2006 European Tour
The 2006 European Tour was the 35th golf season since the European Tour officially began in 1972.
| Duration | 10 November 2005 – 29 October 2006 |
|---|---|
| Number of official events | 47 |
| Most wins | 3:[lower-alpha 1] Paul Casey Johan Edfors |
| Order of Merit |  Pádraig Harrington |
| Golfer of the Year | Paul Casey |
| Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year |  Marc Warren |
← 2005 2007 → | |
The season began with five events in late 2005 and consisted of 47 official money events,[1] equalling the record set the previous year. This included the four major championships and three World Golf Championships, which are also sanctioned by the PGA Tour. 27 events took place in Europe, 12 in Asia, five in the United States, two in South Africa and one in Australia. Total prize money exceeded €117 million, including nearly €40 million in the major championships and WGC events.
The Order of Merit race came down to the last few shots of the final tournament, and was won by Pádraig Harrington for the first time. He was the first Irishman to top the Order of Merit since the official beginning of the tour. The Player of the Year award was given to Order of Merit runner-up Paul Casey and the Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year was Marc Warren.
Major tournaments
For a summary of the major tournaments and events of 2006, including the major championships and the World Golf Championships, see 2006 in golf.
Changes for 2006
Changes from the 2005 season included four new tournaments, the HSBC Champions in China, the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship, the Austrian Open, which returned to the European Tour schedule for the first time since 1996, and the Royal Trophy, a team event contested between teams from Europe and Asia.[2] In addition, there were two editions of the Volvo China Open and the Russian Open became a full European Tour event having previously been a dual-ranking event with the Challenge Tour. The German Masters, the Heineken Classic, and the Abama Open de Canarias were lost from the tour schedule, as was the New Zealand Open which was held later in the year as part of the 2007 season.
Schedule
The following table lists official events during the 2006 season.[3]
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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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 Jan | Royal Trophy | Thailand | US$1,250,000 |  Team Europe | n/a | New tournament Team event |
| 24 Sep | Ryder Cup | Ireland | n/a | Team Europe | n/a | Team event |
| 10 Dec | WGC-World Cup | Barbados | US$4,000,000 |  Bernhard Langer and Marcel Siem | 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.[4][5]
| Position | Player | Prize money (€) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pádraig Harrington | 2,489,337 |
| 2 | Paul Casey | 2,454,084 |
| 3 | David Howell | 2,321,116 |
| 4 | Robert Karlsson | 2,044,936 |
| 5 |  Ernie Els | 1,716,208 |
| 6 | Henrik Stenson | 1,709,359 |
| 7 | Luke Donald | 1,658,060 |
| 8 | Ian Poulter | 1,589,070 |
| 9 | Colin Montgomerie | 1,534,748 |
| 10 | Johan Edfors | 1,505,583 |
Awards
| Award | Winner | Ref. |
|---|---|---|
| Golfer of the Year | Paul Casey | [6] |
| Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year | Marc Warren | [7] |
See also
Notes
- Tiger Woods won 5 events, but was not a European Tour member.
- 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
- "European Tour 2006". BBC Sport. 2 October 2006. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
- "New events for 2006 European Tour". BBC Sport. 14 November 2005. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
- "2006 European Tour schedule". European Tour. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
- "2006 European Tour Order of Merit". European Tour. Archived from the original on 11 November 2006. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
- Donegan, Lawrence (30 October 2006). "Harrington's second best pips Casey to Europe's first prize". Retrieved 24 April 2023.
- "Casey named European Tour's golfer of the year". The Guardian. Press Association. 13 December 2006. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
- "Warren named 'rookie of the year'". BBC Sport. 27 October 2006. Retrieved 24 April 2023.