PGA European Tour

History

Professional golf began in Europe, specifically in Scotland. The first professionals were clubmakers and greenkeepers who also taught golf to the wealthy men who could afford to play the game (early handmade equipment was expensive) and played "challenge matches" against one another for purses put up by wealthy backers. The first multi-competitor stroke play tournament was The Open Championship, which was introduced in 1860. Over the following decades, the number of golf tournaments offering prize money increased slowly but steadily. Most were in the United Kingdom, but there were also several "national opens" in various countries of Continental Europe.

In 1901, The Professional Golfers' Association was founded to represent the interests of professional golfers throughout Great Britain and Ireland. It was this body that ultimately created the European Tour. As the tournament circuit grew, in 1937 the Harry Vardon Trophy was created to be awarded to the member of the PGA with the best stroke average in select major stroke play tournaments of the season. This would later become known as the Order of Merit, and at different times has been calculated using stroke average, a points system and money earned. Each year the PGA would determine which tournaments were to be included for the Order of Merit.

By the post-World War II period, prize money was becoming more significant, with sponsors being attracted by the introduction of television coverage, and as such it was becoming more feasible for professional golfers to make a living by playing alone. In the United States, a formal organised tour, which later became known as the PGA Tour, had been administered by the PGA of America since the 1930s. However, even into the 1960s and 1970s, the majority of tournaments in Europe were still organised separately by the host golf club or association, or a commercial promoter.

In 1972, The Professional Golfers' Association created an integrated "European tour" with the inclusion of eight major tournaments in Continental Europe on their Order of Merit schedule. These tournaments were the French Open, which was first included in 1970; the Italian, Spanish, German and Swiss Opens, which were included in 1971; and the Dutch Open, the Madrid Open and the Lancia d'Oro tournament, which were included for the first time. As such, the 1972 season is now officially recognised as the first season of the PGA European Tour. For several years, the British PGA and continental circuits continued to run separately, each with their own Order of Merit. Following the example set in the U.S., and having been threatened with a breakaway, in 1975 the PGA agreed to amend their constitution, giving the tournament side more autonomy with the formation of the Tournament Players Division. In 1977, the Tournament Players Division joined with the Continental Tournament Players Association to become the European Tournament Players Division. The following year, it was agreed with the European Golf Association that the Continental Order of Merit would be discontinued.

Strategic alliance with the PGA Tour

In November 2020, the tour entered into a "strategic alliance" with the PGA Tour. As part of the agreement, the PGA Tour acquired a 15% stake in European Tour Productions, the Scottish Open gained a new title sponsor and became co-sanctioned by the PGA Tour, and two regular PGA Tour tournaments also became co-sanctioned by the European Tour: the Barbasol Championship and the Barracuda Championship. There was also a new sponsor and increased prize fund for the Irish Open. In June 2022, in response to the emergence of LIV Golf, the tours announced that the PGA Tour were increasing their stake to 40% and further changes to the tour, including increased prize funds and leading players in the DP World Tour Rankings gaining PGA Tour cards for the following season.

Status and prize money

The European Tour is considered the second most important tour in men's golf, behind the U.S.-based PGA Tour, but it retains significantly higher standing than other leading golf tours around the world. This status is reflected by the minimum world ranking points available in each tours respective tournaments, and prize money available. The total prize money available on the European Tour is approximately half that of the PGA Tour. However, this includes the majors and World Golf Championships, which are the most lucrative on the schedule, so the difference for regular tournaments is substantially higher. There is also much more variation in prize funds between tournaments on the European Tour than on the PGA Tour. Even though the prize funds of many European Tour events have increased rapidly since the late 1990s, especially with the introduction of the Race to Dubai and the Rolex Series, on occasion the European Tour has failed to attract as many leading players to its events as in the past, with even some of the top European players staying away.

For many players, the European Tour is seen as a stepping-stone to the PGA Tour. During the late 20th century, the European Tour was traditionally the first overseas move for outstanding players from non-European countries, particularly in the Commonwealth, and a major source for elite golfers, such as Greg Norman, Nick Price and Ernie Els. These players tended to move to the PGA Tour as a second step. When Continental Europe produced its first global golf stars in the 1970s, such as Seve Ballesteros, and especially when Europe began to notch wins over the U.S. in the Ryder Cup in the mid-1980s, there was widespread optimism about the future standing of the European Tour relative to the PGA Tour. This has ebbed away as leading players continued to base themselves in the U.S. and several major European countries, such as Germany and Italy, have not regularly produced high-ranked golfers, as was formerly anticipated. Nonetheless, the number of European countries which have produced winners on the European Tour and PGA Tour has increased, with notable golfing depth developing in the Scandinavian countries.

However, since the late-1990s, more young golfers from around the world are starting their careers directly in the U.S., often having attended college as amateurs, usually with golf scholarships, before turning professional. Conversely, some young American players have sought to kick-start their professional careers in Europe, having failed to qualify for either PGA Tour or its development tour. For example, former world number one amateur, Peter Uihlein, announced in December 2011 that he would not return for his final semester at Oklahoma State University and would begin professional play in Europe the following month, both through sponsor's exemptions on the main European Tour and on the developmental Challenge Tour. It is a route that has been successfully followed, most notably by multiple major winner Brooks Koepka.

The structure of the European Tour season

A typical season

Since 2000, with the exception of 2012, the season has actually started late in the previous calendar year, but the seasons are still named by calendar year, rather than for example 2005–06, which would reflect the actual span of play. All of the events up until late March take place outside Europe, with most of these being co-sanctioned with other tours. From then on, the tour plays mainly in Europe, and the events in its home continent generally have higher prize money than those held elsewhere, excluding the major championships, which were added to the tour schedule in 1998; three individual World Golf Championships events, added the following year, most of which take place in the U.S.; and the HSBC Champions, elevated to World Golf Championships status in 2009.

There are generally only minor variations in the overall pattern from one year to the next. Occasionally, tournaments change venue, and quite often change name, particularly when they get a new sponsor, but the principal events have fixed and traditional places in the schedule, and this determines the rhythm of the season.

Race to Dubai

In 2009, the Order of Merit was replaced by the Race to Dubai, with a bonus pool of US$7.5 million (originally $10 million) distributed among the top 15 players at the end of the season, with the winner taking $1.5 million (originally $2 million). The new name reflected 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 (originally $10 million), and was contested by the leading 60 players in the race following the season's penultimate event, the Hong Kong Open. The winner of the Race to Dubai also receives a 10-year European Tour exemption, while the winner of the Dubai World Championship receives a five-year exemption. The reduction in prize money, announced in September 2009, was due to the global economic downturn. In 2012, the bonus pool was reduced to $3.75 million with the winner getting $1 million and only the top 10 golfers getting a bonus. The bonus pool was increased to $5 million in 2014 with the top 15 players earning part of the pool. 2019 saw further changes: in 2018, the top 10 finishers on the Race to Dubai shared the bonus pool of $5 million, but as of 2019, the sum was split between only the leading five finishers. Whoever topped the standings received an additional $2 million compared with the $1.25 million won by Francesco Molinari in 2018. In addition, the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai was cut to the top 50 golfers on the Race to Dubai list, the prize fund was kept at $8 million, but the winner's share was increased to $3 million. This was designed to increase interest and player participation in the event.

In November 2021, the Race to Dubai was renamed the DP World Tour Rankings in line with the tour being retitled as the DP World Tour. However, in November 2022, the tour announced that the Rankings would be reverted to the Race to Dubai, starting from the 2023 season.

As of November 2025, the players with the most Race to Dubai/Order of Merit victories, dating back to the European Tour's beginning in 1972, included Colin Montgomerie with eight wins, Rory McIlroy with seven wins, and Seve Ballesteros with six wins.

Rolex Series

For the 2017 season, the European Tour launched the Rolex Series, a series of events with higher prize funds than regular tour events, to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the partnership between Rolex and the Tour. The series began with eight events, each with a minimum prize fund of $7 million. As of 2025, the Rolex Series consists of five events, each with a purse of $9 million (except for the DP World Tour Championship with $10 million).

In January 2026, the DP World Tour and Rolex announced a "long-term extension of their long-running partnership", with the later continuing its role as the official timekeeper of the tour, which it has done sine 1997.

Order of Merit winners

The European Tour's money list was known as the "Order of Merit" until 2009, when it was replaced by the Race to Dubai. It is calculated in euro, although around half of the events have prize funds which are fixed in other currencies, mainly pounds sterling or U.S. dollars. In these instances, the amounts are converted into euro at the exchange rate for the week that the tournament is played. The winner of the Order of Merit receives the Harry Vardon Trophy, not to be confused with the Vardon Trophy awarded by the PGA of America.

Leading career money winners

The table below shows the top 10 career money leaders on the European Tour. Due to increases in prize money over the years, it is dominated by current players. The figures are not the players' complete career earnings, as most of them have earned millions more on other tours (especially the PGA Tour) or from non-tour events. In addition, elite golfers often earn several times as much from endorsements and golf-related business interests as they do from prize money.

As of April 2026.

Awards

Golfer of the Year

The European Tour Golfer of the Year was an award handed out by a panel comprising members of the Association of Golf Writers (AGW) and commentators from television and radio. The award was created in 1985 and lasted until 2020, when it merged with the Players' Player of the Year award in 2021.

Players' Player of the Year

The European Tour Players' Player of the Year was inaugurated in 2008, with the winner being determined by a vote of tour members. In 2017, the award was renamed as the Seve Ballesteros Award in honour of the legendary Spanish golfer. From 2021 onwards, the Seve Ballesteros Award merged with the Golfer of the Year award, creating one singular honour voted for by the players.

Rookie of the Year

The Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year award is named after the English three-time Open Champion Sir Henry Cotton. Originally chosen by Henry Cotton himself, the winner was later selected by a panel consisting of the PGA European Tour, The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews, and the Association of Golf Writers. It is currently given to the rookie who places highest in the Race to Dubai. The award was first presented in 1960, and thus predates the official start of the tour in 1972. There were five years (1962, 1964, 1965, 1967, and 1975) in which the Rookie of the Year Award was not given.

Graduate of the Year

The European Challenge Tour Graduate of the Year was inaugurated in 2013 and is awarded to the highest ranked player in the Race to Dubai who graduated from the Challenge Tour in the previous season.

Chief Executives

Since the tour's formation in 1972, there have been five Chief Executives. They are as follows:

John Jacobs (1972–1975)

Ken Schofield (1975–2004)

George O'Grady (2005–2015)

Keith Pelley (2015–2024)

Guy Kinnings (2024–present)

Television

France: Canal+ Sport

Germany: Sky Deutschland

Italy: Sky Italia

Portugal: Sport TV

Spain: Movistar Golf

United Kingdom and Ireland: Sky Sports

Americas: Golf Channel

Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia: Golf Channel

Balkans: Sportklub

Middle East and North Africa: Golflife

Sub-Saharan Africa: SuperSport

China: CCTV

Japan: U-NEXT

Korea: JTBC Golf

India: Sony TEN

Thailandia, Malaysia: Golf Channel

Singapore: StarHub

Hong Kong: Now Sports

Scandinavia: Viasat Golf

Vietnam: VTVCab

Australia: Fox Sports

New Zealand: Sky Sport NZ