2009 European Tour
The 2009 European Tour was the 38th series of golf tournaments since the European Tour officially began in 1972. There were major changes for the 2009 season as the tour entered a partnership agreement with Dubai based Leisurecorp. The Order of Merit was renamed the Race to Dubai with the addition of a new season ending tournament, the Dubai World Championship, being contested by the leading 60 players after the penultimate event for a US$7.5 million prize fund and a US$7.5 million bonus pool.[1]
| Duration | 6 November 2008 – 30 November 2009 |
|---|---|
| Number of official events | 51 (+3 cancelled) |
| Most wins | 2 – Paul Casey, Simon Dyson, Martin Kaymer, Thongchai Jaidee, Richard Sterne, Lee Westwood* * Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods also won 2 events, but were not European Tour members |
| Race to Dubai | Lee Westwood |
| Golfer of the Year | Lee Westwood |
| Players' Player of the Year | Lee Westwood |
| Sir Henry Cotton rookie of the year | Chris Wood |
← 2008 2010 → | |
The Race to Dubai was won by Lee Westwood, who finished as European number one for the second time. He won the season ending Dubai World Championship to overtake Rory McIlroy in the standings.[2] Westwood was also named Golfer of the Year,[3] with Chris Wood being named the Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year, having recorded a 3rd-place finish in The Open Championship on his way to 44th on the end of season money list.[4]
Major tournaments
For a summary of the major tournaments and events of 2009, including the major championships and the World Golf Championships, see 2009 in golf.
Schedule
The table below shows the 2009 season schedule,[5][6] which began with five events in late 2008 and consisted of 54 official money tournaments. This was an increase of four from the previous year, although three events were ultimately cancelled, and included the four major championships and four World Golf Championships, which are also sanctioned by the PGA Tour. 27 events took place in Europe, 14 in Asia, 6 in the United States, 3 in South Africa and 3 in Australia.
Changes from the 2008 season included two new tournaments, the Moravia Silesia Open in the Czech Republic and the Dubai World Championship, the addition of the Singapore Open, and the return of the World Match Play Championship after being cancelled in 2008. In addition, as a result of plans to realign the schedule with the calendar year for 2010, the HSBC Champions, Hong Kong Open and the Australian Masters were held twice during the 2009 season. The HSBC Champions became a World Golf Championships event effective with its November 2009 edition.
In December 2008 the Indian Masters, scheduled for February, was cancelled due to fallout from the ongoing financial crisis,[7] and then in January 2009 it was announced that the revival of the English Open, scheduled for August, would be postponed for at least two years after developers of the St. Mellion International Resort ran into financial difficulties.[8] In May it was announced that due to lack of sponsorship the British Masters had also been dropped from the schedule, with the Austrian Open being rescheduled from June to take its place on the calendar in September.[9]
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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.
- Due to realignment of the European Tour schedule with the calendar year, there were two editions of the HSBC Champions, Hong Kong Open and Australian Masters on the 2009 schedule.
- The tournament was scheduled to end on 21 June, but heavy rains during the event pushed the final round back to the following day.
- Rescheduled from 11–14 June, following cancellation of the British Masters.
- The tournament was scheduled to end on 4 October, but play on Saturday, 3 October was called off due to gale-force winds at all three courses. The third round was played on Sunday and the final round on Monday.
Location of tournaments
    Location of official tournaments of the 2009 European Tour in Europe. Major Championship Flagship event Regular event
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.svg.png.webp)  ( &)x2   Location of official tournaments of the 2009 European Tour outside Europe. Major Championship World Golf Championship Tour Championship Regular event
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Race to Dubai
In 2009, the Order of Merit was rebranded as the Race To Dubai, with a bonus pool of $7.5 million[11] (originally $10 million) to be distributed among the top 15 players at the end of the season, of which the winner received $1.5 million[11] (originally $2 million). The new name reflects the addition of a new season ending tournament, the Dubai World Championship, held at the end of November in Dubai. The tournament also had a $7.5 million prize fund[11] (originally $10 million), and was contested by the leading 60 players in the race following the seasons penultimate event, the Hong Kong Open. The winner of the Race To Dubai also receives a ten-year European Tour exemption, while the winner of the Dubai World Championship tournament receives a five-year European Tour exemption.[12][1][13][14] The reduction in prize money, announced in September 2009,[11] was due to the global economic downturn.
Final standings
The following table shows the final Race to Dubai standings for 2009, including the top 15 players who qualified for the bonus pool.[15]
| Rank | Player | Country | Events | Prize money (€) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lee Westwood |  England | 26 | 4,237,762 |
| 2 | Rory McIlroy |  Northern Ireland | 25 | 3,610,020 |
| 3 | Martin Kaymer |  Germany | 20 | 2,864,342 |
| 4 | Ross Fisher | England | 22 | 2,531,183 |
| 5 | Paul Casey | England | 14 | 2,362,947 |
| 6 | Geoff Ogilvy | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Australia | 13 | 2,202,814 |
| 7 | Oliver Wilson | England | 25 | 2,010,158 |
| 8 | Simon Dyson | England | 32 | 1,807,753 |
| 9 | Ian Poulter | England | 15 | 1,773,470 |
| 10 | Sergio García |  Spain | 17 | 1,660,788 |
| 11 | Ernie Els |  South Africa | 17 | 1,571,577 |
| 12 | Ross McGowan | England | 30 | 1,558,808 |
| 13 | Søren Kjeldsen |  Denmark | 26 | 1,529,253 |
| 14 | Francesco Molinari |  Italy | 27 | 1,505,010 |
| 15 | Pádraig Harrington |  Ireland | 16 | 1,468,232 |
Awards
| Award | Winner | Country |
|---|---|---|
| European Tour Golfer of the Year | Lee Westwood | England |
| European Tour Players' Player of the Year | Lee Westwood | England |
| Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year | Chris Wood | England |
Golfer of the Month
The winners of the European Tour Golfer of the Month Award were as follows:
| Month | Player | Country |
|---|---|---|
| January | Rory McIlroy | Northern Ireland |
| February | Geoff Ogilvy | Australia |
| March | Søren Kjeldsen | Denmark |
| April | Ángel Cabrera |  Argentina |
| May | Shane Lowry | Ireland |
| June | Nick Dougherty | England |
| July | Martin Kaymer | Germany |
| August | Lee Westwood | England |
| September | Rafa Cabrera-Bello | Spain |
| October | Ross Fisher | England |
| November | Lee Westwood | England |
See also
References
- "The European Tour Lands in Dubai". PGA European Tour. 19 November 2007. Retrieved 19 November 2007.
- "Lee Westwood wins Race to Dubai title". BBC Sport. 22 November 2009. Archived from the original on 26 November 2009. Retrieved 22 November 2009.
- "Lee Westwood named as European Tour golfer of the year". BBC Sport. 8 December 2009. Archived from the original on 13 December 2009. Retrieved 8 December 2009.
- "Golfer Wood wins top rookie award". BBC Sport. 25 November 2009. Archived from the original on 28 November 2009. Retrieved 25 November 2009.
- "Uncertainty for Irish Open in Race to Dubai". The Irish Times. 6 October 2008. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
- "European Tour Schedule – 2009". PGA European Tour. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
- "Golf-Financial crisis claims next year's Indian Masters". Reuters. 5 December 2008. Retrieved 5 December 2008.
- "Crunch delays golf championships". BBC News. 21 January 2009. Archived from the original on 29 January 2009. Retrieved 14 February 2009.
- "British Masters dropped from Tour". BBC Sport. 13 May 2009. Archived from the original on 16 May 2009. Retrieved 14 May 2009.
- "Events | European Tour | 2009". Official World Golf Ranking. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
- "Dubai tourney winnings cut 25 percent". ESPN. 21 September 2009. Retrieved 22 November 2009.
- "US boss welcomes European windfall". BBC Sport. 21 November 2007. Archived from the original on 17 December 2008. Retrieved 12 November 2008.
- "Race to Dubai". PGA European Tour. Archived from the original on 9 December 2008. Retrieved 12 November 2008.
- "Euro Tour Unveils Race to Dubai". Golf Channel. 19 November 2007. Retrieved 6 October 2008.
- "European Tour Race To Dubai – 2009". PGA European Tour. Retrieved 20 April 2016.