1996 European Tour
The 1996 European Tour was the 25th official season of golf tournaments known as the PGA European Tour.[1]
| Duration | 25 January 1996 – 5 January 1997 |
|---|---|
| Number of official events | 38 |
| Most wins | 3 – Robert Allenby, Colin Montgomerie, Ian Woosnam |
| Order of Merit | Colin Montgomerie |
| Golfer of the Year | Colin Montgomerie |
| Sir Henry Cotton rookie of the year | Thomas Bjørn |
← 1995 1997 → | |
The 1996 season saw co-sanctioning arrangements expand, with the PGA Tour of Australasia's Heineken Classic joining three Southern Africa Tour events on the schedule.
The Order of Merit was won by Scotland's Colin Montgomerie for the fourth consecutive year.
Schedule
The table below shows the 1996 European Tour schedule which was made up of 38 tournaments counting for the Order of Merit, and several non-counting "Approved Special Events".[2][3][4] There were several changes from the previous season, with the addition of the Heineken Classic, the Dimension Data Pro-Am and the Loch Lomond World Invitational; and the loss of the Turespaña Open De Canaria and the Open de Baleares. Soon after the schedule was announced, a third Southern Africa Tour event was added, the FNB Players Championship.[5]
In January, the Jersey Open was moved onto the European Senior Tour schedule and the Open Mediterrania was replaced by the Catalan Open.[6] In February, a new tournament in Spain, the Oki Pro-Am was added opposite the Dunhill Cup.[7] In March, the Slaley Hall Northumberland Challenge was added to the schedule, taking the dates vacated by the Jersey Open, opposite the U.S. Open.[8]
- The numbers in parentheses after the winners' names show the number of official career wins they had on the European Tour up to and including that event. Totals are only shown for members of the European Tour and are inclusive of the three United States-based major championships since, although not official tour events at the time, they have been recognised as such retrospectively. Victories in "Approved Special Events" are not recognised as official tour wins.
Order of Merit
The PGA European Tour's money list was known as the "Volvo Order of Merit". It was based on prize money earned during the season and calculated in Pound sterling.[1][10]
| Position | Player | Country | Prize money (£) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Colin Montgomerie |  Scotland | 875,146 |
| 2 | Ian Woosnam | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Wales | 650,423 |
| 3 | Robert Allenby | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Australia | 532,143 |
| 4 | Costantino Rocca |  Italy | 482,585 |
| 5 | Mark McNulty |  Ireland | 463,847 |
| 6 | Lee Westwood |  England | 428,693 |
| 7 | Andrew Coltart | Scotland | 345,936 |
| 8 | Darren Clarke |  Northern Ireland | 329,795 |
| 9 | Paul Broadhurst | England | 300,364 |
| 10 | Thomas Bjørn |  Denmark | 292,023 |
Awards
| Award | Winner | Country |
|---|---|---|
| European Tour Golfer of the Year | Colin Montgomerie | Scotland |
| Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year | Thomas Bjørn | Denmark |
References
- "Tour History". PGA European Tour. Archived from the original on 4 April 2010. Retrieved 21 June 2013.
- "1996 PGA European Tour". Aberdeen Evening Express. Aberdeen, Scotland. 2 December 1995. p. 6. Retrieved 2 May 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- "The Guardian sports | Highlights of the year | Golf". The Guardian. London, England. 30 December 1995. p. 15. Retrieved 2 May 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
- Hopkins, John (25 January 1996). "Business trip east marks start of European venture". The Times. London, England. p. 42. Retrieved 2 May 2020 – via The Times Digital Archive.
- "An event in a world of trouble". The Boston Globe. Boston, Massachusetts. 25 December 1995. p. 58. Retrieved 2 May 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
- "Jersey tourney goes senior". Aberdeen Press and Journal. Aberdeen, Scotland. 25 January 1996. p. 27. Retrieved 2 May 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- "New Madrid Pro-Am added to schedule". The Miami Herald. Miami, Florida. 29 February 1996. p. 1D. Retrieved 2 May 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
- "Top six stars boost world match-play | Northumberland". Aberdeen Press and Journal. Aberdeen, Scotland. 6 March 1996. p. 26. Retrieved 2 May 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- "Events | European Tour | 1996". Official World Golf Ranking. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
- "Results | Golf | European Tour final Order of Merit". The Guardian. London, England. 29 October 1996. p. 24. Retrieved 2 May 2020 – via Newspapers.com.