2006 European Tour

The 2006 European Tour was the 35th golf season since the European Tour officially began in 1972. The 2006 season consisted of 47 official money events, equalling the record set the previous year. This included seven major championships and World Golf Championships, which are also sanctioned by the PGA Tour. 27 events took place in Europe, 12 in Asia, five in the United States, two in South Africa and one in Australia. There were two new tournaments, the HSBC Champions in China and the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship, and the BA-CA Golf Open returned to the schedule for the first time since 1996. Total prize money exceeded €117 million, including nearly €40 million in the four major championships and three individual World Golf Championships events. The Order of Merit race came down to the last few shots of the final tournament, and was won by Pádraig Harrington for the first time. He was the first Irishman to top the Order of Merit since the formal beginning of the tour. The Player of the Year award was given to Order of Merit runner up Paul Casey of England and the Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year was Marc Warren of Scotland.

Main tournaments

For details of what happened in the main tournaments of 2006, including the major championships and the World Golf Championships, see 2006 in golf.

Table of results

The first five events actually took place in late 2005. The numbers in brackets after the winners' names show the number of career wins they had on the European Tour up to and including that event. This is only shown for members of the European Tour. To give such a number for non-members would misrepresent the amount of time some international golfers spend on the European Tour; as the Tour co-sanctions the major championships and World Golf Championships events, some top players accumulate a significant number of wins in European Tour sanctioned events without really playing on it.

DatesTournamentHost countryWinnerOWGR points[1]Notes
10-13 Nov 2005HSBC Champions TournamentChinaEngland David Howell (3)24 (48)Co-sanctioned by three other tours
24-27 NovVolvo China OpenChinaEngland Paul Casey (5)9 (18)Co-sanctioned with the Asian Tour
1-4 DecOmega Hong Kong OpenHong Kong, ChinaScotland Colin Montgomerie (30)14 (28)Co-sanctioned with the Asian Tour
8-11 DecDunhill ChampionshipSouth AfricaSouth Africa Ernie Els (21)10 (20)Co-sanctioned with the Sunshine Tour
15-18 DecSouth African Airways OpenSouth AfricaSouth Africa Retief Goosen (13)16 (32)Co-sanctioned with the Sunshine Tour
7-8 Jan 2006Royal TrophyThailandEuropean Union EuropeN/ATeam event - Europe v. Asia
19-22 JanAbu Dhabi Golf ChampionshipUnited Arab EmiratesUnited States Chris DiMarco (N/A)21 (42)In Asia, but not co-sanctioned
26-29 JanQatar MastersQatarSweden Henrik Stenson (3)22 (44)Co-sanctioned with the Asian Tour
2-5 FebDubai Desert ClassicUnited Arab EmiratesUnited States Tiger Woods (N/A)24 (48)In Asia, but not co-sanctioned
9-12 FebJohnnie Walker ClassicVaries (Australia in 2006)United States Kevin Stadler (N/A)22 (44)Co-sanctioned with the Asian and Australasian tours.
16-19 FebCarlsberg Malaysian OpenMalaysiaSouth Korea Charlie Wi (N/A)10 (20)Co-sanctioned with the Asian Tour
22-26 FebWGC-Accenture Match Play ChampionshipUnited StatesAustralia Geoff Ogilvy (N/A)38 (76)World Golf Championships
2-5 MarEnjoy Jakarta Indonesia OpenIndonesiaEngland Simon Dyson (1)10 (20)Co-sanctioned with the Asian Tour
9-12 MarSingapore MastersSingaporeSingapore Mardan Mamat (N/A)10 (20)Co-sanctioned with the Asian Tour
16-19 MarTCL ClassicChinaSweden Johan Edfors (1)12 (24)Co-sanctioned with the Asian Tour
23-26 MarMadeira Island OpenPortugalFrance Jean van de Velde (2)12 (24)First event in Europe
30 Mar - 2 AprPortuguese OpenPortugalEngland Paul Broadhurst (6)12 (24)
6-9 AprMasters TournamentUnited StatesUnited States Phil Mickelson (N/A)50 (100)Major championship
13-16 AprVolvo China OpenChinaIndia Jeev Milkha Singh (1)12 (24)Co-sanctioned with the Asian Tour
20-23 AprBMW Asian OpenChinaSpain Gonzalo Fernández-Castaño (2)15 (30)Co-sanctioned with the Asian Tour
27-30 AprAndalucía Open de España Valle RomanoSpainSweden Niclas Fasth (4)12 (24)
4–7 MayTelecom Italia OpenItalyItaly Francesco Molinari (1)12 (24)
11–14 MayBritish MastersEnglandSweden Johan Edfors (2)21 (42)
18–21 MayNissan Irish OpenRepublic of IrelandDenmark Thomas Bjørn (9)19 (38)
25–28 MayBMW ChampionshipEnglandEngland David Howell (4)32 (64)The European Tour's "Home Tournament"
1-4 JunCeltic Manor Wales OpenWalesSweden Robert Karlsson (6)14 (28)
8-11 JunBA-CA Golf OpenAustriaAustria Markus Brier (1)12 (24)
15-18 JunU.S. OpenUnited StatesAustralia Geoff Ogilvy (N/A)50 (100)Major championship
15-18 JunAa St Omer OpenFranceArgentina César Monasterio (1)9 (18)Secondary to the U.S. Open
22-25 JunJohnnie Walker Championship at GleneaglesScotlandEngland Paul Casey (6)12 (24)
29 Jun - 2 JulOpen de FranceFranceEngland John Bickerton (2)20 (40)
6-9 JulSmurfit European OpenRepublic of IrelandWales Stephen Dodd (3)23 (46)
13-16 JulBarclays Scottish OpenScotlandSweden Johan Edfors (3)25 (50)
20-23 JulThe Open ChampionshipUnited KingdomUnited States Tiger Woods (N/A)50 (100)Major championship
27-30 JulDeutsche Bank Players Championship of EuropeGermanySweden Robert Karlsson (7)25 (50)
3-6 AugEnterCard Scandinavian MastersSwedenScotland Marc Warren (1)12 (24)
10-13 AugKLM OpenNetherlandsEngland Simon Dyson (2)12 (24)
17-20 AugPGA ChampionshipUnited StatesUnited States Tiger Woods (N/A)50 (100)Major championship
17-20 AugImperial Collection Russian OpenRussiaSpain Alejandro Cañizares (1)12 (24)Secondary to the PGA Championship
24-27WGC-Bridgestone InvitationalUnited StatesUnited States Tiger Woods (N/A)38 (76)World Golf Championships
31 Aug - 3 SepBMW International OpenGermanySweden Henrik Stenson (4)22 (44)
7-10 SepOmega European MastersSwitzerlandWales Bradley Dredge (2)12 (24)
14-17 SepHSBC World Match Play ChampionshipEnglandEngland Paul Casey (7)24 (48)16 man match play event. Highest 1st prize in golf.
14-17 SepOpen de MadridSpainEngland Ian Poulter (7)12 (24)Secondary to the HSBC World Match Play Championship
22-24 SepRyder Cupvaries (Republic of Ireland in 2006)European Union EuropeN/ATeam event - Europe v. United States
28 Sep - 1 OctWGC-American Express Championshipvaries (England in 2006)United States Tiger Woods (N/A)35 (70)World Golf Championships
5-8 OctDunhill Links ChampionshipScotlandRepublic of Ireland Pádraig Harrington (10)25 (50)Celebrity pro-am
19-22 OctMallorca ClassicSpainSweden Niclas Fasth (5)14 (28)
26-29 OctVolvo MastersSpainIndia Jeev Milkha Singh (2)24 (48)The "Tour Championship"

Order of Merit

In 2006, 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 2006 were:

Position Player Country Prize money (€)
1. Pádraig Harrington  Ireland 2,489,337
2. Paul Casey  England 2,454,084
3. David Howell  England 2,321,116
4. Robert Karlsson  Sweden 2,044,936
5. Ernie Els  South Africa 1,716,208
6. Henrik Stenson  Sweden 1,709,359
7. Luke Donald  England 1,658,060
8. Ian Poulter  England 1,589,070
9. Colin Montgomerie  Scotland 1,534,748
10. Johan Edfors  Sweden 1,505,583

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Each tournament is allocated a certain number of world ranking points, and initially this number is doubled up (see Official World Golf Ranking for more on this somewhat confusing system). Some publications use original points and others use doubled-up points, so both are given here for the sake of clarity.

External links