# 2015 European Tour

The 2015 European Tour was the 44th season of the European Tour, the main professional golf tour in Europe since its inaugural season in 1972.

## Changes for 2015

There were many changes from the previous season. There were six additions to the schedule, made up of four new tournaments: the True Thailand Classic, the Shenzhen International, the Saltire Energy Paul Lawrie Match Play, and the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open; the Hero Indian Open, which was co-sanctioned by the European Tour for the first time; and the return of the European Open, which was last played in 2009.
Seven events were lost from the schedule: the Volvo World Match Play Championship and Volvo Golf Champions, as a result of Volvo reducing their sponsorship commitments; the Nelson Mandela Championship; the NH Collection Open; The Championship at Laguna National; the Wales Open, as a 15-year deal with Celtic Manor Resort came to an end; and the Perth International, which wasn't played in 2015 due to rescheduling from October to February.
In March, the tour confirmed that the British Masters, last held in 2008, was also being revived and added to the schedule. Later in the month, the Madeira Islands Open was cancelled due to persistent heavy rain; it was later rescheduled to the end of July, opposite the Saltire Energy Paul Lawrie Match Play.

## Schedule

The following table lists official events during the 2015 season.
| Date | Tournament | Host country | Purse | Winner | OWGR points | Other tours | Notes |
| 7 Dec | Nedbank Golf Challenge | South Africa | US$6,500,000 | Danny Willett (2) | 38 | AFR | Limited-field event |
| 14 Dec | Alfred Dunhill Championship | South Africa | €1,500,000 | Branden Grace (5) | 22 | AFR | |
| 11 Jan | South African Open Championship | South Africa | R14,000,000 | Andy Sullivan (1) | 32 | AFR | |
| 18 Jan | Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship | UAE | US$2,700,000 | Gary Stal (1) | 50 | | |
| 24 Jan | Commercial Bank Qatar Masters | Qatar | US$2,500,000 | Branden Grace (6) | 42 | | |
| 1 Feb | Omega Dubai Desert Classic | UAE | US$2,650,000 | Rory McIlroy (10) | 50 | | |
| 8 Feb | Maybank Malaysian Open | Malaysia | US$3,000,000 | Anirban Lahiri (1) | 38 | ASA | |
| 15 Feb | True Thailand Classic | Thailand | US$2,000,000 | Andrew Dodt (2) | 28 | ASA | New tournament |
| 22 Feb | Hero Indian Open | India | US$1,500,000 | Anirban Lahiri (2) | 19 | ASA | New to European Tour |
| 1 Mar | Joburg Open | South Africa | €1,300,000 | Andy Sullivan (2) | 19 | AFR | |
| 8 Mar | Africa Open | South Africa | R14,500,000 | Trevor Fisher Jnr (1) | 19 | AFR | |
| 8 Mar | WGC-Cadillac Championship | United States | US$9,250,000 | Dustin Johnson (n/a) | 76 | | World Golf Championship |
| 15 Mar | Tshwane Open | South Africa | R18,500,000 | George Coetzee (2) | 19 | AFR | |
| 29 Mar | Trophée Hassan II | Morocco | €1,500,000 | Richie Ramsay (3) | 24 | | |
| 12 Apr | Masters Tournament | United States | US$10,000,000 | Jordan Spieth (n/a) | 100 | | Major championship |
| 19 Apr | Shenzhen International | China | US$2,500,000 | Kiradech Aphibarnrat (2) | 24 | | New tournament |
| 26 Apr | Volvo China Open | China | CN¥20,000,000 | Wu Ashun (1) | 26 | ONE | |
| 3 May | WGC-Cadillac Match Play | United States | US$9,250,000 | Rory McIlroy (11) | 76 | | World Golf Championship |
| 10 May | AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open | Mauritius | €1,000,000 | George Coetzee (3) | 17 | AFR, ASA | New tournament |
| 17 May | Open de España | Spain | €1,500,000 | James Morrison (2) | 26 | | |
| 24 May | BMW PGA Championship | England | €5,000,000 | An Byeong-hun (1) | 64 | | Flagship event |
| 31 May | Dubai Duty Free Irish Open | Northern Ireland | €2,500,000 | Søren Kjeldsen (4) | 48 | | |
| 7 Jun | Nordea Masters | Sweden | €1,500,000 | Alex Norén (4) | 26 | | |
| 14 Jun | Lyoness Open | Austria | €1,500,000 | Chris Wood (2) | 24 | | |
| 21 Jun | U.S. Open | United States | US$9,000,000 | Jordan Spieth (n/a) | 100 | | Major championship |
| 28 Jun | BMW International Open | Germany | €2,000,000 | Pablo Larrazábal (4) | 32 | | |
| 5 Jul | Alstom Open de France | France | €3,000,000 | Bernd Wiesberger (3) | 36 | | |
| 12 Jul | Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open | Scotland | £3,250,000 | Rickie Fowler (n/a) | 50 | | |
| 20 Jul | The Open Championship | Scotland | £6,300,000 | Zach Johnson (n/a) | 100 | | Major championship |
| 26 Jul | Omega European Masters | Switzerland | €2,700,000 | Danny Willett (3) | 32 | ASA | |
| 2 Aug | Saltire Energy Paul Lawrie Match Play | Scotland | €1,000,000 | Kiradech Aphibarnrat (3) | 24 | | New tournament Limited-field event |
| 2 Aug 22 Mar | Madeira Islands Open - Portugal - BPI | Portugal | €600,000 | Roope Kakko (1) | 18 | CHA | |
| 9 Aug | WGC-Bridgestone Invitational | United States | US$9,250,000 | Shane Lowry (3) | 74 | | World Golf Championship |
| 16 Aug | PGA Championship | United States | US$10,000,000 | Jason Day (n/a) | 100 | | Major championship |
| 23 Aug | Made in Denmark | Denmark | €1,500,000 | David Horsey (4) | 24 | | |
| 30 Aug | D+D Real Czech Masters | Czech Republic | €1,000,000 | Thomas Pieters (1) | 24 | | |
| 6 Sep | M2M Russian Open | Russia | €1,000,000 | Lee Slattery (2) | 24 | | |
| 13 Sep | KLM Open | Netherlands | €1,800,000 | Thomas Pieters (2) | 24 | | |
| 20 Sep | Open d'Italia | Italy | €1,500,000 | Rikard Karlberg (1) | 24 | | |
| 27 Sep | Porsche European Open | Germany | €2,000,000 | Thongchai Jaidee (7) | 30 | | |
| 4 Oct | Alfred Dunhill Links Championship | Scotland | US$5,000,000 | Thorbjørn Olesen (3) | 44 | | Pro-Am |
| 11 Oct | British Masters | England | £3,000,000 | Matt Fitzpatrick (1) | 36 | | |
| 18 Oct | Portugal Masters | Portugal | €2,000,000 | Andy Sullivan (3) | 24 | | |
| 25 Oct | UBS Hong Kong Open | Hong Kong | US$2,000,000 | Justin Rose (8) | 34 | ASA | |
| 1 Nov | Turkish Airlines Open | Turkey | US$7,000,000 | Victor Dubuisson (2) | 44 | | Race to Dubai finals series |
| 8 Nov | WGC-HSBC Champions | China | US$8,500,000 | Russell Knox (1) | 66 | | World Golf Championship Race to Dubai finals series |
| 15 Nov | BMW Masters | China | US$7,000,000 | Kristoffer Broberg (1) | 50 | | Race to Dubai finals series |
| 22 Nov | DP World Tour Championship, Dubai | UAE | US$8,000,000 | Rory McIlroy (12) | 52 | | Race to Dubai finals series |

## Race to Dubai

The Race to Dubai was based on tournament results during the season, calculated using a points-based system.
| Pos. | Player | Majors | Majors | Majors | Majors | WGCs | WGCs | WGCs | WGCs | Flagship event and R2D finals series | Flagship event and R2D finals series | Flagship event and R2D finals series | Flagship event and R2D finals series | Top 10s in other ET events | Top 10s in other ET events | Top 10s in other ET events | Top 10s in other ET events | Top 10s in other ET events | Top 10s in other ET events | Top 10s in other ET events | Top 10s in other ET events | Tmts | Points and money | Points and money | Points and money |
| Pos. | Player | Mas | USO | Opn | PGA | WGC Cad | WGC MP | WGC Inv | WGC Cha | BMW PGA | Tur | BMW Mas | DPW TC | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | Tmts | Total points | Bon. ($) | FS bonus ($) |
| 1 | McIlroy | 4th | T9 | • | • | T9 | 1st | • | T11 | CUT | T6 | • | 1st | 2nd | 1st | | | | | | | 12 | 4,727,253 | 1,250,000 | 625,000 |
| 2 | Willett | T38 | CUT | T6 | T54 | T12 | 3rd | T17 | T3 | T38 | T11 | T28 | T4 | 1st | T4 | T6 | 1st | T3 | | | | 23 | 3,670,310 | 800,000 | 200,000 |
| 3 | Grace | CUT | T4 | T20 | 3rd | 54th | T9 | T17 | T5 | T11 | • | T22 | 3rd | 1st | 1st | | | | | | | 18 | 3,056,948 | 530,000 | 132,500 |
| 4 | Rose | T2 | T27 | T6 | 4th | 55th | T17 | T3 | • | T38 | • | T7 | T22 | 1st | | | | | | | | 14 | 2,827,024 | 400,000 | 100,000 |
| 5 | Lowry | CUT | T9 | CUT | CUT | T17 | T34 | 1st | T68 | T6 | 8th | T56 | T48 | T2 | | | | | | | | 18 | 2,729,144 | 350,000 | 87,500 |
| 6 | Oosthuizen | T19 | T2 | T2 | T30 | 6th | T5 | T42 | T44 | • | • | T37 | T38 | T7 | 2nd | | | | | | | 12 | 2,711,457 | 300,000 | 45,000 |
| 7 | An | • | CUT | CUT | CUT | • | • | T57 | T19 | 1st | 4th | T3 | T4 | T5 | T7 | T8 | | | | | | 26 | 2,417,356 | 250,000 | 37,500 |
| 8 | Sullivan | • | CUT | T30 | CUT | • | T34 | • | T64 | 17th | T60 | T17 | 2nd | 1st | T4 | 1st | T6 | T6 | 1st | | | 28 | 2,263,573 | 200,000 | 30,000 |
| 9 | Wiesberger | T22 | CUT | T68 | CUT | T31 | T34 | T25 | T17 | CUT | T50 | T24 | T17 | T6 | 3rd | T4 | 2nd | T2 | 1st | T4 | | 25 | 2,163,181 | 170,000 | 25,500 |
| 10 | Jaidee | 55th | CUT | T65 | CUT | 69th | T34 | T57 | T11 | T2 | T26 | T3 | T31 | T7 | T2 | T10 | 1st | | | | | 25 | 2,150,076 | 150,000 | 22,500 |
| 11 | Dubuisson | CUT | CUT | CUT | T18 | T62 | T52 | T50 | • | T63 | 1st | T17 | T13 | T4 | T10 | | | | | | | 21 | 2,132,753 | 140,000 | 14,000 |
| 12 | Fitzpatrick | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | T7 | • | T26 | T13 | T4 | T5 | T8 | T3 | 2nd | 3rd | T3 | 1st | T3 | 32 | 2,094,933 | 130,000 | 13,000 |
| 13 | Aphibarnrat | • | • | CUT | T68 | • | • | • | T30 | T27 | 3rd | T31 | T22 | 5th | T4 | 1st | T4 | 1st | T4 | T5 | | 25 | 2,055,618 | 120,000 | 12,000 |
| 14 | Broberg | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | CUT | T50 | 1st | T17 | T10 | T6 | T10 | T2 | T8 | | | | 32 | 2,003,321 | 110,000 | 11,000 |
| 15 | Kjeldsen | • | • | CUT | CUT | • | • | T12 | T46 | T18 | T11 | T9 | T10 | T9 | 1st | 2nd | T2 | T9 | T9 | T2 | | 31 | 1,996,684 | 100,000 | 10,000 |

## Awards

| Award | Winner |
| Golfer of the Year | Rory McIlroy |
| Players' Player of the Year | Rory McIlroy |
| Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year | An Byeong-hun |
| Graduate of the Year | An Byeong-hun |