2019 European Tour

The 2019 European Tour was the 48th season of the European Tour, the main professional golf tour in Europe since its inaugural season in 1972.

Changes for 2019

Rule changes

From January 1, 2019 onwards, tournaments followed the new rules released by the USGA and The R&A which were designed to simplify the rule book and speed up the pace of play. The most noticeable changes included golfers being able to putt on the green with the flag remaining in, and drops being made from knee rather than shoulder height.^[1]

Scheduling changes

As announced in 2017, the PGA Championship was moved from August to May, starting in 2019. The PGA of America cited the addition of golf to the Summer Olympics, as well as cooler weather enabling a wider array of options for host courses, as reasoning for the change. It was also believed that the PGA Tour wished to re-align its season so that its FedEx Cup Playoffs would not have to compete with the start of the NFL season in early September, since both United States broadcast partners (CBS and NBC) are NFL broadcast partners.

Consequently, the European Tour moved their flagship event; the BMW PGA Championship, from the congested May date to late September, four weeks after the end of the 2018–19 PGA Tour season. It was hoped the date would attract more top names.^{[2][3][4][5][6]}

Changes to the Race to Dubai

The number of Race to Dubai points available in the Final Series (last three events of the season) was increased, and the field size reduced. The aim was to make more players still have a chance of winning the Race to Dubai entering the Final Series. In addition, although the prize money was not increased, the bonus pool of US$5 million would now be split among the top five players rather than the top ten. The money saved from restricting field sizes was used solely to increase the first prizes, which means that the tournaments would not have the standard prize fund distribution, and the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai would have the largest tournament first prize in golf of US$3 million.^[7]

Tournament changes

• New tournament: Saudi International.
• Returning tournament: Alfred Dunhill Championship (not held during the 2018 season due to course renovations)
• Tournaments on the European Tour schedule for the first time: ISPS Handa Vic Open, Kenya Open.
• Changes to the Rolex Series: the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship replaced the Open de France.
• No longer part of the schedule: Joburg Open, Tshwane Open, Sicilian Open, Fiji International, Shot Clock Masters.

Schedule

The following table lists official events during the 2019 season.^[8]

Unofficial events

The following events were sanctioned by the European Tour, but did not carry official money, nor were wins official.

Race to Dubai

Points distribution

The distribution of Race to Dubai points for 2019 European Tour events were as follows:^[9]

Final standings

The Race to Dubai was based on tournament results during the season, calculated using a points-based system.^[10][11]

Awards

See also

• 2018 in golf
• 2019 in golf
• 2019 Challenge Tour
• 2019 European Senior Tour
• 2019 Ladies European Tour

Notes

1. ^ The number in brackets after each winner's name is the number of European Tour events they had won up to and including that tournament. This information is only shown for European Tour members.
2. ^ AFR − Sunshine Tour; ANZ − PGA Tour of Australasia; ASA − Asian Tour.
3. ^ Sunshine Tour flagship event
4. ^ Also a Rolex Series tournament.
5. ^ Tournaments with purses ranging from $5,000,000 to $5,499,999.
6. ^ Tournaments with purses ranging from $3,250,000 to $3,999,999.
7. ^ Tournaments with purses ranging from $2,500,000 to $3,249,999.
8. ^ Tournaments with purses ranging from $1,750,000 to $2,499,999.
9. ^ Tournaments with purses ranging from $1,000,000 to $1,749,999.
10. ^ In addition to tournament prize money, the top five point scorers received a share of a $5m bonus pool.^[16][17]
11. ^ McIlroy was not a European Tour member during the WGC-Mexico Championship, WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play and the Masters Tournament. Points he earned in these events did not count towards his Race to Dubai ranking.^[18][19]

References

1. ^ Herrington, Ryan (3 December 2018). "Nine changes in the new Rules of Golf you absolutely need to know for 2019". Golf Digest. Retrieved 4 February 2019.
2. ^ Harig, Bob (August 10, 2017). "PGA Championship to move from August date to May in 2019". ESPN. Retrieved August 12, 2017.
3. ^ Shedloski, Dave (August 7, 2017). "The PGA Championship is moving to May and players are on board". Golf Digest. Retrieved August 8, 2017.
4. ^ "P.G.A. Championship Will Move from August to May in 2019". The New York Times. Reuters. August 8, 2017. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved August 9, 2017.
5. ^ Herrington, Ryan (August 7, 2017). "The PGA Championship will be moving to May, sources say". Golf Digest. Retrieved August 9, 2017.
6. ^ Gray, Will (29 October 2018). "Lots of change to 2019 European Tour schedule". Golf Channel. Retrieved 30 October 2018.
7. ^ "End of season changes". European Tour. 12 February 2019. Retrieved 26 February 2019.
8. ^ "2019 Tournament schedule". European Tour. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
9. ^ "DP World Tour | 2022 Members General Regulations Handbook". European Tour. 2022. pp. 153–157. Retrieved 23 December 2024.
10. ^ "2019 Race to Dubai". European Tour. Retrieved 7 November 2024.
11. ^ Sinnott, John (24 November 2019). "Spaniard John Rahm wins Race to Dubai title to pocket $5 million". CNN. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
12. ^ "Rahm named 2019 Hilton European Tour Golfer of the Year". European Tour. 3 December 2019. Retrieved 19 April 2023.
13. ^ "Rahm receives 2019 Seve Ballesteros Award". European Tour. 19 February 2020. Retrieved 19 April 2023.
14. ^ Hughes, Joe (24 November 2019). "MacIntyre seals Rookie of the Year title". National Club Golfer. Retrieved 19 April 2023.
15. ^ "Rookie of the Year MacIntyre credits Challenge Tour influence". European Tour. 25 November 2019. Retrieved 30 August 2023. Robert MacIntyre paid tribute to the European Challenge Tour after finishing his debut European Tour season in 11th place on the Race to Dubai Rankings Presented by Rolex, earning the Scot the Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year Award and the Challenge Tour Graduate of the Year Award.
16. ^ Carter, Iain (13 February 2019). "Race to Dubai: Biggest top prize in golf of £2.3m announced by European Tour". BBC Sport. Retrieved 24 September 2024.
17. ^ Ballengee, Ryan (21 November 2019). "2019 Race to Dubai bonus pool, purse, winner's share, prize money payout". Golf News Net. Retrieved 24 September 2024.
18. ^ "McIlroy giving up European Tour membership in 2019". ESPN. 13 November 2018. Retrieved 23 October 2024.
19. ^ Jackson, Keith (19 September 2019). "Rory McIlroy reaches deal with European Tour to remain a full member". Sky Sports. Retrieved 23 October 2024.

External links

• Official website