2012 European Tour
| Duration | 5 January 2012 – 25 November 2012 |
|---|---|
| Number of official events | 45[a] |
| Most wins |  Branden Grace (4) |
| Race to Dubai |  Rory McIlroy |
| Golfer of the Year | Rory McIlroy |
| Players' Player of the Year | Rory McIlroy |
| Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year |  Ricardo Santos |
← 2011 2013 → | |
The 2012 European Tour was the 41st season of the European Tour, the main professional golf tour in Europe since its inaugural season in 1972.
Changes for 2012
Prior to the start of the 2011 season, the tour had announced their intention to realign the schedule with the calendar.[1] As a result, in 2012 there were several changes from the previous season. There was initially one new tournament in 2012, the ISPS Handa Perth International, and several tournaments were dropped: the Castelló Masters, the Iskandar Johor Open, and the Alfred Dunhill Championship,[2] which was played in December as part of the 2013 season.
During the season, the BMW Masters in China was added to the schedule,[3] the Czech Open was cancelled,[4] and three tournaments in Spain were also cancelled: the Iberdrola Open,[5] the Madrid Masters,[6] and the Andalucía Masters.[7]
Schedule
The following table lists official events during the 2012 season.[8]
| Date | Tournament | Host country | Purse | Winner[b] | OWGR points |
Other tours[c] |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 Jan | Africa Open | South Africa | €1,000,000 | Louis Oosthuizen (4)
|
20 | AFR | |
| 15 Jan | Joburg Open | South Africa | €1,300,000 | Branden Grace (1)
|
22 | AFR | |
| 22 Jan | Volvo Golf Champions | South Africa | €2,000,000 | Branden Grace (2)
|
32 | Limited-field event | |
| 29 Jan | Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship | UAE | US$2,700,000 |  Robert Rock (2)
|
58 | ||
| 5 Feb | Commercialbank Qatar Masters | Qatar | US$2,500,000 |  Paul Lawrie (7)
|
48 | ||
| 12 Feb | Omega Dubai Desert Classic | UAE | US$2,500,000 |  Rafa Cabrera-Bello (2)
|
48 | ||
| 19 Feb | Avantha Masters | India | €1,800,000 | Jbe' Kruger (1)
|
20 | ASA | |
| 26 Feb | WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship | United States | US$8,500,000 |  Hunter Mahan (n/a)
|
76 | World Golf Championship | |
| 11 Mar | WGC-Cadillac Championship | United States | US$8,500,000 | Justin Rose (5)
|
78 | World Golf Championship | |
| 18 Mar | Open de Andalucía Costa del Sol | Spain | €1,000,000 |  Julien Quesne (1)
|
24 | ||
| 25 Mar | Trophée Hassan II | Morocco | €1,500,000 | Michael Hoey (4)
|
24 | ||
| 1 Apr | Sicilian Open | Italy | €1,000,000 |  Thorbjørn Olesen (1)
|
24 | ||
| 8 Apr | Masters Tournament | United States | US$8,000,000 | Bubba Watson (n/a)
|
100 | Major championship | |
| 15 Apr | Maybank Malaysian Open | Malaysia | US$2,500,000 | Louis Oosthuizen (5)
|
36 | ASA | |
| 22 Apr | Volvo China Open | China | CN¥20,000,000 | Branden Grace (3)
|
32 | ONE | |
| 29 Apr | Ballantine's Championship | South Korea | €2,205,000 |  Bernd Wiesberger (1)
|
32 | ASA, KOR | |
| 6 May | Reale Seguros Open de España | Spain | €2,000,000 |  Francesco Molinari (3)
|
30 | ||
| Iberdrola Open | Spain | – | Cancelled | – | |||
| 13 May | Madeira Islands Open - Portugal | Portugal | €675,000 | Ricardo Santos (1)
|
18 | CHA | |
| 20 May | Volvo World Match Play Championship | Spain | €2,750,000 |  Nicolas Colsaerts (2)
|
34 | Limited-field event | |
| 27 May | BMW PGA Championship | England | €4,500,000 | Luke Donald (7)
|
64 | Flagship event | |
| 3 Jun | ISPS Handa Wales Open | Wales | £1,800,000 |  Thongchai Jaidee (5)
|
28 | ||
| 9 Jun | Nordea Masters | Sweden | €1,500,000 | Lee Westwood (22)
|
26 | ||
| 17 Jun | Saint-Omer Open | France | €500,000 | Darren Fichardt (3)
|
18 | CHA | |
| 17 Jun | U.S. Open | United States | US$8,000,000 | Webb Simpson (n/a)
|
100 | Major championship | |
| 24 Jun | BMW International Open | Germany | €2,000,000 | Danny Willett (1)
|
30 | ||
| 1 Jul | Irish Open | Northern Ireland | €2,000,000 |  Jamie Donaldson (1)
|
38 | ||
| 8 Jul | Alstom Open de France | France | €3,000,000 |  Marcel Siem (2)
|
46 | ||
| 15 Jul | Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open | Scotland | £2,500,000 |  Jeev Milkha Singh (4)
|
48 | ||
| 22 Jul | The Open Championship | England | £5,000,000 | Ernie Els (27)
|
100 | Major championship | |
| 28 Jul | Lyoness Open | Austria | €1,000,000 | Bernd Wiesberger (2)
|
24 | ||
| 5 Aug | WGC-Bridgestone Invitational | United States | US$8,500,000 | Keegan Bradley (n/a)
|
76 | World Golf Championship | |
| 12 Aug | PGA Championship | United States | US$8,000,000 | Rory McIlroy (4)
|
100 | Major championship | |
| Czech Open | Czech Republic | – | Cancelled | – | |||
| 26 Aug | Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles | Scotland | £1,400,000 | Paul Lawrie (8)
|
30 | ||
| 2 Sep | Omega European Masters | Switzerland | €2,100,000 | Richie Ramsay (2)
|
32 | ASA | |
| 9 Sep | KLM Open | Netherlands | €1,800,000 |  Peter Hanson (5)
|
30 | ||
| 16 Sep | BMW Italian Open | Italy | €1,500,000 | Gonzalo Fernández-Castaño (6)
|
28 | ||
| Madrid Masters | Spain | – | Cancelled | – | |||
| 7 Oct | Alfred Dunhill Links Championship | Scotland | US$5,000,000 | Branden Grace (4)
|
46 | Pro-Am | |
| 14 Oct | Portugal Masters | Portugal | €2,200,000 |  Shane Lowry (2)
|
34 | ||
| Andalucía Masters | Spain | – | Cancelled | – | |||
| 21 Oct | ISPS Handa Perth International | Australia | US$2,000,000 | Bo Van Pelt (n/a)
|
22 | ANZ | New tournament |
| 28 Oct | BMW Masters | China | US$7,000,000 | Peter Hanson (6)
|
56 | New to European Tour Limited-field event | |
| 4 Nov | WGC-HSBC Champions | China | US$7,000,000 | Ian Poulter (12)
|
64 | World Golf Championship | |
| 11 Nov | Barclays Singapore Open | Singapore | US$6,000,000 | Matteo Manassero (3)
|
48 | ASA | |
| 18 Nov | UBS Hong Kong Open | Hong Kong | US$2,750,000 | Miguel Ángel Jiménez (19)
|
32 | ASA | |
| 18 Nov | SA Open Championship | South Africa | €1,000,000 | Henrik Stenson (7)
|
32 | AFR[d] | |
| 25 Nov | DP World Tour Championship, Dubai | UAE | US$8,000,000 | Rory McIlroy (5)
|
58 | Tour Championship |
Unofficial events
The following events were sanctioned by the European Tour, but did not carry official money, nor were wins official.
| Date | Tournament | Host country | Purse | Winners | OWGR points |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 Sep | Ryder Cup | United States | n/a |  Team Europe
|
n/a | Team event |
Location of tournaments
    Location of official tournaments of the 2012 European Tour in Europe.  Major Championship Flagship event Regular event |
    Location of official tournaments of the 2012 European Tour outside Europe. Major Championship World Golf Championship Tour Championship Regular event
|
Race to Dubai
The Race to Dubai was based on prize money won during the season, calculated in Euros.[9][10][11][12]
| Pos. | Player | Majors | WGCs | Principal events | Top 10s in other ET events | Tmts | Money | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mas | USO | Opn | PGA | WGC MP |
WGC Cad |
WGC Inv |
WGC Cha |
BMW PGA |
DPW TC |
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | Reg. (€) |
Bon. ($) |
Total (€) | |||||||||
| 1 | McIlroy
|
T40 | CUT | T60 | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | T5 | • | CUT | 1st | 2nd | T5 | T10 | 2nd | 3rd | 15 | 4,738,027 | 1,000,000 | 5,519,118 | ||||||||
| 2 | Rose
|
T8 | T21 | CUT | T3 | T33 | 1st | T5 | T24 | T2 | 2nd | T9 | T9 | T6 | 13 | 3,260,635 | 650,000 | 3,768,345 | ||||||||||
| 3 | Oosthuizen
|
2nd | CUT | T19 | T21 | T17 | T60 | 4th | T6 | • | 5th | 1st | T7 | 1st | T6 | 16 | 2,796,819 | 500,000 | 3,187,364 | |||||||||
| 4 | Hanson
|
T3 | CUT | T23 | T7 | T5 | T4 | T63 | T24 | CUT | T16 | T2 | T3 | 1st | 1st | 21 | 2,730,006 | 375,000 | 3,022,916 | |||||||||
| 5 | Poulter
|
7th | T41 | T9 | T3 | T33 | T60 | T29 | 1st | T10 | T26 | T9 | T4 | 4th | 15 | 2,327,402 | 325,000 | 2,581,257 | ||||||||||
| 6 | Grace
|
• | T51 | T77 | CUT | • | T35 | T36 | T62 | 5th | 6th | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 26 | 2,287,701 | 275,000 | 2,502,501 | |||||||||
| 7 | Donald
|
T32 | CUT | T5 | T32 | T33 | T6 | T8 | T18 | 1st | T3 | 3rd | 13 | 2,197,794 | 225,000 | 2,373,540 | ||||||||||||
| 8 | F. Molinari
|
T19 | T29 | T39 | T54 | T17 | T13 | T40 | T39 | T7 | T34 | T8 | T6 | 1st | 2nd | 2nd | T6 | T5 | 25 | 2,078,538 | 175,000 | 2,215,229 | ||||||
| 9 | McDowell
|
T12 | T2 | T5 | T11 | T33 | T13 | T24 | T42 | CUT | T52 | T3 | 2nd | 16 | 1,847,420 | 125,000 | 1,945,056 | |||||||||||
| 10 | Lawrie
|
T24 | • | T34 | T48 | T9 | T60 | T50 | T36 | T2 | T48 | T10 | T8 | 1st | T3 | 1st | T6 | T10 | 25 | 1,832,272 | 100,000 | 1,910,381 | ||||||
Win
Top 10
Made cut
Missed cut
• Did not play
Awards
| Award | Winner | Ref. |
|---|---|---|
| Golfer of the Year | Rory McIlroy |
[13] |
| Players' Player of the Year | Rory McIlroy |
[14] |
| Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year | Ricardo Santos |
[15] |
See also
Notes
- ^ A further four tournaments were scheduled but were cancelled.
- ^ 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 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.
- ^ AFR − Sunshine Tour; ANZ − PGA Tour of Australasia; ASA − Asian Tour; CHA − Challenge Tour; KOR − Korean Tour; ONE − OneAsia Tour.
- ^ Sunshine Tour flagship event
References
- ^ "European Tour unveils 2011 Race to Dubai schedule". BBC Sport. 28 November 2010. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
- ^ "European Tour releases complete 2012 schedule". Golf Channel. 19 December 2011. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
- ^ "European Tour adds BMW Masters in Shanghai to schedule". BBC Sport. 23 April 2012. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
- ^ "Czech Open canceled for 2012". Golf Channel. 18 May 2012. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
- ^ "Lacking a sponsor, Iberdrola Open cancels". Golfweek. 20 March 2012. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
- ^ "Madrid Open wiped from calendar". ESPN. Associated Press. 10 July 2012. Retrieved 10 July 2012.
- ^ "Andalucia Masters canceled". ESPN. Associated Press. 12 September 2012. Retrieved 13 September 2012.
- ^ "2012 Tournament schedule". European Tour. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
- ^ "Race to Dubai bonus pool slashed in half for 2012". Golf Channel. 5 January 2012. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
- ^ "European Race to Dubai". European Tour. 25 November 2012. Archived from the original on 1 December 2012. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
- ^ "The final 2012 Race to Dubai Ranking". Worldwide Golf. No. 142. Worldwide Sporting Publications. December 2012. p. 14. Retrieved 10 February 2021 – via Issuu.
- ^ "Rory McIlroy wins DP World Tour Championship in Dubai". BBC Sport. 25 November 2012. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
- ^ "Rory McIlroy named European Tour golfer of the year". BBC Sport. 18 December 2012. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
- ^ "Celebrations at the Players' Awards dinner". European Tour. 22 May 2013. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
The highest honour of the Players' Player of the Year award went to Rory McIlroy as his peers recognised his phenomenal achievements of winning US PGA Championship, topping both the US PGA Tour Money List and The Race to Dubai and reigning supreme as World Number One.
- ^ "Ricardo Santos named European Tour Rookie of the Year". Sky Sports. 28 November 2012. Retrieved 22 April 2023.