2016 European Tour
The 2016 European Tour was the eighth edition of the Race to Dubai and the 45th season of golf tournaments since the European Tour officially began in 1972.
The Race to Dubai was won for the second time by Sweden's Henrik Stenson, who was also named Golfer of the Year. The Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year was Wang Jeung-hun from South Korea.
Rule changes
For the 2016 season, the European Tour modified its membership requirements from 13 tournaments inclusive of the four majors and four World Golf Championships, to 5 tournaments exclusive of them; the change was intended to make it easier for United States-based players outside the top-50 in the world rankings to retain their membership, as they may not be eligible for the majors and WGCs.Schedule
The table below shows the 2016 European Tour schedule which began with three events in late 2015.There were many changes from the previous season. There were four additions to the schedule: the return of the Perth International, the first European Tour sanctioned Australian PGA Championship; the inaugural Maybank Championship, which replaced the Malaysian Open; and the Olympic Men's Golf Competition. Six tournaments were lost from the schedule: the Africa Open, the Malaysian Open, the Madeira Islands Open, the Russian Open, the BMW Masters and the Hong Kong Open, which would take place early in the 2017 season due to a change in dates from October to December.
The Final Series was also adjusted; the Nedbank Golf Challenge replaced the dropped BMW Masters, and the series was reduced to three events with the removal of the WGC-HSBC Champions. As a result of the change of dates, the Nedbank Golf Challenge was played twice during the season.
The Fiji International and the King's Cup were added to the schedule later.
| Date | Tournament | Host country | Winner | OWGR points | Notes |
| 29 Nov | Alfred Dunhill Championship | South Africa |  Charl Schwartzel | 22 | Co-sanctioned with the Sunshine Tour |
| 6 Dec | Nedbank Golf Challenge | South Africa |  Marc Leishman | 44 | Co-sanctioned with the Sunshine Tour |
| 6 Dec | Australian PGA Championship | Australia | Nathan Holman | 20 | New to the European Tour; co-sanctioned with the PGA Tour of Australasia |
| 10 Jan | BMW SA Open | South Africa | Brandon Stone | 32 | Co-sanctioned with the Sunshine Tour |
| 17 Jan | EurAsia Cup | Malaysia | Team Europe | n/a | Team event; approved special event; co-sanctioned with the Asian Tour |
| 17 Jan | Joburg Open | South Africa | Haydn Porteous | 19 | Co-sanctioned with the Sunshine Tour |
| 24 Jan | Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship | United Arab Emirates |  Rickie Fowler | 52 | |
| 30 Jan | Commercial Bank Qatar Masters | Qatar | Branden Grace | 36 | |
| 7 Feb | Omega Dubai Desert Classic | United Arab Emirates |  Danny Willett | 48 | |
| 14 Feb | Tshwane Open | South Africa | Charl Schwartzel | 19 | Co-sanctioned with the Sunshine Tour |
| 21 Feb | Maybank Championship Malaysia | Malaysia | Marcus Fraser | 38 | Co-sanctioned with the Asian Tour |
| 28 Feb | ISPS Handa Perth International | Australia | Louis Oosthuizen | 23 | Co-sanctioned with the PGA Tour of Australasia and the Asian Tour |
| 6 Mar | WGC-Cadillac Championship | United States | Adam Scott | 76 | World Golf Championships |
| 13 Mar | True Thailand Classic | Thailand | Scott Hend | 24 | Co-sanctioned with the Asian Tour |
| 20 Mar | Hero Indian Open | India |  Shiv Chawrasia | 19 | Co-sanctioned with the Asian Tour |
| 27 Mar | WGC-Dell Match Play | United States | Jason Day | 76 | World Golf Championships |
| 10 Apr | Masters Tournament | United States | Danny Willett | 100 | Major championship |
| 17 Apr | Real Club Valderrama Open de España | Spain | Andrew Johnston | 28 | |
| 25 Apr | Shenzhen International | China |  Lee Soo-min | 24 | |
| 1 May | Volvo China Open | China |  Li Haotong | 26 | Co-sanctioned with the OneAsia Tour |
| 8 May | Trophée Hassan II | Morocco | Wang Jeung-hun | 24 | |
| 15 May | AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open | Mauritius | Wang Jeung-hun | 17 | Co-sanctioned with the Sunshine Tour and the Asian Tour |
| 22 May | Dubai Duty Free Irish Open | Ireland |  Rory McIlroy | 46 | |
| 29 May | BMW PGA Championship | England | Chris Wood | 64 | Flagship event |
| 5 Jun | Nordea Masters | Sweden | Matthew Fitzpatrick | 24 | |
| 12 Jun | Lyoness Open | Austria | Wu Ashun | 24 | |
| 19 Jun | U.S. Open | United States | Dustin Johnson | 100 | Major championship |
| 26 Jun | BMW International Open | Germany |  Henrik Stenson | 34 | |
| 3 Jul | Open de France | France |  Thongchai Jaidee | 42 | |
| 10 Jul | Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open | Scotland | Alex Norén | 46 | |
| 17 Jul | The Open Championship | Scotland | Henrik Stenson | 100 | Major championship |
| 31 Jul | PGA Championship | United States | Jimmy Walker | 100 | Major championship |
| 31 Jul | King's Cup | Thailand |  Chan Shih-chang | 14 | New to the European Tour; co-sanctioned with the Asian Tour |
| 7 Aug | Aberdeen Asset Management Paul Lawrie Matchplay | Scotland | Anthony Wall | 24 | |
| 14 Aug | Olympic Men's Golf Competition | Brazil | Justin Rose | 46 | Approved special event |
| 21 Aug | D+D Real Czech Masters | Czech Republic | Paul Peterson | 24 | |
| 28 Aug | Made in Denmark | Denmark |  Thomas Pieters | 24 | |
| 4 Sep | Omega European Masters | Switzerland | Alex Norén | 30 | Co-sanctioned with the Asian Tour |
| 11 Sep | KLM Open | Netherlands |  Joost Luiten | 24 | |
| 18 Sep | Italian Open | Italy |  Francesco Molinari | 36 | |
| 25 Sep | Porsche European Open | Germany |  Alexander Lévy | 24 | |
| 2 Oct | Ryder Cup | United States | n/a | Team event; approved special event | |
| 9 Oct | Alfred Dunhill Links Championship | Scotland | Tyrrell Hatton | 40 | Celebrity pro-am |
| 9 Oct | Fiji International | Fiji | Brandt Snedeker | 16 | New to the European Tour; co-sanctioned with the PGA Tour of Australasia |
| 16 Oct | British Masters | England | Alex Norén | 34 | |
| 23 Oct | Portugal Masters | Portugal |  Pádraig Harrington | 24 | |
| 30 Oct | WGC-HSBC Champions | China |  Hideki Matsuyama | 70 | World Golf Championships |
| 6 Nov | Turkish Airlines Open | Turkey |  Thorbjørn Olesen | 30 | Final Series |
| 13 Nov | Nedbank Golf Challenge | South Africa | Alex Norén | 46 | Final Series |
| 20 Nov | DP World Tour Championship, Dubai | United Arab Emirates | Matthew Fitzpatrick | 52 | Final Series |
| 27 Nov | World Cup of Golf | Australia | n/a | Team event; approved special event |
Location of tournaments
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.| Rank | Player | Country | Events | Points |
| 1 | Henrik Stenson | 16 | 5,289,506 | |
| 2 | Danny Willett | 24 | 4,419,190 | |
| 3 | Alexander Norén | 22 | 3,995,053 | |
| 4 | Tyrrell Hatton | 23 | 3,690,027 | |
| 5 | Rory McIlroy | 13 | 3,337,141 | |
| 6 | Matthew Fitzpatrick | 28 | 2,715,297 | |
| 7 | Branden Grace | 16 | 2,395,602 | |
| 8 | Rafael Cabrera-Bello | 22 | 2,343,049 | |
| 9 | Bernd Wiesberger | 26 | 2,266,907 | |
| 10 | Louis Oosthuizen | 16 | 2,166,590 |
- Full list can be found .
Awards
Golfer of the Month
The winners of the European Tour Golfer of the Month award:| Month | Player | Country |
| January | Nathan Holman | |
| February | Danny Willett | |
| March | Shiv Chawrasia | |
| April | Danny Willett | |
| May | Wang Jeung-hun | |
| June | Henrik Stenson | |
| July | Henrik Stenson | |
| August | Justin Rose | |
| September | Francesco Molinari | |
| October | Tyrrell Hatton | |
| November | Matthew Fitzpatrick |