Professional golf tours are the means by which otherwise unconnected professional golf tournaments are organized into a regular schedule. There are separate tours for men and women; most are based in a specific geographical region, although some tours may hold tournaments in other parts of the world.
98-652: The Swedish Golf Tour , currently titled as the Cutter & Buck Tour for sponsorship reasons, is a developmental professional golf which was formerly operated by Svenska Golftourerna AB, as well as being owned equally by the Swedish Golf Federation and the PGA of Sweden. Since 2018 it has been operated by the Swedish Golf Federation. The tour is designed to help Swedish golfers to reach
196-531: A 2-stage qualifying school tournament is held, which gives players an opportunity to qualify for the SGT. The developing tour to the SGT is the Future Series, with a minimum prize fund of SKr 50,000 per tournament 2020. The Future Series Ranking, gives players the opportunity to qualify for the SGT. The Swedish Golf Tour for women was established in 1986 and is run by the same organization. The history of
294-725: A 60% interest in Ryder Cup Europe, with each of its junior partners holding 20%. In June 2023, it was announced that the PGA Tour , LIV Golf and the European Tour would merge under a single organisation. 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
392-499: A Professional Golfers Association or an independent tour organisation which is responsible for arranging events, finding sponsors, and regulating the tour. Most of the major tours are player controlled organisations whose commercial objective is to maximise the income of their members by maximising prize money. The larger tours have a tournament almost every week through most of the year. Each tour has "members" who have earned their "tour cards", meaning they are entitled to play in most of
490-495: 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,
588-455: A decade after winning bidding, and guaranteed the purses for those tour events. 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,
686-632: 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
784-489: A great deal of difference to the end-of-season rankings. The following year, in 1999, the World Golf Championships were established with the three individual tournaments, also offering substantially more prize money than most European events, added to the European Tour schedule. Since the minimum number of events that a player must play to retain membership of the European Tour was eleven, the addition of
882-528: A higher tour. Some of the players will also play on other tours when they are able to, and others will be club or teaching professionals who play tournament golf part-time. In Europe there is a well-defined third tier of tours which are independently operated but offer promotion to the Challenge Tour for the most successful players. The four third level tours, known as the Satellite Tours, are
980-461: A living from tournament golf can be difficult. Tournaments have entry fees and the associated costs of travel and lodging, plus the hire of a caddie . Moreover, most tournaments have a "cut" after the second of four rounds, meaning that only the top half or so continue play. Only those who make the cut receive any prize money, and only the top players take home significant winnings. The golf tour system evolved more by trial and error than by design. In
1078-522: 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
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#17328021734611176-476: A region each year, they were formalised into a "tour", which was supervised by a single organisation, although many tournaments continue to be run by separate bodies. The PGA Tour was the pioneer of the tour system, and its establishment date is not very clearly defined. The PGA of America was established in 1916. Lists of players with the most wins in each season are available from that year, and career win totals are based on results from 1916 onwards. However,
1274-522: A share. This system continued until 1998, after which renewed emphasis was placed on maximising prize money in individual tournaments. In 1989, the tour visited Asia for the first time for the Dubai Desert Classic . By 1990, there were 38 events on the schedule, including 37 in Europe, and the start of the season had moved up to February. A first visit to East Asia for the Tour occurred at
1372-563: A tournament committee of 14 current players. The Chairman of the Board is Eric Nicoli , who replaced David Williams in 2023. The chairman of the tournament committee is David Howell . The PGA European Tour is the lead partner in Ryder Cup Europe, a joint venture also including the PGA of Great Britain and Ireland and PGA of Europe that operates the Ryder Cup Matches in cooperation with the PGA of America . The PGA European Tour has
1470-574: Is also organized by independent regional tours. Leading female golfers make incomes well over US$ 1 million per year, more than most other women athletes other than top tennis players. There are currently seven first tier regional tours: The LPGA Tour is the dominant tour, and is the main playing base of almost all the world's leading players. It also has tournaments in Canada, Mexico, France, England, Australia, China, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia and other Asian countries. The LPGA of Japan Tour
1568-537: Is as follows : In the 1990s the Japan Golf Tour was the third richest tour, but in recent years its number of tournaments has been steadily contracting from a peak of 44 in 1990 to 24 in 2007, and tournament purses have risen only slowly. The (U.S.) LPGA saw a substantial decline in financial rewards in the late 2000s; when its commissioner Carolyn Bivens was forced to resign by a player revolt in 2009, it had only 14 events locked in for 2010. Its 2010 schedule
1666-651: Is not a well defined US-based third tier. The larger regional tours include the Swing Thought Tour , Gateway Tour , and the APT Tour there is a constantly changing roster of small "mini-tours". The term mini-tour is colloquial and not easy to define, with the larger regional tours carefully avoiding applying the term to themselves. Some of the smaller and lower cost tours prefer the term "developmental tour" asserting that real pro golf with large audiences and great financial opportunities for its players starts at
1764-468: Is open to any registered professional who pays an entry fee. There are enormous differences in the financial rewards offered by the various golf tours, so players on all but the top few tours always aspire to move up if they can. For example, the PGA Tour , which is the first-tier tour in the United States, offers nearly a hundred times as much prize money each season as the third-tier NGA Pro Golf Tour . The hierarchy of tours in financial terms, as of 2024,
1862-580: 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
1960-643: Is the second richest tour, and retains many of its leading players. The best players from the other tours usually move to the LPGA Tour at the earliest opportunity. The second tier women's professional tour in the United States is the Epson Tour (formerly the Futures and then the Symetra). Although there is little opportunity for women's developmental play on the professional level in the United States besides
2058-670: The COVID-19 pandemic , the 2020 schedule was subject to change. The Swedish Golf Federation and the PGA of Sweden decided on June 2, of a restart of the 2020 tour on July 2–4 with Katrineholm Open hosted by Robert Karlsson at Katrineholm Golf Club. Only two scheduled tournaments in Spain in February took place before a three months break. The Swedish Golf Tour has been titled as the Scandinavian Golf Tour (1993–1995),
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#17328021734612156-545: The Canadian Tour became an associate member. The South and Central America based Tour de las Américas became the federation's second associate member in 2007. In 2009 the federation announced a major expansion, as the Tour de las Américas and the Canadian Tour became full members alongside nine new members. They were In 2011, the Tour de las Américas was effectively taken over by the PGA Tour, then, after
2254-911: The DP World Tour for sponsorship reasons, and legally the PGA European Tour or the European Tour Group , is the leading men's professional golf tour in Europe . The organisation also operates the European Senior Tour (for players aged 50 or older) and the developmental Challenge Tour ; the second tier of men's professional golf in Europe. The tour's headquarters are at the Wentworth Club in Virginia Water , Surrey , England. The European Tour
2352-702: 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,
2450-535: The European Tour tournament in Sweden, the 1984 Scandinavian Enterprise Open (SEO), with a prize fund of SKr 1.5 million, was included in the SGT. As the best Swedish players were expected to mainly compete abroad, two Order of Merit standings were counted, one with total money won by SGT-members, with other main tours included, and one with only SGT tournaments counted. One of the purposes with two rankings
2548-897: 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
2646-565: The HSBC Champions , previously a European Tour event co-sanctioned by three other tours, to World Golf Championships status. The minimum increased to 13 in 2011, but beginning in 2013 team events such as the Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup were allowed to count towards the minimum. In 2016 the 13-event minimum was changed to five events, not counting the four majors and four WGCs; while this change did not affect players eligible for all
2744-584: The Nordic Golf League (NGL) was established and came to include the SGT, as well as the national golf tour of Denmark and tournaments in Finland and Norway. As the European Tour and the Challenge Tour have become stronger and richer, players have usually stayed to the tour on the highest level they have been qualified for, why the SGT Order of Merit (total) have lost its significance in favor of
2842-859: The OneAsia Tour , founded in 2009 as a joint venture between the PGA Tour of Australasia, the China Golf Association, the Japan Golf Tour, the Korean Golf Association and the Korean PGA, used to offer world ranking points. The richest tour not offering ranking points was until 2011 the Korean Tour . The official development tour in Japan is the Japan Challenge Tour . Other regional tours include
2940-799: The PGA EuroPro Tour , the Alps Tour , the Pro Golf Tour and the Nordic Golf League . Starting July 2015, the four Europe-based third-tier tours was accepted into the OWGR rankings. Below this level there are various minor professional tournaments, some of which are organised into series by national golf associations. In 2016, the Dubai-based MENA Golf Tour announced an affiliation with the Sunshine Tour and
3038-703: The PGA Tour of Australasia in 1996, and most extensively to the Asian Tour . In 1998, the European Tour added the three U.S. majors – the Masters Tournament , the PGA Championship and the U.S. Open – to its official schedule. The leading European Tour players had all been competing in them for many years, but now their prize money counted towards the Order of Merit (a year later for the Masters Tournament), which sometimes made
Swedish Golf Tour - Misplaced Pages Continue
3136-554: The Professional Golf Tour of India , PGA Tour China and All Thailand Golf Tour . The United States and Europe have additional tours for players who haven't made it onto the Korn Ferry Tour or the Challenge Tour. At this level the prize money is partly funded by entrance fees and only the most successful players will win enough to do more than cover their expenses: the emphasis is very much on moving up to
3234-997: The Telia Infomedia Golf Tour (1996–1997), the Telia Tour (1998–2008), the SAS Masters Tour (2008–2009), the Nordea Tour (2010–2016), the Swedish Golf Tour (2017–2019) and the MoreGolf Mastercard Tour (2020–2023). In July 2023, it was announced that the tour had signed a title sponsorship agreement with Cutter & Buck , being renamed as the Cutter & Buck Tour from 2024. Sources: Professional golf tour At least 95% of professional golfers make their primary income as club or teaching professionals rather than from competition. A small elite in
3332-701: The Vardon Trophy awarded by the PGA of America . 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 10 December 2023. The European Tour Golfer of
3430-977: The Web.com Tour (1990; originally called the Ben Hogan Tour and later the Korn Ferry Tour) and senior tours such as PGA Tour Champions (1980; originally the Senior PGA Tour and later the Champions Tour) and the Legends Tour (1992; originally the European Senior Tour) have been established to give more golfers the opportunity to play on a tour, and to take advantage of the willingness of sponsors and broadcasters to fund an ever-increasing number of tournaments. There are more than twenty professional golf tours, each run by
3528-543: The 1992 Johnnie Walker Classic in Bangkok. This has since proven to be one of the most notable initiatives in the history of the tour, as East Asia is becoming almost its second home. Shortly afterwards the tour also made its debut in the former Soviet Bloc at the 1994 Czech Open , but much less has come of this development as participation in golf in the former Soviet region remains low and sponsors there are unable to compete financially with their Western European rivals for
3626-468: The Canada and Latin American tours. There have also been some well known sportsmen from other sports who, after retiring as wealthy men while still at an age when elite golfers are in their prime, have tried their luck as tournament golfers on the developmental tours, but none of them have made it into golf's elite so far. Examples include Ivan Lendl and Roy Wegerle . Two prominent professional athletes from other sports, however, have had modest success on
3724-435: The Epson Tour, women are welcome to compete against men on some mini-tours. At a lower level is the Cactus Tour , founded in 2005, which plays in the American Southwest . It expanded to hold 38 events in 2020, while the LPGA and Epson suspended play from April to August. Sweden , which is the European country where women's golf is most popular, had its own Swedish Golf Tour , established in 1986, since 2021 transformed to
3822-417: The European Tour loses money in non-Ryder Cup years, makes a tidy profit in years the event is played in the United States (where the PGA of America, not the PGA Tour, owns the event and reaps the majority of the income), and then hits the lottery in years the tournament is staged in Europe. Earlier this year, Golfweek reported that the European Tour made more than 14 million pounds in pre-tax profit in 2010,
3920-412: The Hong Kong Open. The winner of the Race to Dubai also receives a ten-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
4018-450: The Korn Ferry Tour level. Either way, below Korn Ferry Tour level there is little possibility of earning a living from the prize money alone and players compete to gain competitive experience. Some are employed as club or teaching professionals and play tournaments part-time, while some may have sponsors or family backing. After the new Korn Ferry Tour Finals was established in 2013, mini-tour purses have decreased and players have moved to
Swedish Golf Tour - Misplaced Pages Continue
4116-408: The LPGA of Japan Tour enjoyed rapid growth in prize money in the early 2000s, and were less affected by the economic crisis than the U.S. LPGA. The International Federation of PGA Tours is an organization founded in 1996 to enable the world's leading tours to discuss common and global issues in professional golf. The founding members were In 1999 they were joined by the Asian Tour and a year later
4214-480: The NGL Order of Merit. The top five players on the NGL rankings list at the end of each season earn a place on the second tier Challenge Tour for the following year. Since July 2015, the NGL carry Official World Golf Ranking points. Since 2018 the Swedish Golf Federation drives the tour in its own organization. In 2020, the men's Swedish Golf Tour initially included 16 scheduled tournaments, held in four countries, beginning in February and ending in October. Due to
4312-479: The Nordic Golf Tour, operated in cooperation by the golf federations in Denmark and Norway and Sweden . The LET Access Series , launched in 2010, is the developmental tour of Ladies European Tour. The LPGA of Japan operates the Step Up Tour as a feeder for its main tour, and the LPGA of Korea operates two mini-tours (Dream Tour and Jump Tour) that effectively serve as feeders for its main tour. The Moonlightgolf.com Tour in central Florida since 1992, offers women
4410-402: The PGA Championship). Non-PGA members with a licence, as well as PGA members, were allowed to receive prize money. The new and internationally unique rules, made it possible to transform the traditionally most important amateur tournaments in the country to professional tournaments, attractive to sponsors and made it possible for many top amateurs to turn professional. The Swedish Golf Tour, SGT,
4508-414: 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 United States 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
4606-453: The PGA Tour, mainly because most of its tournament sponsors were locked in through 2010; there was media speculation that the expiration of those sponsorship contracts in 2011 would see substantial changes in the landscape of that tour. However, this speculation proved misplaced or at least premature, as the 2011 season was announced with only one less official money event than in 2010 , with virtually identical prize money. The Asian Tour and
4704-430: The PGA of America. Similarly, the European Tour officially began in 1972, although it evolved from the British PGA circuit which merged with the Continental European circuit in 1977 before fully separating from the PGA in 1984. The dates of establishment of the other key tours include: LPGA Tour (1950); Sunshine Tour (1971), Japan Golf Tour (1973); PGA Tour of Australasia (1973), Asian Tour (1995). The Asian Tour
4802-420: The Swedish PGA Championship and the other domestic professional tournaments for several years, a Swedish Club pro PGA Championship, limited to instructing professionals in Sweden and not included in the SGT, was established. The first year, 1984, the SGT consisted of seven tournaments with a total prize amount of SKr 1.3 million and winners' share between SKr 25,000 and SKr 50,000 for each tournament. Except that,
4900-509: The Tour de las Américas held its 2012 season, it was folded into the new PGA Tour Latinoamérica . In October 2012, the Canadian Tour agreed to be taken over by the PGA Tour, with a name change to PGA Tour Canada taking effect that November. The International Federation of PGA Tours founded the World Golf Championships in 1999 and sanction the Official World Golf Ranking . World ranking points are also awarded for good placings in events on three developmental tours: In addition, until 2017
4998-417: The United States 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
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#17328021734615096-402: The Year was an award handed by a panel comprising members of the Association of Golf Writers 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. 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
5194-421: 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
5292-412: 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. 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,
5390-415: The early days of professional golf, in each region of the world each professional tournament was established by a separate golf club, golf organisation or commercial sponsor. As the number of tournaments increased, the most talented professional golfers concentrated mainly on playing in tournaments rather than on club professional and golf instruction work. Once a good number of tournaments were being played in
5488-468: 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. The European Tour is considered the second most important tour in men's golf, behind the United States–based PGA Tour , but retains significantly higher standing than other leading golf tours around
5586-417: The example set in the United States, 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 , and the following year it
5684-439: The famous golfers who are eligible to compete in these events choose to do so, unless they are unable to for health reasons. A number of players win more than a million dollars in prize money each season, and once endorsements and other business activities are taken into account, a few of the "legends of golf" in this age group earn as much as any of the younger PGA Tour pros. The two main senior tours are: Women's professional golf
5782-405: The federation to take place in the country. Starting in 1970, the Dunlop Cup was transformed to the official Swedish PGA Championship , which became the most important tournament on a small but soon growing professional circuit in Sweden. At this time, the majority of the club professionals in Sweden were British and none of the Swedish PGA members were tournament professionals. A point system at
5880-417: The few existing tournaments decided the yearly selection of the two best professionals, who were Swedish citizens, to represent Sweden at the World Cup , usually played far away in the world and long after the Swedish golf season was concluded. Understandably, the Swedish teams usually had difficulties to be competitive. The first Swedish tournament professionals appeared in the early 1970s, with Jan Rosell as
5978-462: The first Swedish born professional to qualify for the last round at the Scandinavian Enterprise Open. Six Swedish amateurs had achieved that before him. At the annual meeting of the Swedish Golf Federation in March 1983, "open golf" was introduced, which meant that, from next year both amateurs and professionals were allowed to enter all domestic competitions, the PGA Championship and international amateur tournaments excluded (amateurs later allowed at
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#17328021734616076-431: 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 . It has been claimed that the finances of the European Tour depend heavily on the Ryder Cup. Days before the start of the 2014 Ryder Cup , American golf journalist Bob Harig noted, In simple terms,
6174-411: The idea of a "tour" had not firmly crystallised at that time and several important developments came much later. Bob Harlow was named manager of the PGA Tournament Bureau in 1930, the first "playing pros" organisation was formed in 1932, and money lists are available from 1934. However the PGA Tour itself dates the formal establishment of the Tour to 1968, when the "Tournament Players Division" split from
6272-406: The last time the Ryder Cup was staged in Europe. A year later, when there was no Ryder Cup, it lost more than 2.2 million pounds. Harig also added that the PGA European Tour extracts significant concessions from Ryder Cup venues. The owners of the 2006 and 2010 venues (respectively Sir Michael Smurfit and Sir Terry Matthews ) committed to hosting European Tour events at their venues for more than
6370-405: The limited number of slots available on the main tour each summer. However, the second-tier Challenge Tour has visited Central and Eastern Europe somewhat more frequently. In 1995, the European Tour began a policy of co-sanctioning tournaments with other PGA Tours , by endorsing the South African PGA Championship on the Southern African Tour (now the Sunshine Tour ). This policy was extended to
6468-401: The majors and WGCs meant that players could potentially become members, or retain membership, of the tour by playing just four other events. Players such as Ernie Els and Retief Goosen have taken advantage of this to play the PGA and European Tours concurrently. For the 2009 season, the minimum number of events required for members was increased to twelve; this coincided with the elevation of
6566-424: The majors and WGCs, it made it easier for players not eligible for these to retain European Tour membership while playing a full PGA Tour schedule. The minimum was reduced from five to four in 2018. In November 2021, the tour was retitled as the DP World Tour as part of a sponsorship agreement with Dubai-based DP World . In November 2020, the tour entered into a "strategic alliance" with the PGA Tour. As part of
6664-445: The men's Swedish Golf Tour is closely linked to the history of professional golf in Sweden. Until the late 1960s, the main, and usually only, professional tournament in Sweden was the Dunlop Cup, played 1932–1968. From 1958, the Penfold Cup was added as a yearly professional tournament in Sweden. In 1969, a conflict between the Swedish Golf Federation and the PGA of Sweden, resulted in that no professional tournaments were sanctioned by
6762-425: The most lucrative of them taking place in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, France and Spain. The PGA European Tour is a golfer-controlled organisation whose primary purpose is to maximise the income of tournament golfers . It is a company limited by guarantee and is run by a professional staff but controlled by its playing members via a board of directors composed of 12 elected past and present tour players and
6860-414: The opportunity to develop through frequent low cost pro/scratch events. In 2001, the U.S.-based Women's Senior Golf Tour was founded, featuring golfers 45 and over. In 2006, it was rebranded as the Legends Tour and in 2021 The Legends of the LPGA. The LPGA of Korea now operates the Akia Tour, a four-event mini-tour for the same age group. European Tour The European Tour , currently titled as
6958-423: 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. 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
7056-519: 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 twentieth century, the European Tour was traditionally the first overseas move for outstanding players from non-European countries, particularly in the Commonwealth , long a major source for elite golfers, such as Greg Norman , Nick Price and Ernie Els . These players tended to move to
7154-417: The profession who obtain income from prize money and endorsements are called "touring professionals", "tournament golfers", or "pro golfers". The best golfers can make up to 8-figure incomes in U.S. dollars from tournament play. Including endorsement income, pro golfer Tiger Woods was the highest earning sportsman for much of the first decade of the 21st century, according to Forbes magazine. But making
7252-483: The season stretched into November for the first time. In 1984, the PGA European Tour became independent of The Professional Golfers' Association. The following year, the tour became "all-exempt" with the end of pre-qualifying for tournaments. The European Tour has always been sensitive to the risk that its best players will leave to play on the PGA Tour for many reasons. The PGA Tour usually offers higher purses and European players want to increase their chances of glory in
7350-542: The standard of play needed to qualify for the European Tour or the Challenge Tour . The events on the SGT are included in the Nordic Golf League , which is one of four European Tour-recognised third-tier tours, and is run in collaboration by the national golf associations of Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden. The four third-level tours carry Official World Golf Ranking points. Each year, usually in October,
7448-413: The three majors played in the U.S. by playing on more U.S.-style courses to acclimate themselves. In an attempt to counter this phenomenon, the European Tour introduced the "Volvo Bonus Pool" in 1988. This was extra prize money which was distributed at the end of the season to the most successful players of the year—but only golfers who had played in a high number of the European Tour's events could receive
7546-550: 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,
7644-533: The tour announced that the Rankings would be reverted to the Race to Dubai, starting from the 2023 season. For the 2017 season, the European Tour launched the Rolex Series, a series of events with higher prize funds than regular tour events. The series began with eight events, each with a minimum prize fund of $ 7 million. The European Tour's money list was known as the "Order of Merit" until 2009, when it
7742-480: The tour now known as PGA Tour Champions for golfers 50 and over. Former National Football League quarterback John Brodie won one tournament and had 12 top-10 finishes on that tour, and former Major League Baseball pitcher Rick Rhoden had three top-10 finishes. Upon reaching age 50, male golfers are eligible to compete in senior tournaments. Golf is unique among sports in having high profile and lucrative competitions for players of this age group. Nearly all of
7840-523: 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 United States; and the HSBC Champions, elevated to World Golf Championships status in 2009. There are generally only minor variations in
7938-402: The tour's events. A golfer can become a member of a leading tour by succeeding in an entry tournament, usually called a Qualifying School ("Q-School"); or, by achieving a designated level of success in its tournaments when competing as an invited non-member; or, much rarer, by having enough notable achievements on other tours to make them a desirable member. Membership of some of the lesser tours
8036-483: The tour. From 1990 to 1994, all SGT tournaments were co-sanctioned by the Challenge Tour . In 1994, a qualifying school tournament for the SGT was established, the first year held in the spring, with 312 players entering, and a second stage in June. The Q school was later moved to the autumn. Until 1996, the SGT Order of Merit standings was decided by money won and since 1997 a point system has been in force. In 1999,
8134-538: The very first in 1971, soon followed by Bengt Malmqvist and Gunnar Mueller . From 1977, only tournament professionals have represented Sweden in the World Cup. In 1970, the first international world class 72-hole golf tournament in Sweden took place, the invitational tournament Volvo Open , with Jack Nicklaus and Lanny Wadkins in the field, at Delsjö Golf Club and Royal Drottningholm Golf Club . In 1972, Flygt Open at Viksjö Golf Club and in 1973, Eskilstuna Open
8232-494: 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 have been five years when no award was made. The European Challenge Tour Graduate of
8330-620: The world are starting their careers directly in the United States, 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
8428-399: 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
8526-715: Was added to the domestic pro circuit schedule. In July 1973, the first European Tour tournament held in Sweden, the Scandinavian Enterprise Open , took place at Royal Drottningholm Golf Club outside Stockholm . Swedish elite players, amateurs as well as professionals, had the opportunity to try to qualify and a few of them were invited directly to the main tournament. Abdel Halim, Egypt, and John Cockin, England, both working as club professionals in Sweden for many years, shared 24th and 36th place respectively. Cockin shared his place with world stars Kel Nagle and Doug Sanders . In 1978, Gunnar Mueller became
8624-643: Was agreed with the European Golf Association that the Continental Order of Merit would be discontinued. In its early years the season ran for six months from April to October, and was based entirely in Europe, mainly in Great Britain and Ireland. Over the next three decades the tour gradually lengthened and globalised. The first event held outside Europe was the 1982 Tunisian Open . That year, there were 27 tournaments and
8722-778: Was established by the British-based Professional Golfers' Association through the 1970s, and responsibility was transferred to an independent PGA European Tour organisation in 1984. Most tournaments on the PGA European Tour's three tours are held in Europe, but starting in the 1980s an increasing number have been held in other parts of the world; in 2015 a majority of the ranking events on the European Tour were held outside Europe, though this included both Majors and World Golf Championship events that are ranking events for multiple tours. Europe-based events are nearly all played in Western Europe , with
8820-563: 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
8918-548: Was founded in November 1983, to begin in May 1984, and was organized by the PGA of Sweden and the Swedish Golf Federation (SGF) together. Two tournament directors, one from each organization, were appointed to switch responsibility between them for the tournaments, Christer Lindberg from the PGA and Göran Henriks from the SGF. The main sponsor was Kullenberg Fastighets AB The same year, when tournament professionals already had been dominating
9016-553: Was founded to represent the interests of professional golfers throughout Great Britain and Ireland, and 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,
9114-444: Was included in the SGT. The 1985 Order of Merit (Total) was won by Ove Sellberg and the Order of Merit (SGT) was won by Per-Arne Brostedt . In 1988, a company, Svenska Golftourerna AB, was founded, owned equally by the PGA of Sweden and the Swedish Golf Federation, to organize the two Swedish Golf Tours for men and women. Its first chairperson was Ola Öqvist. During 1987–1998, tournaments in other Nordic countries were included in
9212-584: Was included into the world ranking system. Starting in 2018, the Sunshine Tour-affiliated Big Easy Tour was added to the world rankings. Three lower-level tours offer world ranking points and direct promotion to the Korn Ferry Tour for a top five finish on their Orders of Merit, but they are based outside the United States: PGA Tour Canada , PGA Tour China , and PGA Tour Latinoamérica . There
9310-483: Was preceded by the Asia Golf Circuit , which operated from 1962 until 1999. The term "circuit" is often used to describe groups of professional golf tournaments, either organised tours, which may or may not include "unofficial" events, or simply to broadly categorize events in a local area or wider region. As professional golf has continued to expand developmental tours such as the Challenge Tour (1986) and
9408-478: 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
9506-407: Was to select players to represent Sweden at the World Cup. The first Order of Merit (Total) was won by Anders Forsbrand and the first Order of Merit (SGT) was won by Mats Lanner , who won the final tournament Kullenberg Playoff at Björn Borg Sports Club, Lindö, Stockholm . The year after, the tour grew to nine tournaments, of which one had a first prize of SKr 100,000. Beyond that, the 1985 SEO
9604-568: Was ultimately unveiled with 24 events, down from 34 as recently as 2008. The tour saw signs of recovery in 2012, with the addition of three new events, the sanctioning of a tournament in Australia , and the return of one tournament that had been off the schedule for a year. By 2014, the LPGA had largely recovered from its 2010 trough, with that year's schedule consisting of 33 events. The late-2000s economic crisis did not have an immediate impact on
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