2004 European Tour
The 2004 European Tour was the 33rd golf season since the European Tour officially began in 1972.
| Duration | 4 December 2003 – 31 October 2004 |
|---|---|
| Number of official events | 45 |
| Most wins | 4: Miguel Ángel Jiménez |
| Order of Merit |  Ernie Els |
| Golfer of the Year |  Vijay Singh |
| Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year |  Scott Drummond |
← 2003 2005 → | |
The season was made up of 45 tournaments counting towards the Order of Merit, which included the four major championships and three World Golf Championships.[1][2]
Ernie Els won the Order of Merit, defending the title he won in 2003.[3] Despite Els dominance of the European money-list, Vijay Singh was crowned European Tour Golfer of the Year, having won the PGA Championship and deposed Tiger Woods at the top of the Official World Golf Ranking.[4]
Major tournaments
For a summary of the major tournaments and events of 2004, including the major championships and the World Golf Championships, see 2004 in golf.
Changes for 2004
Changes from 2003 included two new tournaments, the Open de Sevilla[5] and The Heritage,[6] and the loss of the Benson & Hedges International Open, the Trophée Lancôme[1] and the Nordic Open. The HSBC World Match Play Championship also became an official money-list event for the first time with an increased field determined by qualification criteria, which also meant it regained world ranking status,[7] and the Mallorca Classic became a full European Tour event having been a dual-ranking event in 2003.
Schedule
The following table lists official events during the 2004 season.
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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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19 Sep | Ryder Cup | United States | n/a |  Team Europe | n/a | Team event |
| 21 Nov | WGC-World Cup | Spain | US$4,000,000 |  Paul Casey and Luke Donald | n/a | World Golf Championship 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 | Ernie Els | 4,061,905 |
| 2 | Retief Goosen | 2,325,202 |
| 3 |  Pádraig Harrington | 1,910,394 |
| 4 | Miguel Ángel Jiménez | 1,886,237 |
| 5 |  Thomas Levet | 1,727,945 |
| 6 | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Graeme McDowell | 1,648,862 |
| 7 | Lee Westwood | 1,592,766 |
| 8 | Darren Clarke | 1,563,803 |
| 9 | Ian Poulter | 1,533,158 |
| 10 | David Howell | 1,501,502 |
Awards
| Award | Winner |
|---|---|
| Golfer of the Year | Vijay Singh |
| Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year | Scott Drummond |
Notes
- The number in brackets after each winner's name is the number of European Tour events they had won up to and including that tournament. This information is only shown for European Tour members and are inclusive of the three United States-based major championships which were included on the schedule for the first time in 1998, with earlier editions having retrospectively been recognised as official tour wins. Victories in "Approved Special Events" are not recognised as official tour wins.
- AFR − Sunshine Tour; ANZ − PGA Tour of Australasia; ASA − Asian Tour; CHA − Challenge Tour.
- Sunshine Tour flagship event
References
- Roberts, Gereurd (11 December 2003). "China a news stop for 2004 tour". The Guardian. London, England. Retrieved 5 May 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
- "European Tour 2004". BBC Sport. 17 October 2004. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
- Hodgetts, Rob (1 November 2004). "Els eyes lengthy rule in Europe". BBC Sport. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
- "Singh lands European Tour honour". BBC Sport. 15 December 2004. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
- "New date for European Tour". BBC Sport. 15 March 2004. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
- "Woburn lands new event". BBC Sport. 10 May 2004. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
- "World Match Play to become official event". Rapid City Journal. Rapid City, South Dakota. AP. 28 May 2004. Retrieved 5 May 2020 – via Newspapers.com.