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.
New tour format
The European Tour will add a new Rolex Series, a select group of tournaments with a minimum purse of US$7 million. Seven tournaments were initially announced: the BMW PGA Championship, Irish Open, Scottish Open, Italian Open, Turkish Airlines Open, Nedbank Golf Challenge and DP World Tour Championship, Dubai.[1][2] The Open de France was later announced as the eighth.[3]
In addition, the European Tour will create an Access List, a season earning list excluding the Masters Tournament, PGA Championship, the four World Golf Championships and the Rolex Series. The top three players in the provisional Access List will be invited to certain Rolex Series events. Also, the top 10 players in the Access List final standings will keep their European Tour cards for the next season.[1] Meanwhile, the top 100 players in the Race to Dubai final standings will be given membership cards, instead of 110.[4]
Schedule
The table below shows the 2017 European Tour schedule which begins with two events in late 2016.[5]
Unofficial events
The following events, all team events, appear on the schedule, but do not carry official money.
| Date | Tournament | Host country | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 May | GolfSixes | England |  Lucas Bjerregaard & Thorbjørn Olesen |
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 euro, with earnings from tournaments that award prize money in other currencies being converted at the exchange rate available the week of the event. The following table shows the final top-10 in the 2016 standings (earnings converted to points).[6]
| Rank | Player | Country | Events | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tommy Fleetwood |  | 24 | 5,420,530 |
| 2 | Justin Rose | | 12 | 4,921,062 |
| 3 | Jon Rahm |  | 13 | 4,602,281 |
| 4 | Sergio García | | 13 | 3,906,072 |
| 5 | Tyrrell Hatton | | 21 | 3,237,346 |
| 6 | Ross Fisher | | 23 | 2,942,728 |
| 7 | Rafael Cabrera-Bello | | 19 | 2,770,297 |
| 8 | Alex Norén |  | 20 | 2,483,867 |
| 9 | Francesco Molinari |  | 13 | 2,282,706 |
| 10 | Branden Grace |  | 15 | 2,252,135 |
- Full list can be found here.
Golfer of the Month
The winners of the European Tour Golfer of the Month award:
| Month | Player | Country |
|---|---|---|
| January | Graeme Storm | |
| February | Sergio García | |
| March | Shiv Chawrasia |  |
| April | Sergio García | |
| May | Alex Norén | |
| June | Renato Paratore | |
| July | Jon Rahm | |
| August | Julian Suri |  |
| September | Lucas Bjerregaard | |
| October | Justin Rose | |
See also
References
- 1 2 "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 reward all European Tour members". PGA European Tour. 15 November 2016.
- ↑ "2017 European Tour Schedule". PGA European Tour. Retrieved 15 November 2016.
- ↑ "The Race Is On". PGA European Tour. Retrieved 20 November 2017.