# 2019 European Tour

The 2019 European Tour was the 48th season of the European Tour, the main professional golf tour in Europe since its inaugural season in 1972.

## Changes for 2019
### Rule changes

From January 1, 2019 onwards, tournaments followed the new rules released by the USGA and The R&A which were designed to simplify the rule book and speed up the pace of play. The most noticeable changes included golfers being able to putt on the green with the flag remaining in, and drops being made from knee rather than shoulder height.

### Scheduling changes

As announced in 2017, the PGA Championship was moved from August to May, starting in 2019. The PGA of America cited the addition of golf to the Summer Olympics, as well as cooler weather enabling a wider array of options for host courses, as reasoning for the change. It was also believed that the PGA Tour wished to re-align its season so that its FedEx Cup Playoffs would not have to compete with the start of the NFL season in early September, since both United States broadcast partners (CBS and NBC) are NFL broadcast partners.
Consequently, the European Tour moved their flagship event; the BMW PGA Championship, from the congested May date to late September, four weeks after the end of the 2018–19 PGA Tour season. It was hoped the date would attract more top names.

### Changes to the Race to Dubai

The number of Race to Dubai points available in the Final Series (last three events of the season) was increased, and the field size reduced. The aim was to make more players still have a chance of winning the Race to Dubai entering the Final Series. In addition, although the prize money was not increased, the bonus pool of US$5,000,000 would now be split among the top five players rather than the top ten. The money saved from restricting field sizes was used solely to increase the first prizes, which means that the tournaments would not have the standard prize fund distribution, and the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai would have the largest tournament first prize in golf of US$3,000,000.

### Tournament changes

* New tournament: Saudi International.
* Returning tournament: Alfred Dunhill Championship (not held during the 2018 season due to course renovations)
* Tournaments on the European Tour schedule for the first time: ISPS Handa Vic Open, Kenya Open.
* Changes to the Rolex Series: the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship replaced the Open de France.
* No longer part of the schedule: Joburg Open, Tshwane Open, Sicilian Open, Fiji International, Shot Clock Masters.

## Schedule

The following table lists official events during the 2019 season.
| Date | Tournament | Host country | Purse | R2D points | Winner | OWGR points | Other tours | Notes |
| 25 Nov | Honma Hong Kong Open | Hong Kong | US$2,000,000 | 2,750 | Aaron Rai (1) | 30 | ASA | |
| 2 Dec | Australian PGA Championship | Australia | A$1,500,000 | 2,000 | Cameron Smith (n/a) | 20 | ANZ | |
| 2 Dec | AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open | Mauritius | €1,000,000 | 2,000 | Kurt Kitayama (1) | 17 | AFR, ASA | |
| 9 Dec | South African Open | South Africa | R17,500,000 | 2,000 | Louis Oosthuizen (9) | 32 | AFR, ASA | |
| 16 Dec | Alfred Dunhill Championship | South Africa | €1,500,000 | 2,750 | David Lipsky (2) | 23 | AFR | |
| 19 Jan | Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship | UAE | US$7,000,000 | 7,000 | Shane Lowry (4) | 48 | | Rolex Series |
| 27 Jan | Omega Dubai Desert Classic | UAE | US$3,250,000 | 4,250 | Bryson DeChambeau (1) | 46 | | |
| 3 Feb | Saudi International | Saudi Arabia | US$3,500,000 | 4,250 | Dustin Johnson (n/a) | 48 | | New tournament |
| 10 Feb | ISPS Handa Vic Open | Australia | A$1,500,000 | 2,000 | David Law (1) | 20 | ANZ | New to European Tour |
| 17 Feb | ISPS Handa World Super 6 Perth | Australia | A$1,600,000 | 2,000 | Ryan Fox (1) | 20 | ANZ, ASA | |
| 24 Feb | WGC-Mexico Championship | Mexico | US$10,250,000 | 9,000 | Dustin Johnson (n/a) | 72 | | World Golf Championship |
| 3 Mar | Oman Open | Oman | US$1,750,000 | 2,750 | Kurt Kitayama (2) | 24 | | |
| 10 Mar | Commercial Bank Qatar Masters | Qatar | US$1,750,000 | 2,750 | Justin Harding (1) | 24 | | |
| 17 Mar | Magical Kenya Open | Kenya | €1,100,000 | 2,000 | Guido Migliozzi (1) | 24 | | New to European Tour |
| 24 Mar | Maybank Championship | Malaysia | US$3,000,000 | 3,500 | Scott Hend (3) | 24 | ASA | |
| 31 Mar | WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play | United States | US$10,250,000 | 9,000 | Kevin Kisner (1) | 76 | | World Golf Championship |
| 31 Mar | Hero Indian Open | India | US$1,750,000 | 2,750 | Stephen Gallacher (4) | 19 | ASA | |
| 14 Apr | Masters Tournament | United States | US$11,000,000 | 10,000 | Tiger Woods (n/a) | 100 | | Major championship |
| 28 Apr | Trophée Hassan II | Morocco | €2,500,000 | 3,500 | Jorge Campillo (1) | 24 | | |
| 5 May | Volvo China Open | China | CN¥20,000,000 | 3,500 | Mikko Korhonen (2) | 24 | ASA | |
| 12 May | Betfred British Masters | England | £3,000,000 | 4,250 | Marcus Kinhult (1) | 26 | | |
| 19 May | PGA Championship | United States | US$11,000,000 | 10,000 | Brooks Koepka (5) | 100 | | Major championship |
| 26 May | Made in Denmark | Denmark | €3,000,000 | 4,250 | Bernd Wiesberger (5) | 24 | | |
| 2 Jun | Belgian Knockout | Belgium | €1,000,000 | 2,000 | Guido Migliozzi (2) | 24 | | |
| 16 Jun | U.S. Open | United States | US$12,500,000 | 10,000 | Gary Woodland (n/a) | 100 | | Major championship |
| 23 Jun | BMW International Open | Germany | €2,000,000 | 2,750 | Andrea Pavan (2) | 26 | | |
| 30 Jun | Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucía Masters | Spain | €3,000,000 | 4,250 | Christiaan Bezuidenhout (1) | 24 | | |
| 7 Jul | Dubai Duty Free Irish Open | Ireland | US$7,000,000 | 7,000 | Jon Rahm (4) | 42 | | Rolex Series |
| 14 Jul | Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open | Scotland | US$7,000,000 | 7,000 | Bernd Wiesberger (6) | 48 | | Rolex Series |
| 21 Jul | The Open Championship | Northern Ireland | US$10,750,000 | 10,000 | Shane Lowry (5) | 100 | | Major championship |
| 28 Jul | WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational | United States | US$10,250,000 | 9,000 | Brooks Koepka (6) | 72 | | World Golf Championship |
| 18 Aug | D+D Real Czech Masters | Czech Republic | €1,000,000 | 2,000 | Thomas Pieters (4) | 24 | | |
| 25 Aug | Scandinavian Invitation | Sweden | €1,500,000 | 2,750 | Erik van Rooyen (1) | 24 | | |
| 1 Sep | Omega European Masters | Switzerland | €2,500,000 | 3,500 | Sebastian Söderberg (1) | 38 | | |
| 8 Sep | Porsche European Open | Germany | €2,000,000 | 2,750 | Paul Casey (14) | 26 | | |
| 15 Sep | KLM Open | Netherlands | €2,000,000 | 2,750 | Sergio García (16) | 24 | | |
| 22 Sep | BMW PGA Championship | England | US$7,000,000 | 7,000 | Danny Willett (7) | 64 | | Flagship event |
| 29 Sep | Alfred Dunhill Links Championship | Scotland | US$5,000,000 | 5,500 | Victor Perez (1) | 50 | | Pro-Am |
| 6 Oct | Mutuactivos Open de España | Spain | €1,500,000 | 2,750 | Jon Rahm (5) | 24 | | |
| 13 Oct | Italian Open | Italy | US$7,000,000 | 7,000 | Bernd Wiesberger (7) | 44 | | Rolex Series |
| 20 Oct | Amundi Open de France | France | €1,600,000 | 2,750 | Nicolas Colsaerts (3) | 24 | | |
| 27 Oct | Portugal Masters | Portugal | €1,500,000 | 2,750 | Steven Brown (1) | 24 | | |
| 3 Nov | WGC-HSBC Champions | China | US$10,250,000 | 9,000 | Rory McIlroy (14) | 60 | | World Golf Championship |
| 10 Nov | Turkish Airlines Open | Turkey | US$7,000,000 | 9,000 | Tyrrell Hatton (4) | 42 | | Rolex Series Limited-field event |
| 17 Nov | Nedbank Golf Challenge | South Africa | US$7,500,000 | 10,000 | Tommy Fleetwood (5) | 36 | AFR | Rolex Series Limited-field event |
| 24 Nov | DP World Tour Championship, Dubai | UAE | US$8,000,000 | 12,000 | Jon Rahm (6) | 52 | | Tour Championship |

### Unofficial events

The following events were sanctioned by the European Tour, but did not carry official money, nor were wins official.
| Date | Tournament | Host country | Purse | Winners | OWGR points | Notes |
| 8 Jun | GolfSixes Cascais | Portugal | €1,000,000 | Thongchai Jaidee and Phachara Khongwatmai | n/a | Team event |

## Race to Dubai
### Points distribution

The distribution of Race to Dubai points for 2019 European Tour events were as follows:
| Finishing position | Total pts | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | 10th | 20th | 30th | 40th | 50th | 60th |
| Major championships & Nedbank Golf Challenge | 10,000 | 1,665 | 1,113 | 627 | 500 | 424 | 350 | 300 | 250 | 223 | 200 | 120 | 90 | 68 | 48 | 30 |
| World Golf Championships & Turkish Airlines Open | 9,000 | 1,500 | 1,000 | 565 | 450 | 381 | 315 | 270 | 225 | 201 | 180 | 108 | 81 | 61 | 43 | 27 |
| Rolex Series | 7,000 | 1,165 | 780 | 438 | 350 | 297 | 245 | 210 | 175 | 156 | 140 | 84 | 63 | 47 | 33 | 21 |
| Regular tournament (Band 6) | 5,500 | 915 | 612 | 345 | 275 | 234 | 192 | 165 | 138 | 123 | 110 | 66 | 50 | 37 | 28 | 17 |
| Regular tournament (Band 4) | 4,250 | 710 | 472 | 266 | 212 | 180 | 149 | 128 | 106 | 95 | 85 | 51 | 38 | 29 | 20 | 13 |
| Regular tournament (Band 3) | 3,500 | 585 | 389 | 218 | 175 | 148 | 123 | 105 | 88 | 78 | 70 | 42 | 32 | 24 | 17 | 11 |
| Regular tournament (Band 2) | 2,750 | 460 | 305 | 172 | 137 | 116 | 97 | 83 | 69 | 61 | 55 | 33 | 25 | 19 | 13 | 8 |
| Regular tournament (Band 1) | 2,000 | 335 | 222 | 125 | 100 | 84 | 70 | 60 | 50 | 44 | 40 | 24 | 18 | 14 | 10 | 6 |
| DP World Tour Championship | 12,000 | 2,000 | 1,335 | 752 | 600 | 509 | 420 | 359 | 300 | 267 | 240 | 144 | 108 | 82 | 58 | 36 |

### Final standings

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 | Rolex Series | Rolex Series | Rolex Series | Rolex Series | Rolex Series | Rolex Series | Rolex Series | Rolex 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 | Total pts | Tmts | Money | Money |
| Pos. | Player | Mas | PGA | USO | Opn | WGC Mex | WGC MP | WGC Inv | WGC Cha | Abu | Ire | Sco | BMW PGA | Ita | Tur | Ned | DPW TC | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Total pts | Tmts | Reg. (€m) | Bon. ($m) |
| 1 | Rahm | T9 202 | CUT 0 | T3 475 | T11 163 | T45 49 | T24 79 | 7th 270 | • | • | 1st 1165 | • | 2nd 780 | • | • | • | 1st 2000 | T2 256 | 1st 460 | | | | 5,898 | 13 | 6.2 | 2.0 |
| 2 | Fleetwood | T36 73 | T48 47 | T65 25 | 2nd 1113 | T19 104 | T24 78 | T4 382 | T53 35 | T42 41 | T23 75 | • | T60 20 | • | • | 1st 1665 | 2nd 1335 | T8 81 | T8 75 | T5 170 | | | 5,415 | 18 | 5.2 | 1.2 |
| 3 | Wiesberger | • | • | 76th 17 | T32 76 | • | • | • | T49 42 | T42 41 | T2 609 | 1st 1165 | T17 89 | 1st 1165 | 49th 45 | T3 517 | T28 104 | 1st 710 | 8th 50 | 5th 116 | | | 4,906 | 29 | 4.0 | 0.7 |
| 4 | Lowry | CUT 0 | T8 198 | T28 94 | 1st 1665 | T62 24 | T24 79 | • | T43 54 | 1st 1165 | T34 52 | • | T11 120 | CUT 0 | 62nd 24 | • | T12 200 | | | | | | 3,614 | 14 | 3.6 | 0.6 |
| 5 | Fitzpatrick | T21 107 | T41 60 | T12 162 | T20 107 | T19 82 | T24 25 | T4 382 | 7th 270 | • | • | T14 97 | T46 36 | 2nd 780 | • | T10 185 | 9th 267 | 2nd 305 | 2nd 305 | 2nd 305 | | | 3,588 | 20 | 2.8 | 0.5 |
| 6 | McIlroy | T21 107 | T8 198 | T9 202 | CUT 0 | 2nd 1000 | T9 155 | T4 382 | 1st 1500 | • | • | T34 50 | T9 148 | • | • | • | 4th 600 | T2 233 | | | | | 3,364 | 13 | 3.1 | |
| 7 | Wallace | CUT 0 | T3 517 | T12 162 | T51 41 | T33 72 | T40 48 | T27 76 | T60 25 | T16 89 | T55 24 | T14 96 | T41 43 | T7 180 | 50th 41 | T44 57 | T28 104 | 2nd 472 | T2 317 | T3 105 | 3rd 172 | T8 55 | 2,851 | 27 | 2.4 | |
| 8 | Oosthuizen | T29 90 | T60 28 | T7 275 | T20 106 | T25 93 | T5 298 | T20 104 | 3rd 565 | 4th 350 | T46 37 | • | • | • | • | T6 325 | T20 131 | 1st 335 | T7 76 | | | | 2,814 | 14 | 2.3 | |
| 9 | Hatton | T56 41 | T48 47 | T21 111 | T6 281 | T19 104 | T9 155 | T43 52 | T14 143 | CUT 0 | CUT 0 | T14 97 | CUT 0 | T18 83 | 1st 1500 | • | 46th 67 | | | | | | 2,799 | 18 | 2.9 | |
| 10 | van Rooyen | • | T8 198 | T43 61 | T20 107 | T36 67 | • | • | T38 61 | T32 53 | CUT 0 | T14 97 | T14 103 | T10 122 | T2 542 | T30 80 | T28 104 | T2 122 | T6 77 | T2 261 | T5 62 | 1st 460 | 2,766 | 29 | 2.0 | |

## Awards

| Award | Winner |
| Golfer of the Year | Jon Rahm |
| Players' Player of the Year (Seve Ballesteros Award) | Jon Rahm |
| Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year | Robert MacIntyre |
| Graduate of the Year | Robert MacIntyre |