of Australasia; ASA − Asian Tour; CHA − Challenge Tour; KOR − Korean Tour; ONE − OneAsia Tour.
  4. ^ Sunshine Tour flagship event

References

  1. ^ "European Tour unveils 2011 Race to Dubai schedule". BBC Sport. 28 November 2010. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
  2. ^ "European Tour releases complete 2012 schedule". Golf Channel. 19 December 2011. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
  3. ^ "European Tour adds BMW Masters in Shanghai to schedule". BBC Sport. 23 April 2012. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
  4. ^ "Czech Open canceled for 2012". Golf Channel. 18 May 2012. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
  5. ^ "Lacking a sponsor, Iberdrola Open cancels". Golfweek. 20 March 2012. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
  6. ^ "Madrid Open wiped from calendar". ESPN. Associated Press. 10 July 2012. Retrieved 10 July 2012.
  7. ^ "Andalucia Masters canceled". ESPN. Associated Press. 12 September 2012. Retrieved 13 September 2012.
  8. ^ "2012 Tournament schedule". European Tour. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
  9. ^ "Race to Dubai bonus pool slashed in half for 2012". Golf Channel. 5 January 2012. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
  10. ^ "European Race to Dubai". European Tour. 25 November 2012. Archived from the original on 1 December 2012. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
  11. ^ "The final 2012 Race to Dubai Ranking". Worldwide Golf. No. 142. Worldwide Sporting Publications. December 2012. p. 14. Retrieved 10 February 2021 – via Issuu.
  12. ^ "Rory McIlroy wins DP World Tour Championship in Dubai". BBC Sport. 25 November 2012. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
  13. ^ "Rory McIlroy named European Tour golfer of the year". BBC Sport. 18 December 2012. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
  14. ^ "Celebrations at the Players' Awards dinner". European Tour. 22 May 2013. Retrieved 23 April 2023. The highest honour of the Players' Player of the Year award went to Rory McIlroy as his peers recognised his phenomenal achievements of winning US PGA Championship, topping both the US PGA Tour Money List and The Race to Dubai and reigning supreme as World Number One.
  15. ^ "Ricardo Santos named European Tour Rookie of the Year". Sky Sports. 28 November 2012. Retrieved 22 April 2023.

External links

European Tour seasons
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