# 2012 European Tour

The 2012 European Tour was the 41st season of the European Tour, the main professional golf tour in Europe since its inaugural season in 1972.

## Changes for 2012

Prior to the start of the 2011 season, the tour had announced their intention to realign the schedule with the calendar. As a result, in 2012 there were several changes from the previous season. There was initially one new tournament in 2012, the ISPS Handa Perth International, and several tournaments were dropped: the Castelló Masters, the Iskandar Johor Open, and the Alfred Dunhill Championship, which was played in December as part of the 2013 season.
During the season, the BMW Masters in China was added to the schedule, the Czech Open was cancelled, and three tournaments in Spain were also cancelled: the Iberdrola Open, the Madrid Masters, and the Andalucía Masters.

## Schedule

The following table lists official events during the 2012 season.
| Date | Tournament | Host country | Purse | Winner | OWGR points | Other tours | Notes |
| 8 Jan | Africa Open | South Africa | €1,000,000 | Louis Oosthuizen (4) | 20 | AFR | |
| 15 Jan | Joburg Open | South Africa | €1,300,000 | Branden Grace (1) | 22 | AFR | |
| 22 Jan | Volvo Golf Champions | South Africa | €2,000,000 | Branden Grace (2) | 32 | | Limited-field event |
| 29 Jan | Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship | UAE | US$2,700,000 | Robert Rock (2) | 58 | | |
| 5 Feb | Commercialbank Qatar Masters | Qatar | US$2,500,000 | Paul Lawrie (7) | 48 | | |
| 12 Feb | Omega Dubai Desert Classic | UAE | US$2,500,000 | Rafa Cabrera-Bello (2) | 48 | | |
| 19 Feb | Avantha Masters | India | €1,800,000 | Jbe' Kruger (1) | 20 | ASA | |
| 26 Feb | WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship | United States | US$8,500,000 | Hunter Mahan (n/a) | 76 | | World Golf Championship |
| 11 Mar | WGC-Cadillac Championship | United States | US$8,500,000 | Justin Rose (5) | 78 | | World Golf Championship |
| 18 Mar | Open de Andalucía Costa del Sol | Spain | €1,000,000 | Julien Quesne (1) | 24 | | |
| 25 Mar | Trophée Hassan II | Morocco | €1,500,000 | Michael Hoey (4) | 24 | | |
| 1 Apr | Sicilian Open | Italy | €1,000,000 | Thorbjørn Olesen (1) | 24 | | |
| 8 Apr | Masters Tournament | United States | US$8,000,000 | Bubba Watson (n/a) | 100 | | Major championship |
| 15 Apr | Maybank Malaysian Open | Malaysia | US$2,500,000 | Louis Oosthuizen (5) | 36 | ASA | |
| 22 Apr | Volvo China Open | China | CN¥20,000,000 | Branden Grace (3) | 32 | ONE | |
| 29 Apr | Ballantine's Championship | South Korea | €2,205,000 | Bernd Wiesberger (1) | 32 | ASA, KOR | |
| 6 May | Reale Seguros Open de España | Spain | €2,000,000 | Francesco Molinari (3) | 30 | | |
| 13 May | Iberdrola Open | Spain | – | Cancelled | – | | |
| 13 May | Madeira Islands Open - Portugal | Portugal | €675,000 | Ricardo Santos (1) | 18 | CHA | |
| 20 May | Volvo World Match Play Championship | Spain | €2,750,000 | Nicolas Colsaerts (2) | 34 | | Limited-field event |
| 27 May | BMW PGA Championship | England | €4,500,000 | Luke Donald (7) | 64 | | Flagship event |
| 3 Jun | ISPS Handa Wales Open | Wales | £1,800,000 | Thongchai Jaidee (5) | 28 | | |
| 9 Jun | Nordea Masters | Sweden | €1,500,000 | Lee Westwood (22) | 26 | | |
| 17 Jun | Saint-Omer Open | France | €500,000 | Darren Fichardt (3) | 18 | CHA | |
| 17 Jun | U.S. Open | United States | US$8,000,000 | Webb Simpson (n/a) | 100 | | Major championship |
| 24 Jun | BMW International Open | Germany | €2,000,000 | Danny Willett (1) | 30 | | |
| 1 Jul | Irish Open | Northern Ireland | €2,000,000 | Jamie Donaldson (1) | 38 | | |
| 8 Jul | Alstom Open de France | France | €3,000,000 | Marcel Siem (2) | 46 | | |
| 15 Jul | Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open | Scotland | £2,500,000 | Jeev Milkha Singh (4) | 48 | | |
| 22 Jul | The Open Championship | England | £5,000,000 | Ernie Els (27) | 100 | | Major championship |
| 28 Jul | Lyoness Open | Austria | €1,000,000 | Bernd Wiesberger (2) | 24 | | |
| 5 Aug | WGC-Bridgestone Invitational | United States | US$8,500,000 | Keegan Bradley (n/a) | 76 | | World Golf Championship |
| 12 Aug | PGA Championship | United States | US$8,000,000 | Rory McIlroy (4) | 100 | | Major championship |
| 19 Aug | Czech Open | Czech Republic | – | Cancelled | – | | |
| 26 Aug | Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles | Scotland | £1,400,000 | Paul Lawrie (8) | 30 | | |
| 2 Sep | Omega European Masters | Switzerland | €2,100,000 | Richie Ramsay (2) | 32 | ASA | |
| 9 Sep | KLM Open | Netherlands | €1,800,000 | Peter Hanson (5) | 30 | | |
| 16 Sep | BMW Italian Open | Italy | €1,500,000 | Gonzalo Fernández-Castaño (6) | 28 | | |
| 23 Sep | Madrid Masters | Spain | – | Cancelled | – | | |
| 7 Oct | Alfred Dunhill Links Championship | Scotland | US$5,000,000 | Branden Grace (4) | 46 | | Pro-Am |
| 14 Oct | Portugal Masters | Portugal | €2,200,000 | Shane Lowry (2) | 34 | | |
| 21 Oct | Andalucía Masters | Spain | – | Cancelled | – | | |
| 21 Oct | ISPS Handa Perth International | Australia | US$2,000,000 | Bo Van Pelt (n/a) | 22 | ANZ | New tournament |
| 28 Oct | BMW Masters | China | US$7,000,000 | Peter Hanson (6) | 56 | | New to European Tour Limited-field event |
| 4 Nov | WGC-HSBC Champions | China | US$7,000,000 | Ian Poulter (12) | 64 | | World Golf Championship |
| 11 Nov | Barclays Singapore Open | Singapore | US$6,000,000 | Matteo Manassero (3) | 48 | ASA | |
| 18 Nov | UBS Hong Kong Open | Hong Kong | US$2,750,000 | Miguel Ángel Jiménez (19) | 32 | ASA | |
| 18 Nov | SA Open Championship | South Africa | €1,000,000 | Henrik Stenson (7) | 32 | AFR |
| 25 Nov | DP World Tour Championship, Dubai | UAE | US$8,000,000 | Rory McIlroy (5) | 58 | | 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 |
| 30 Sep | Ryder Cup | United States | n/a | Team Europe | n/a | Team event |

## Race to Dubai

The Race to Dubai was based on prize money won during the season, calculated in Euros.
| Pos. | Player | Majors | Majors | Majors | Majors | WGCs | WGCs | WGCs | WGCs | Principal events | Principal 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 | Money | Money | Money |
| Pos. | Player | Mas | USO | Opn | PGA | WGC MP | WGC Cad | WGC Inv | WGC Cha | BMW PGA | DPW TC | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | Tmts | Reg. (€) | Bon. ($) | Total (€) |
| 1 | McIlroy | T40 | CUT | T60 | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | T5 | • | CUT | 1st | 2nd | T5 | T10 | 2nd | 3rd | | | 15 | 4,738,027 | 1,000,000 | 5,519,118 |
| 2 | Rose | T8 | T21 | CUT | T3 | T33 | 1st | T5 | T24 | T2 | 2nd | T9 | T9 | T6 | | | | | 13 | 3,260,635 | 650,000 | 3,768,345 |
| 3 | Oosthuizen | 2nd | CUT | T19 | T21 | T17 | T60 | 4th | T6 | • | 5th | 1st | T7 | 1st | T6 | | | | 16 | 2,796,819 | 500,000 | 3,187,364 |
| 4 | Hanson | T3 | CUT | T23 | T7 | T5 | T4 | T63 | T24 | CUT | T16 | T2 | T3 | 1st | 1st | | | | 21 | 2,730,006 | 375,000 | 3,022,916 |
| 5 | Poulter | 7th | T41 | T9 | T3 | T33 | T60 | T29 | 1st | T10 | T26 | T9 | T4 | 4th | | | | | 15 | 2,327,402 | 325,000 | 2,581,257 |
| 6 | Grace | • | T51 | T77 | CUT | • | T35 | T36 | T62 | 5th | 6th | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | | | | 26 | 2,287,701 | 275,000 | 2,502,501 |
| 7 | Donald | T32 | CUT | T5 | T32 | T33 | T6 | T8 | T18 | 1st | T3 | 3rd | | | | | | | 13 | 2,197,794 | 225,000 | 2,373,540 |
| 8 | F. Molinari | T19 | T29 | T39 | T54 | T17 | T13 | T40 | T39 | T7 | T34 | T8 | T6 | 1st | 2nd | 2nd | T6 | T5 | 25 | 2,078,538 | 175,000 | 2,215,229 |
| 9 | McDowell | T12 | T2 | T5 | T11 | T33 | T13 | T24 | T42 | CUT | T52 | T3 | 2nd | | | | | | 16 | 1,847,420 | 125,000 | 1,945,056 |
| 10 | Lawrie | T24 | • | T34 | T48 | T9 | T60 | T50 | T36 | T2 | T48 | T10 | T8 | 1st | T3 | 1st | T6 | T10 | 25 | 1,832,272 | 100,000 | 1,910,381 |

## Awards

| Award | Winner |
| Golfer of the Year | Rory McIlroy |
| Players' Player of the Year | Rory McIlroy |
| Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year | Ricardo Santos |