2007 European Tour


The 2007 European Tour was the 36th golf season since the European Tour officially began in 1972.
The Order of Merit race came down to the closing holes of the final tournament, and was won by Justin Rose for the first time despite the Englishman playing the majority of his golf in America. Rose overtook Ernie Els and held off the challenge of the defending Order of Merit champion Pádraig Harrington. The Player of the Year award was given to Harrington after his victories at The Open Championship and the Irish Open. The Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year was Martin Kaymer of Germany.

Major tournaments

For a summary of the major tournaments and events of 2007, including the major championships and the World Golf Championships, see 2007 in golf.

Schedule

The 2007 season began with six tournaments in late 2006 and consisted of record 52 official money events, surpassing the 2005 and 2006 seasons. This included the four major championships and three World Golf Championships, which were also sanctioned by the PGA Tour. 29 events took place in Europe, 12 in Asia, six in the United States, three in South Africa, one in Australia and one in New Zealand. The PGA Tour's introduction of the FedEx Cup prompted the European Tour to extend the season into November and several tournaments moved away from their traditional dates.
There were three new tournaments, the Joburg Open in South Africa, the Open de Andalucía in Spain and the Portugal Masters. In addition, the long-established Australian Masters joined the tour schedule and two tournaments returned after missing the 2006 season; the New Zealand Open skipped a season due to date changes, and the German Masters having not been held in 2006, came back with a new sponsor and was re-titled as the Mercedes-Benz Championship.
DatesTournamentHost countryWinnerOWGR
points		Notes
9–12 NovHSBC ChampionsChina Yang Yong-eun 52Co-sanctioned with the Asian Tour, PGA Tour of Australasia, and Sunshine Tour
16–19 NovUBS Hong Kong OpenHong Kong José Manuel Lara 32Co-sanctioned with the Asian Tour
23–26 NovMasterCard MastersAustralia Justin Rose 30New to European Tour; co-sanctioned with the PGA Tour of Australasia
30 Nov – 3 DecBlue Chip New Zealand OpenNew Zealand Nathan Green 20Returning tournament; co-sanctioned with the PGA Tour of Australasia
7–10 DecAlfred Dunhill ChampionshipSouth Africa Álvaro Quirós 18Co-sanctioned with the Sunshine Tour
14–17 DecSouth African Airways OpenSouth Africa Ernie Els 32Co-sanctioned with the Sunshine Tour
11–14 JanJoburg OpenSouth Africa Ariel Cañete 20New tournament; co-sanctioned with the Sunshine Tour
18–21 JanAbu Dhabi Golf ChampionshipUnited Arab Emirates Paul Casey 44
25–28 JanThe Commercialbank Qatar MastersQatar Retief Goosen 48Co-sanctioned with the Asian Tour
1–4 FebDubai Desert ClassicUnited Arab Emirates Henrik Stenson 50
8–11 FebMaybank Malaysian OpenMalaysia Peter Hedblom 26Co-sanctioned with the Asian Tour
15–18 FebIndonesia OpenIndonesia Mikko Ilonen 20Co-sanctioned with the Asian Tour
22–25 FebWGC-Accenture Match Play ChampionshipUnited States Henrik Stenson 76World Golf Championships
1–4 MarJohnnie Walker ClassicThailand Anton Haig 40Co-sanctioned with the PGA Tour of Australasia and the Asian Tour
8–11 MarSingapore MastersSingapore Liang Wenchong 30Co-sanctioned with the Asian Tour
15–18 MarTCL ClassicChina Chapchai Nirat 20Co-sanctioned with the Asian Tour
22–25 MarWGC-CA ChampionshipUnited States Tiger Woods 76World Golf Championships
22–25 MarMadeira Island OpenPortugal Daniel Vancsik 24Alternate event
29 Mar – 1 AprEstoril Open de PortugalPortugal Pablo Martín 24
5–8 AprMasters TournamentUnited States Zach Johnson 100Major championship
12–15 AprVolvo China OpenChina Markus Brier 20Co-sanctioned with the Asian Tour
19–22 AprBMW Asian OpenChina Raphaël Jacquelin 32Co-sanctioned with the Asian Tour
26–29 AprOpen de EspañaSpain Charl Schwartzel 24
3–6 MayTelecom Italia OpenItaly Gonzalo Fernández-Castaño 24
10–13 MayValle Romano Open de AndalucíaSpain Lee Westwood 24New tournament
17–20 MayIrish OpenIreland Pádraig Harrington 28
24–27 MayBMW PGA ChampionshipEngland Anders Hansen 64Flagship event
31 May – 3 JunCeltic Manor Wales OpenWales Richard Sterne 26
7–10 JunBA-CA Golf OpenAustria Richard Green 24
14–17 JunU.S. OpenUnited States Ángel Cabrera 100Major championship
14–17 JunOpen de Saint-OmerFrance Carl Suneson 18Alternate event; dual-ranking event with the Challenge Tour
21–24 JunBMW International OpenGermany Niclas Fasth 34
28 Jun – 1 JulOpen de FranceFrance Graeme Storm 30
5–8 JulSmurfit European OpenIreland Colin Montgomerie 32
12–15 JulBarclays Scottish OpenScotland Grégory Havret 50
19–22 JulThe Open ChampionshipScotland Pádraig Harrington 100Major championship
26–29 JulDeutsche Bank Players Championship of EuropeGermany Andrés Romero 40
2–5 AugWGC-Bridgestone InvitationalUnited States Tiger Woods 76World Golf Championships
2–5 AugRussian OpenRussia Per-Ulrik Johansson 24Alternate event
9–12 AugPGA ChampionshipUnited States Tiger Woods 100Major championship
16–19 AugScandinavian MastersSweden Mikko Ilonen 24
23–26 AugKLM OpenNetherlands Ross Fisher 24
30 Aug – 2 SepJohnnie Walker Championship at GleneaglesScotland Marc Warren 24
6–9 SepOmega European MastersSwitzerland Brett Rumford 30
13–16 SepMercedes-Benz ChampionshipGermany Søren Hansen 40Returning tournament, previously known as the German Masters
20–23 SepQuinn Direct British MastersEngland Lee Westwood 32
27–30 SepSeve TrophyIreland Great Britain & Irelandn/aApproved special event; team event
4–7 OctAlfred Dunhill Links ChampionshipScotland Nick Dougherty 48
11–14 OctHSBC World Match Play ChampionshipEngland Ernie Els 40
11–14 OctOpen de MadridSpain Mads Vibe-Hastrup 24Alternate event
18–21 OctPortugal MastersPortugal Steve Webster 34New tournament
25–28 OctMallorca ClassicSpain Grégory Bourdy 24
1–4 NovVolvo MastersSpain Justin Rose 46
22–25 NovMission Hills World CupChina Scotlandn/aApproved special event; team event

Order of Merit

In 2007, the European Tour's money list was known as the "Order of Merit". It was calculated in euro, although around half of the events had prize funds which were fixed in other currencies, mostly either British pounds or U.S. dollars. In these instances the amounts were converted into euro at the exchange rate for the week that the tournament was played. The top 10 golfers in 2007 were:
PositionPlayerCountryPrize money
1Justin Rose2,944,945
2Ernie Els2,496,237
3Pádraig Harrington2,463,742
4Henrik Stenson2,014,841
5Niclas Fasth1,919,339
6Ángel Cabrera1,753,024
7Andrés Romero1,741,707
8Søren Hansen1,692,054
9Retief Goosen1,478,245
10Lee Westwood1,420,327

Tiger Woods earned more money in European Tour events in 2007 than any other golfer, but was not a member of the European Tour so was not eligible for the Order of Merit.

Awards