2016 European Tour
The 2016 European Tour was the eighth edition of the Race to Dubai and the 45th season of golf tournaments since the European Tour officially began in 1972.
| Duration | 26 November 2015 – 27 November 2016 |
|---|---|
| Number of official events | 47 |
| Most wins | 4 – Alex Norén |
| Race to Dubai | Henrik Stenson |
| Golfer of the Year | Henrik Stenson |
| Seve Ballesteros Award | Henrik Stenson |
| Sir Henry Cotton rookie of the year | Wang Jeung-hun |
← 2015 2017 → | |
The Race to Dubai was won for the second time by Sweden's Henrik Stenson, who was also named Golfer of the Year. The Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year was Wang Jeung-hun from South Korea.
Rule changes
For the 2016 season, the European Tour modified its membership requirements from 13 tournaments inclusive of the four majors and four World Golf Championships, to 5 tournaments exclusive of them; the change was intended to make it easier for United States-based players outside the top-50 in the world rankings to retain their membership, as they may not be eligible for the majors and WGCs.[1][2]
Schedule
The table below shows the 2016 European Tour schedule which began with three events in late 2015.[3][2]
There were many changes from the previous season. Seven tournaments were lost from the schedule, the most significant being the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational which, due to a clash of dates with the 100th edition of the Open de France, was not sanctioned by the European tour in 2016.[4] Other tournaments to be removed were the Africa Open, the Malaysian Open, the Madeira Islands Open, the Russian Open, the BMW Masters and the Hong Kong Open, which would take place early in the 2017 season due to a change in dates from October to December. There were four additions to the schedule: the return of the Perth International, the first European Tour sanctioned Australian PGA Championship; the inaugural Maybank Championship, which replaced the Malaysian Open;[5] and the Olympic Men's Golf Competition.
The Final Series was also adjusted; the Nedbank Golf Challenge replaced the dropped BMW Masters, and the series was reduced to three events with the removal of the WGC-HSBC Champions.[1][2] As a result of the change of dates, the Nedbank Golf Challenge was played twice during the season.
The Fiji International[6] and the King's Cup[7] were added to the schedule later.
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- 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 which were included on the schedule for the first time in 1998, with earlier editions having retrospectively been recognised as official tour wins. Victories in "Approved Special Events" are not recognised as official tour wins.
- Originally the European Tour counted this as Justin Rose's 9th official win, but the Olympic Games tournament has been retrospectively reclassified as an approved special event.
- Tournament reduced to 54 holes due to numerous fog delays.
Location of tournaments
     Location of official tournaments of the 2016 European Tour in Europe. Major Championship Flagship event Final Series event Regular event
|
.svg.png.webp)    Location of official tournaments of the 2016 European Tour outside Europe. Major Championship World Golf Championship Final Series event Regular event
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Race to Dubai
Since 2009, the European Tour's money list has been known as the "Race to Dubai". It is based on money earned during the season and is calculated in euro, with earnings from tournaments that award prize money in other currencies being converted at the exchange rate available the week of the event. The following table shows the final top-10 in the 2016 standings (earnings converted to points before the Final Series).[9]
| Rank | Player | Country | Events | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Henrik Stenson |  Sweden | 16 | 5,289,506 |
| 2 | Danny Willett |  England | 24 | 4,419,190 |
| 3 | Alex Norén | Sweden | 22 | 3,995,053 |
| 4 | Tyrrell Hatton | England | 23 | 3,690,027 |
| 5 | Rory McIlroy |  Northern Ireland | 13 | 3,337,141 |
| 6 | Matthew Fitzpatrick | England | 28 | 2,715,297 |
| 7 | Branden Grace |  South Africa | 16 | 2,395,602 |
| 8 | Rafa Cabrera-Bello |  Spain | 22 | 2,343,049 |
| 9 | Bernd Wiesberger |  Austria | 26 | 2,266,907 |
| 10 | Louis Oosthuizen | South Africa | 16 | 2,166,590 |
- Full list can be found here.
Awards
| Award | Winner | Country |
|---|---|---|
| European Tour Golfer of the Year | Henrik Stenson | Sweden |
| The Seve Ballesteros Award | Henrik Stenson | Sweden |
| Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year | Wang Jeung-hun |  South Korea |
Golfer of the Month
The winners of the European Tour Golfer of the Month award:
| Month | Player | Country |
|---|---|---|
| January | Nathan Holman | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Australia |
| February | Danny Willett | England |
| March | Shiv Chawrasia |  India |
| April | Danny Willett | England |
| May | Wang Jeung-hun | South Korea |
| June | Henrik Stenson | Sweden |
| July | Henrik Stenson | Sweden |
| August | Justin Rose | England |
| September | Francesco Molinari |  Italy |
| October | Tyrrell Hatton | England |
| November | Matthew Fitzpatrick | England |
See also
- 2015 in golf
- 2016 in golf
- 2016 Challenge Tour
- 2016 European Senior Tour
- 2016 PGA Tour
References
- "European Tour confirms major changes to membership criteria for 2016". ESPN. PA Sport. 17 November 2015. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
- "European Tour's Final Series to have three tournaments from 2016". Sky Sports. 17 November 2015. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
- "2016 European Tour Schedule". PGA European Tour. Retrieved 28 September 2015.
- "European Tour won't co-sanction 2016 Bridgestone Invitational due to Open de France clash". ESPN. 11 August 2015. Retrieved 28 August 2015.
- "Maybank going on their own". The Star Malaysia. 2 August 2015. p. 41. Retrieved 21 June 2020 – via PressReader.
- "Sport: Fiji International joins European Tour". RNZ. 22 April 2016. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
- "King's Cup added to the European Tour's 2016 summer schedule". Sky Sports. 3 May 2016. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
- "Events | European Tour | 2016". Official World Golf Ranking. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
- "The Race Is On". PGA European Tour. Retrieved 20 November 2017.