2018 European Tour
The 2018 European Tour is the 47th season of golf tournaments since the European Tour officially began in 1972 and the 10th edition of the Race to Dubai.
| Duration | 23 November 2017 – 25 November 2018 |
|---|---|
| Number of official events | 47 |
| Most wins | 3 – Matt Wallace |
| Race to Dubai | Francesco Molinari |
| Golfer of the Year | Francesco Molinari |
| Seve Ballesteros Award | Francesco Molinari |
| Sir Henry Cotton rookie of the year | Shubhankar Sharma |
← 2017 2019 → | |
The Race to Dubai was won by Italian Francesco Molinari, who was also named Golfer of the Year. India's Shubhankar Sharma was named Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year.
Changes for 2018
There were changes to membership criteria with the reversal of some of the changes introduced for the 2017 season; the number of players gaining exemption from the final Race to Dubai standings reverted to the top 110 and the Access List was scrapped, largely replaced by a re-ranking system.[1]
The Race to Dubai points system was adjusted, with all prize money being converted into US dollars before translating into points (1 point = 1 dollar) having previously been calculated after converting into euro. The points for all tournaments were also fixed prior to the start of the season, having previously been set during each tournament week, thereby negating any fluctuation in exchange rates.[1]
Tournament changes
- New tournaments: Oman Open.
- Returning tournaments (not part of the 2017 season): Open de España, AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open (missing from the 2017 schedule due to date change), Belgian Knockout (formerly the Belgian Open).
- No longer part of the schedule: Alfred Dunhill Championship (not held due to course renovations; returned for the 2019 season), Open de Portugal (dropped down to the Challenge Tour), Shenzhen International, Paul Lawrie Matchplay.
- Format change: the Lyoness Open (Austrian Open) became the Shot Clock Masters, with all shots subject to a strict time limit before incurring penalty strokes.
Schedule
The table below shows the tournaments in the 2018 European Tour schedule, which began in late 2017.[2]
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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 extended and finished on Monday due to weather.
- Paul Dunne & Gavin Moynihan
- Pedro Oriol & Scott Fernández
- Cajsa Persson & Linda Wessberg
- Axel Bóasson, Ólafía Þórunn Kristinsdóttir, Birgir Hafþórsson & Valdis Thora Jonsdottir
- Tournament reduced to 54 holes and finished on Monday due to weather.
- Thomas Pieters & Thomas Detry
Location of tournaments
    Location of official tournaments of the 2018 European Tour in Europe. Major Championship Rolex Series event Regular event
|
.svg.png.webp)    Location of official tournaments of the 2018 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 and is calculated in points based on US dollars with 1 dollar = 1 point, and prize money for all tournaments being converted into points at the beginning of the season. The following table shows the final top-10 in the 2018 standings.[4]
| Rank | Player | Country | Events | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Francesco Molinari |  Italy | 12 | 6,041,521 |
| 2 | Patrick Reed |  United States | 11 | 4,713,351 |
| 3 | Tommy Fleetwood |  England | 19 | 4,399,755 |
| 4 | Xander Schauffele | United States | 9 | 3,607,488 |
| 5 | Justin Rose | England | 11 | 3,431,616 |
| 6 | Alex Norén |  Sweden | 12 | 3,351,488 |
| 7 | Rory McIlroy |  Northern Ireland | 13 | 3,315,654 |
| 8 | Thorbjørn Olesen |  Denmark | 24 | 3,223,149 |
| 9 | Li Haotong |  China | 26 | 3,118,291 |
| 10 | Matt Wallace | England | 30 | 2,887,527 |
- Full list can be found here.
Awards
| Award | Winner | Country |
|---|---|---|
| European Tour Golfer of the Year | Francesco Molinari | Italy |
| The Seve Ballesteros Award | Francesco Molinari | Italy |
| Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year | Shubhankar Sharma |  India |
Golfer of the Month
The winners of the European Tour Golfer of the Month award:
| Month | Player | Country |
|---|---|---|
| January | Chris Paisley | England |
| February | Joost Luiten |  Netherlands |
| March | Kiradech Aphibarnrat |  Thailand |
| April | Alexander Björk | Sweden |
| May | Francesco Molinari | Italy |
| June | Tommy Fleetwood | England |
| July | Francesco Molinari | Italy |
| August | Thorbjørn Olesen | Denmark |
| September | Matt Wallace | England |
| October | Eddie Pepperell | England |
| November | Lee Westwood | England |
See also
- 2017 in golf
- 2018 in golf
- 2018 Challenge Tour
- 2018 European Senior Tour
- 2018 PGA Tour
References
- "European Tour reveals changes for 2018 season". Bunkered. 14 November 2017. Retrieved 22 June 2020.
- "2018 European Tour Schedule". PGA European Tour. Retrieved 15 September 2017.
- "Events | European Tour | 2018". Official World Golf Ranking. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
- "The Race Is On". PGA European Tour. Retrieved 20 November 2017.