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2015 European Tour

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2015 European Tour season
Duration4 December 2014 (2014-12-04) – 22 November 2015 (2015-11-22)
Number of official events48
Most winsNorthern Ireland Rory McIlroy (3)
England Andy Sullivan (3)
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 YearSouth Korea An Byeong-hun
Graduate of the YearSouth Korea An Byeong-hun
← 2014
2016 →

The 2015 European Tour was the 44th season of the European Tour, the main professional golf tour in Europe since its inaugural season in 1972.

Changes for 2015

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There were many changes from the previous season. There were six additions to the schedule, made up of four new tournaments: the True Thailand Classic, the Shenzhen International, the Saltire Energy Paul Lawrie Match Play, and the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open; the Hero Indian Open, which was co-sanctioned by the European Tour for the first time; and the return of the European Open, which was last played in 2009.[1]

Seven events were lost from the schedule: the Volvo World Match Play Championship and Volvo Golf Champions, as a result of Volvo reducing their sponsorship commitments;[2] the Nelson Mandela Championship; the NH Collection Open; The Championship at Laguna National; the Wales Open, as a 15-year deal with Celtic Manor Resort came to an end;[3] and the Perth International, which wasn't played in 2015 due to rescheduling from October to February.

In March, the tour confirmed that the British Masters, last held in 2008, was also being revived and added to the schedule.[4] Later in the month, the Madeira Islands Open was cancelled due to persistent heavy rain; it was later rescheduled to the end of July, opposite the Saltire Energy Paul Lawrie Match Play.[5]

Schedule

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The following table lists official events during the 2015 season.[6]

Date Tournament Host country Purse Winner[a] OWGR
points 		Other
tours[b] 		Notes
7 Dec Nedbank Golf Challenge South Africa US$6,500,000 England Danny Willett (2) 38 AFR Limited-field event
14 Dec Alfred Dunhill Championship South Africa €1,500,000 South Africa Branden Grace (5) 22 AFR
11 Jan South African Open Championship South Africa R14,000,000 England Andy Sullivan (1) 32 AFR[c]
18 Jan Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship UAE US$2,700,000 France Gary Stal (1) 50
24 Jan Commercial Bank Qatar Masters Qatar US$2,500,000 South Africa Branden Grace (6) 42
1 Feb Omega Dubai Desert Classic UAE US$2,650,000 Northern Ireland Rory McIlroy (10) 50
8 Feb Maybank Malaysian Open Malaysia US$3,000,000 India Anirban Lahiri (1) 38 ASA
15 Feb True Thailand Classic Thailand US$2,000,000 Australia Andrew Dodt (2) 28 ASA New tournament
22 Feb Hero Indian Open India US$1,500,000 India Anirban Lahiri (2) 19 ASA New to European Tour
1 Mar Joburg Open South Africa €1,300,000 England Andy Sullivan (2) 19 AFR
8 Mar Africa Open South Africa R14,500,000 South Africa Trevor Fisher Jnr (1) 19 AFR
8 Mar WGC-Cadillac Championship United States US$9,250,000 United States Dustin Johnson (n/a) 76 World Golf Championship
15 Mar Tshwane Open South Africa R18,500,000 South Africa George Coetzee (2) 19 AFR
29 Mar Trophée Hassan II Morocco €1,500,000 Scotland Richie Ramsay (3) 24
12 Apr Masters Tournament United States US$10,000,000 United States Jordan Spieth (n/a) 100 Major championship
19 Apr Shenzhen International China US$2,500,000 Thailand Kiradech Aphibarnrat (2) 24 New tournament
26 Apr Volvo China Open China CN¥20,000,000 China Wu Ashun (1) 26 ONE
3 May WGC-Cadillac Match Play United States US$9,250,000 Northern Ireland Rory McIlroy (11) 76 World Golf Championship
10 May AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open Mauritius €1,000,000 South Africa George Coetzee (3) 17 AFR, ASA New tournament
17 May Open de España Spain €1,500,000 England James Morrison (2) 26
24 May BMW PGA Championship England €5,000,000 South Korea An Byeong-hun (1) 64 Flagship event
31 May Dubai Duty Free Irish Open Northern Ireland €2,500,000 Denmark Søren Kjeldsen (4) 48
7 Jun Nordea Masters Sweden €1,500,000 Sweden Alex Norén (4) 26
14 Jun Lyoness Open Austria €1,500,000 England Chris Wood (2) 24
21 Jun U.S. Open United States US$9,000,000 United States Jordan Spieth (n/a) 100 Major championship
28 Jun BMW International Open Germany €2,000,000 Spain Pablo Larrazábal (4) 32
5 Jul Alstom Open de France France €3,000,000 Austria Bernd Wiesberger (3) 36
12 Jul Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open Scotland £3,250,000 United States Rickie Fowler (n/a) 50
20 Jul The Open Championship Scotland £6,300,000 United States Zach Johnson (n/a) 100 Major championship
26 Jul Omega European Masters Switzerland €2,700,000 England Danny Willett (3) 32 ASA
2 Aug Saltire Energy Paul Lawrie Match Play Scotland €1,000,000 Thailand Kiradech Aphibarnrat (3) 24 New tournament
Limited-field event
2 Aug[d]
22 Mar 		Madeira Islands Open - Portugal - BPI Portugal €600,000 Finland Roope Kakko (1) 18 CHA
9 Aug WGC-Bridgestone Invitational United States US$9,250,000 Republic of Ireland Shane Lowry (3) 74 World Golf Championship
16 Aug PGA Championship United States US$10,000,000 Australia Jason Day (n/a) 100 Major championship
23 Aug Made in Denmark Denmark €1,500,000 England David Horsey (4) 24
30 Aug D+D Real Czech Masters Czech Republic €1,000,000 Belgium Thomas Pieters (1) 24
6 Sep M2M Russian Open Russia €1,000,000 England Lee Slattery (2) 24
13 Sep KLM Open Netherlands €1,800,000 Belgium Thomas Pieters (2) 24
20 Sep Open d'Italia Italy €1,500,000 Sweden Rikard Karlberg (1) 24
27 Sep Porsche European Open Germany €2,000,000 Thailand Thongchai Jaidee (7) 30
4 Oct Alfred Dunhill Links Championship Scotland US$5,000,000 Denmark Thorbjørn Olesen (3) 44 Pro-Am
11 Oct British Masters England £3,000,000 England Matt Fitzpatrick (1) 36
18 Oct Portugal Masters Portugal €2,000,000 England Andy Sullivan (3) 24
25 Oct UBS Hong Kong Open Hong Kong US$2,000,000 England Justin Rose (8) 34 ASA
1 Nov Turkish Airlines Open Turkey US$7,000,000 France Victor Dubuisson (2) 44 Race to Dubai finals series
8 Nov WGC-HSBC Champions China US$8,500,000 Scotland Russell Knox (1) 66 World Golf Championship
Race to Dubai finals series
15 Nov BMW Masters China US$7,000,000 Sweden Kristoffer Broberg (1) 50 Race to Dubai finals series
22 Nov DP World Tour Championship, Dubai UAE US$8,000,000 Northern Ireland Rory McIlroy (12) 52 Race to Dubai finals series

Location of tournaments

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Race to Dubai

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The Race to Dubai was based on tournament results during the season, calculated using a points-based system.[7][8][9]

Pos. Player Majors WGCs Flagship event and R2D finals series[e] Top 10s in other ET events Tmts Points and money[f]
Mas USO Opn PGA WGC
Cad 		WGC
MP 		WGC
Inv 		WGC
Cha 		BMW
PGA 		Tur BMW
Mas 		DPW
TC 		1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Total
points 		Bon.
($) 		FS
bonus
($)
1 Northern Ireland McIlroy 4th T9 • • T9 1st • T11 CUT T6 • 1st 2nd 1st 12 4,727,253 1,250,000 625,000
2 England Willett T38 CUT T6 T54 T12 3rd T17 T3 T38 T11 T28 T4 1st T4 T6 1st T3 23 3,670,310 800,000 200,000
3 South Africa Grace CUT T4 T20 3rd 54th T9 T17 T5 T11 • T22 3rd 1st 1st 18 3,056,948 530,000 132,500
4 England Rose T2 T27 T6 4th 55th T17 T3 • T38 • T7 T22 1st 14 2,827,024 400,000 100,000[g]
5 Republic of Ireland Lowry CUT T9 CUT CUT T17 T34 1st T68 T6 8th T56 T48 T2 18 2,729,144 350,000 87,500
6 South Africa Oosthuizen T19 T2 T2 T30 6th T5 T42 T44 • • T37 T38 T7 2nd 12 2,711,457 300,000 45,000
7 South Korea An • CUT CUT CUT • • T57 T19 1st 4th T3 T4 T5 T7 T8 26 2,417,356 250,000 37,500
8 England Sullivan • CUT T30 CUT • T34 • T64 17th T60 T17 2nd 1st T4 1st T6 T6 1st 28 2,263,573 200,000 30,000
9 Austria Wiesberger T22 CUT T68 CUT T31 T34 T25 T17 CUT T50 T24 T17 T6 3rd T4 2nd T2 1st T4 25 2,163,181 170,000 25,500
10 Thailand Jaidee 55th CUT T65 CUT 69th T34 T57 T11 T2 T26 T3 T31 T7 T2 T10 1st 25 2,150,076 150,000 22,500
11 France Dubuisson CUT CUT CUT T18 T62 T52 T50 • T63 1st T17 T13 T4 T10 21 2,132,753 140,000 14,000
12 England Fitzpatrick • • • • • • • T7 • T26 T13 T4 T5 T8 T3 2nd 3rd T3 1st T3 32 2,094,933 130,000 13,000
13 Thailand Aphibarnrat • • CUT T68 • • • T30 T27 3rd T31 T22 5th T4 1st T4 1st T4 T5 25 2,055,618 120,000 12,000
14 Sweden Broberg • • • • • • • • CUT T50 1st T17 T10 T6 T10 T2 T8 32 2,003,321 110,000 11,000
15 Denmark Kjeldsen • • CUT CUT • • T12 T46 T18 T11 T9 T10 T9 1st 2nd T2 T9 T9 T2 31 1,996,684 100,000 10,000
  Win
  Top 10
  Made cut
  Missed cut
• Did not play

Awards

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Award Winner Ref.
Golfer of the Year Northern Ireland Rory McIlroy [12]
Players' Player of the Year Northern Ireland Rory McIlroy [13]
Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year South Korea An Byeong-hun [14]
Graduate of the Year South Korea An Byeong-hun [14]

See also

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Notes

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  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; CHA − Challenge Tour; ONE − OneAsia Tour.
  3. ^ Sunshine Tour flagship event
  4. ^ Rescheduled due to persistent bad weather.
  5. ^ The WGC-HSBC Champions was also a Race to Dubai finals series event.
  6. ^ In addition to tournament prize money, the top 15 point scorers received a share of a $5m bonus pool. Those inside the top 15 who participated in at least 3 of the 4 Final Series events received an additional shared of a $1,365,500 bonus pool.[10][11]
  7. ^ Having only played two Race to Dubai finals series events, Rose was not eligible for the additional finals series bonus.[11]

References

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  1. ^ "European Tour 2015: New events in Scotland, Germany, Thailand". BBC Sport. 23 November 2014. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
  2. ^ "European Tour: Volvo withdraw sponsorship of two events". Sky Sports. 8 October 2014. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
  3. ^ Corrigan, James (19 September 2014). "Wales Open becomes latest professional tournament to bite the dust after being handed last rites by Celtic Manor". The Telegraph. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
  4. ^ "European Tour: British Masters returns after seven-year absence". BBC Sport. 4 March 2015. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
  5. ^ Lavner, Ryan (24 March 2015). "Canceled Euro Tour event rescheduled for July". Golf Channel. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
  6. ^ "2015 Tournament schedule". European Tour. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
  7. ^ "New points system announced for European Tour Race to Dubai in 2015". Sky Sports. 2 December 2014. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
  8. ^ "Golf-Race to Dubai rankings". Reuters. 23 November 2015. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
  9. ^ Gittings, Paul (23 November 2015). "DP World Tour Championship: Rory McIlroy wins to wrap up Race to Dubai". CNN. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
  10. ^ "Race to Dubai enhanced by additional bonus pool scheme". European Tour. 6 July 2015. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  11. ^ a b "The Race to Dubai 2015". Golf Punk. 29 October 2015. Retrieved 15 August 2024. This is to allow for the operation of an additional bonus scheme that will be paid out only to those players who participate in 3 out of 4 of the Final Series events...
  12. ^ Stafford, Ali (15 December 2015). "Rory McIlroy named European Tour Golfer of the Year for 2015". Sky Sports. Retrieved 19 April 2023.
  13. ^ "McIlroy gunning for more glory". European Tour. 18 May 2016. Retrieved 23 April 2023. The Northern Irishman overcame an injury-plagued 2015 season to win his third Harry Vardon Trophy and was then honoured by his peers as he was voted Players' Player of the year for the second season in succession.
  14. ^ a b McGarr, Rob (4 December 2015). "Byeong Hun An is the European Tour Rookie of the Year". Today's Golfer. Retrieved 19 April 2023. Much like American Brooks Koepka last year, An's remarkable rise through The European Tour's developmental system was recognised by a second prestigious title, the Graduate of the Year Award, given to the highest-ranked player in The Race to Dubai to have graduated directly from the Challenge Tour the previous season.
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