2017 European Tour
The 2017 European Tour was the ninth edition of the Race to Dubai and the 46th season of golf tournaments since the European Tour officially began in 1972.
| Duration | 1 December 2016 – 19 November 2017 |
|---|---|
| Number of official events | 47 |
| Most wins | 3 – Sergio García |
| Race to Dubai | Tommy Fleetwood |
| Golfer of the Year | Sergio García |
| Seve Ballesteros Award | Tommy Fleetwood |
| Sir Henry Cotton rookie of the year | Jon Rahm |
← 2016 2018 → | |
England's Tommy Fleetwood won the Race to Dubai. Spanish golfers collected the annual awards; Golfer of the Year was Sergio García, who won his first major, and Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year was Jon Rahm
Changes for 2017
For the 2017 season, the European Tour created the "Rolex Series", a group of selected tournaments with a minimum purse of US$7 million. Seven tournaments were initially announced: the BMW PGA Championship, the Irish Open, the Scottish Open, the Italian Open and the three Final Series events – the Turkish Airlines Open, the Nedbank Golf Challenge and the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai.[1][2] The Open de France was later announced as the eighth Rolex Series event.[3]
There were changes to membership criteria with the creation of a new "Access List", a season-long money list excluding the Masters Tournament, PGA Championship, the four World Golf Championships and the Rolex Series events. The top three players in the Access List standings would be invited to play in Rolex Series events, and the top 10 players in the Access List final standings not otherwise exempt would gain full European Tour membership for the following season.[1] There was a corresponding reduction in numbers from the Race to Dubai final standings gaining cards, down from the top 110 to the top 100.[4]
Tournament changes
- New tournaments: GolfSixes.
- Returning tournaments (not part of the 2016 season): Hong Kong Open, Sicilian Open, Andalucía Masters, Open de Portugal.
- No longer part of the schedule: True Thailand Classic, King's Cup, AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open (due to date change from May to December; returned for the 2018 season).
- Format change: the Perth International became the World Super 6 Perth, with the top-24 players after 54-hole stroke play competing in a 6-hole knockout match play tournament on the final day.
Schedule
The table below shows the 2017 European Tour schedule which begins with two events in late 2016.[5]
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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.
- Tournament reduced to 54 holes.
- Lucas Bjerregaard & Thorbjørn Olesen
Location of tournaments
    Location of official tournaments of the 2017 European Tour in Europe. Major Championship Rolex Series event Regular event
|
.svg.png.webp)    Location of official tournaments of the 2017 European Tour outside Europe. Major Championship World Golf Championship Rolex 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, calculated in euro and converted into points (1 euro = 1 point). Earnings from tournaments awarding prize money in other currencies were converted at the exchange rate available the week of the event. The following table shows the final top-10 in the 2017 standings.[7]
| Rank | Player | Country | Events | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tommy Fleetwood |  England | 24 | 5,420,530 |
| 2 | Justin Rose | England | 12 | 4,921,062 |
| 3 | Jon Rahm |  Spain | 13 | 4,602,281 |
| 4 | Sergio García | Spain | 13 | 3,906,072 |
| 5 | Tyrrell Hatton | England | 21 | 3,237,346 |
| 6 | Ross Fisher | England | 23 | 2,942,728 |
| 7 | Rafa Cabrera-Bello | Spain | 19 | 2,770,297 |
| 8 | Alex Norén |  Sweden | 20 | 2,483,867 |
| 9 | Francesco Molinari |  Italy | 13 | 2,282,706 |
| 10 | Branden Grace |  South Africa | 15 | 2,252,135 |
- Full list can be found here.
Awards
| Award | Winner | Country |
|---|---|---|
| European Tour Golfer of the Year | Sergio García | Spain |
| The Seve Ballesteros Award | Tommy Fleetwood | England |
| Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year | Jon Rahm | Spain |
Golfer of the Month
The winners of the European Tour Golfer of the Month award:
| Month | Player | Country |
|---|---|---|
| January | Graeme Storm | England |
| February | Sergio García | Spain |
| March | Shiv Chawrasia |  India |
| April | Sergio García | Spain |
| May | Alex Norén | Sweden |
| June | Renato Paratore | Italy |
| July | Jon Rahm | Spain |
| August | Julian Suri |  United States |
| September | Lucas Bjerregaard |  Denmark |
| October | Justin Rose | England |
References
- "European Tour announces Rolex Series, overhaul of top events". ESPN. Associated Press. 15 November 2016.
- "European Tour launches the Rolex Series". PGA European Tour. 15 November 2016.
- "HNA Group named title sponsor of the Open de France". PGA European Tour. 9 January 2017.
- "New Access List to go alongside European Tour's Race to Dubai". Sky Sports. 15 November 2016. Retrieved 22 June 2020.
- "2017 European Tour Schedule". PGA European Tour. Retrieved 15 November 2016.
- "Events | European Tour | 2017". Official World Golf Ranking. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
- "The Race Is On". PGA European Tour. Retrieved 20 November 2017.