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.

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

Changes for 2012 edit

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 edit

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

Unofficial events edit

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 edit

Race to Dubai edit

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   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   Rose T8 T21 CUT T3 T33 1st T5 T24 T2 2nd T9 T9 T6 13 3,260,635 650,000 3,768,345
3   Oosthuizen 2nd CUT T19 T21 T17 T60 4th T6 5th 1st T7 1st T6 16 2,796,819 500,000 3,187,364
4   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   Poulter 7th T41 T9 T3 T33 T60 T29 1st T10 T26 T9 T4 4th 15 2,327,402 325,000 2,581,257
6   Grace T51 T77 CUT T35 T36 T62 5th 6th 1st 1st 1st 1st 26 2,287,701 275,000 2,502,501
7   Donald T32 CUT T5 T32 T33 T6 T8 T18 1st T3 3rd 13 2,197,794 225,000 2,373,540
8   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   McDowell T12 T2 T5 T11 T33 T13 T24 T42 CUT T52 T3 2nd 16 1,847,420 125,000 1,945,056
10   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 edit

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

See also edit

Notes edit

  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 edit

  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 edit