# 2008 European Tour

The 2008 European Tour was the 37th season of the European Tour, the main professional golf tour in Europe since its inaugural season in 1972.

## Changes for 2008

There were four new tournaments, the Emaar-MGF Indian Masters, the Ballantine's Championship in South Korea, and in Spain the Madrid Masters and the Castelló Masters Costa Azahar. Lost from the tour schedule were the Singapore Masters, the TCL Classic, the Deutsche Bank Players Championship of Europe, the Madrid Open and the Mallorca Classic. The World Match Play Championship was originally scheduled, but was not held; it returned in 2009 with a new sponsor and venue.

## Schedule

The following table lists official events during the 2008 season.
| Date | Tournament | Host country | Purse | Winner | OWGR points | Other tours | Notes |
| 11 Nov | HSBC Champions | China | US$5,000,000 | Phil Mickelson (n/a) | 52 | AFR, ANZ, ASA | Limited-field event |
| 18 Nov | UBS Hong Kong Open | Hong Kong | US$2,250,000 | Miguel Ángel Jiménez (14) | 36 | ASA | |
| 25 Nov | MasterCard Masters | Australia | A$1,500,000 | Aaron Baddeley (n/a) | 24 | ANZ | |
| 2 Dec | Michael Hill New Zealand Open | New Zealand | NZ$1,500,000 | Richard Finch (1) | 20 | ANZ | |
| 9 Dec | Alfred Dunhill Championship | South Africa | €1,000,000 | John Bickerton (3) | 22 | AFR | |
| 16 Dec | South African Airways Open | South Africa | €1,000,000 | James Kingston (1) | 32 | AFR | |
| 13 Jan | Joburg Open | South Africa | €1,100,000 | Richard Sterne (3) | 20 | AFR | |
| 20 Jan | Abu Dhabi Golf Championship | UAE | US$2,000,000 | Martin Kaymer (1) | 44 | | |
| 27 Jan | Commercialbank Qatar Masters | Qatar | US$2,500,000 | Adam Scott (6) | 46 | | |
| 3 Feb | Dubai Desert Classic | UAE | US$2,500,000 | Tiger Woods (n/a) | 50 | | |
| 10 Feb | Emaar-MGF Indian Masters | India | US$2,500,000 | Shiv Chawrasia (1) | 26 | ASA | New tournament |
| 17 Feb | Singapore Masters | Singapore | – | Cancelled | – | ASA |
| 17 Feb | Enjoy Jakarta Astro Indonesia Open | Indonesia | US$1,200,000 | Felipe Aguilar (1) | 20 | ASA | |
| 24 Feb | WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship | United States | US$8,000,000 | Tiger Woods (n/a) | 76 | | World Golf Championship |
| 2 Mar | Johnnie Walker Classic | India | £1,250,000 | Mark Brown (1) | 38 | ANZ, ASA | |
| 9 Mar | Maybank Malaysian Open | Malaysia | US$2,000,000 | Arjun Atwal (3) | 24 | ASA | |
| 16 Mar | Ballantine's Championship | South Korea | €2,000,000 | Graeme McDowell (3) | 28 | ASA, KOR | New tournament |
| 23 Mar | Madeira Islands Open BPI - Portugal | Portugal | €700,000 | Alastair Forsyth (2) | 24 | | |
| 23 Mar | WGC-CA Championship | United States | US$8,000,000 | Geoff Ogilvy (3) | 76 | | World Golf Championship |
| 30 Mar | MAPFRE Open de Andalucia | Spain | €1,000,000 | Thomas Levet (4) | 24 | | |
| 6 Apr | Estoril Open de Portugal | Portugal | €1,250,000 | Grégory Bourdy (2) | 24 | | |
| 13 Apr | Masters Tournament | United States | US$7,500,000 | Trevor Immelman (4) | 100 | | Major championship |
| 20 Apr | Volvo China Open | China | US$2,200,000 | Damien McGrane (1) | 20 | ASA | |
| 27 Apr | BMW Asian Open | China | US$2,300,000 | Darren Clarke (11) | 32 | ASA | |
| 4 May | Open de España | Spain | €2,000,000 | Peter Lawrie (1) | 24 | | |
| 11 May | Methorios Capital Italian Open | Italy | €1,700,000 | Hennie Otto (1) | 24 | | |
| 18 May | Irish Open | Ireland | €2,500,000 | Richard Finch (2) | 28 | | |
| 25 May | BMW PGA Championship | England | €4,500,000 | Miguel Ángel Jiménez (15) | 64 | | Flagship event |
| 1 Jun | Celtic Manor Wales Open | Wales | £1,800,000 | Scott Strange (1) | 36 | | |
| 8 Jun | Bank Austria GolfOpen | Austria | €1,300,000 | Jeev Milkha Singh (3) | 24 | | |
| 15 Jun | U.S. Open | United States | US$7,500,000 | Tiger Woods (n/a) | 100 | | Major championship |
| 15 Jun | Saint-Omer Open | France | €600,000 | David Dixon (1) | 18 | CHA | |
| 22 Jun | BMW International Open | Germany | €2,000,000 | Martin Kaymer (2) | 30 | | |
| 29 Jun | Open de France Alstom | France | €4,000,000 | Pablo Larrazábal (1) | 38 | | |
| 6 Jul | European Open | England | £2,400,000 | Ross Fisher (2) | 40 | | |
| 13 Jul | Barclays Scottish Open | Scotland | £3,000,000 | Graeme McDowell (4) | 50 | | |
| 20 Jul | The Open Championship | England | £4,200,000 | Pádraig Harrington (13) | 100 | | Major championship |
| 27 Jul | Inteco Russian Open Golf Championship | Russia | US$2,000,000 | Mikael Lundberg (2) | 24 | | |
| 3 Aug | WGC-Bridgestone Invitational | United States | US$8,000,000 | Vijay Singh (13) | 74 | | World Golf Championship |
| 10 Aug | PGA Championship | United States | US$7,500,000 | Pádraig Harrington (14) | 100 | | Major championship |
| 17 Aug | SAS Masters | Sweden | €1,600,000 | Peter Hanson (2) | 24 | | |
| 24 Aug | KLM Open | Netherlands | €1,800,000 | Darren Clarke (12) | 30 | | |
| 31 Aug | Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles | Scotland | £1,400,000 | Grégory Havret (3) | 32 | | |
| 7 Sep | Omega European Masters | Switzerland | €2,000,000 | Jean-François Lucquin (1) | 24 | | |
| 14 Sep | Mercedes-Benz Championship | Germany | €2,000,000 | Robert Karlsson (8) | 34 | | Limited-field event |
| 28 Sep | Quinn Insurance British Masters | England | £1,800,000 | Gonzalo Fernández-Castaño (4) | 30 | | |
| 5 Oct | Alfred Dunhill Links Championship | Scotland | US$5,000,000 | Robert Karlsson (9) | 50 | | Pro-Am |
| 12 Oct | World Match Play Championship | England | – | Cancelled | – | | |
| 12 Oct | Madrid Masters | Spain | €1,000,000 | Charl Schwartzel (3) | 24 | | New tournament |
| 19 Oct | Portugal Masters | Portugal | €3,000,000 | Álvaro Quirós (2) | 38 | | |
| 26 Oct | Castelló Masters Costa Azahar | Spain | €2,000,000 | Sergio García (7) | 38 | | New tournament |
| 2 Nov | Volvo Masters | Spain | €4,250,000 | Søren Kjeldsen (2) | 50 | | 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 |
| 21 Sep | Ryder Cup | United States | n/a | Team USA | n/a | Team event |
| 30 Nov | Omega Mission Hills World Cup | China | US$5,500,000 | Robert Karlsson and Henrik Stenson | n/a | Team event |

## Order of Merit

The Order of Merit was based on prize money won during the season, calculated in Euros.
| Position | Player | Prize money (€) |
| 1 | Robert Karlsson | 2,732,748 |
| 2 | Pádraig Harrington | 2,459,109 |
| 3 | Lee Westwood | 2,424,642 |
| 4 | Miguel Ángel Jiménez | 2,066,596 |
| 5 | Graeme McDowell | 1,859,346 |
| 6 | Ross Fisher | 1,836,530 |
| 7 | Henrik Stenson | 1,798,617 |
| 8 | Martin Kaymer | 1,794,500 |
| 9 | Sergio García | 1,591,917 |
| 10 | Søren Kjeldsen | 1,440,979 |

## Awards

| Award | Winner |
| Golfer of the Year | Pádraig Harrington |
| Players' Player of the Year | Pádraig Harrington |
| Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year | Pablo Larrazábal |