2004 European Tour
The 2004 European Tour was the 33rd golf season since the European Tour officially began in 1972.
| Duration | 4 December 2003 – 21 November 2004 |
|---|---|
| Number of official events | 45 |
| Most wins | 4 – Miguel Ángel Jiménez |
| Order of Merit | Ernie Els |
| Golfer of the Year | Vijay Singh |
| Sir Henry Cotton rookie of the year | Scott Drummond |
← 2003 2005 → | |
Ernie Els won the Order of Merit, defending the title he won in 2003.[1] Despite Els dominance of the European money-list, Vijay Singh was crowned European Tour Golfer of the Year, having won the PGA Championship and deposed Tiger Woods at the top of the Official World Golf Ranking.[2]
Major tournaments
For a summary of the major tournaments and events of 2004, including the major championships and the World Golf Championships, see 2004 in golf.
Schedule
The table below shows the 2004 European Tour schedule which was made up of 45 tournaments counting towards the Order of Merit, which included the four major championships and three World Golf Championships.[3][4]
Changes from 2003 included two new tournaments, the Open de Sevilla[5] and The Heritage,[6] and the loss of the Benson & Hedges International Open, the Trophée Lancôme[3] and the Nordic Open. The HSBC World Match Play Championship also became an official money-list event for the first time with an increased field determined by qualification criteria, which also meant it regained world ranking status,[7] and the Mallorca Classic became a full European Tour event having been a dual-ranking event in 2003.
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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 and have been retrospectively recognised as official tour wins. Victories in "Approved Special Events" are not recognised as official tour wins.
Order of Merit
In 2004, the European Tour's money list was known as the "Order of Merit". It was calculated in euro, although around half of the events had prize funds which were fixed in other currencies, mostly either British pounds or U.S. dollars. In these instances the amounts were converted into euro at the exchange rate for the week that the tournament was played. The top 10 golfers in 2004 were:
| Position | Player | Country | Prize money (€) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Ernie Els |  South Africa | 4,061,905 |
| 2. | Retief Goosen | South Africa | 2,325,202 |
| 3. | Pádraig Harrington |  Ireland | 1,910,394 |
| 4. | Miguel Ángel Jiménez |  Spain | 1,886,237 |
| 5. | Thomas Levet |  France | 1,727,945 |
| 6. | Graeme McDowell |  Northern Ireland | 1,648,862 |
| 7. | Lee Westwood |  England | 1,592,766 |
| 8. | Darren Clarke | Northern Ireland | 1,563,803 |
| 9. | Ian Poulter | England | 1,533,158 |
| 10. | David Howell | England | 1,501,502 |
Awards
| Award | Winner | Country |
|---|---|---|
| European Tour Golfer of the Year | Vijay Singh |  Fiji |
| Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year | Scott Drummond |  Scotland |
References
- Hodgetts, Rob (1 November 2004). "Els eyes lengthy rule in Europe". BBC Sport. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
- "Singh lands European Tour honour". BBC Sport. 15 December 2004. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
- Roberts, Gereurd (11 December 2003). "China a news stop for 2004 tour". The Guardian. London, England. Retrieved 5 May 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
- "European Tour 2004". BBC Sport. 17 October 2004. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
- "New date for European Tour". BBC Sport. 15 March 2004. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
- "Woburn lands new event". BBC Sport. 10 May 2004. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
- "World Match Play to become official event". Rapid City Journal. Rapid City, South Dakota. AP. 28 May 2004. Retrieved 5 May 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
- "Events | European Tour | 2004". Official World Golf Ranking. Retrieved 5 May 2020.