2018 European Tour
The 2018 European Tour is the 47th season of golf tournaments since the European Tour officially began in 1972 and the 10th edition of the Race to Dubai.
| Duration | 23 November 2017 – 18 November 2018 |
|---|---|
| Number of official events | 47 |
| Most wins | 3: Matt Wallace |
| Race to Dubai |  Francesco Molinari |
| Golfer of the Year | Francesco Molinari |
| Players' Player of the Year | Francesco Molinari |
| Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year |  Shubhankar Sharma |
← 2017 2019 → | |
The Race to Dubai was won by Italian Francesco Molinari, who was also named Golfer of the Year. India's Shubhankar Sharma was named Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year.
Changes for 2018
There were changes to membership criteria with the reversal of some of the changes introduced for the 2017 season; the number of players gaining exemption from the final Race to Dubai standings reverted to the top 110 and the Access List was scrapped, largely replaced by a re-ranking system.[1]
The Race to Dubai points system was adjusted, with all prize money being converted into US dollars before translating into points (1 point = 1 dollar) having previously been calculated after converting into euro. The points for all tournaments were also fixed prior to the start of the season, having previously been set during each tournament week, thereby negating any fluctuation in exchange rates.[1]
Tournament changes
- New tournaments: Oman Open.
- Returning tournaments (not part of the 2017 season): Open de España, AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open (missing from the 2017 schedule due to date change), Belgian Knockout (formerly the Belgian Open).
- No longer part of the schedule: Alfred Dunhill Championship (not held due to course renovations; returned for the 2019 season), Open de Portugal (dropped down to the Challenge Tour), Shenzhen International, Paul Lawrie Matchplay.
- Format change: the Lyoness Open (Austrian Open) became the Shot Clock Masters, with all shots subject to a strict time limit before incurring penalty strokes.
Schedule
The following table lists official events during the 2018 season.[2]
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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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 Jan | EurAsia Cup | Malaysia | n/a |  Team Europe |
n/a | Team event |
| 6 May | GolfSixes | England | €1,000,000 |  Paul Dunne and Gavin Moynihan |
n/a | Team event |
| 12 Aug | European Golf Team Championships | Scotland | €550,000 |  Scott Fernández and Pedro Oriol (Men) |
n/a | Team event |
 Cajsa Persson and Linda Wessberg (Women) | ||||||
 Iceland (Team) | ||||||
| 30 Sep | Ryder Cup | France | n/a | Team Europe |
n/a | Team event |
| 25 Nov | ISPS Handa Melbourne World Cup of Golf | Australia | US$7,000,000 | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Thomas Detry and Thomas Pieters |
n/a | Team event |
Location of tournaments
    Location of official tournaments of the 2018 European Tour in Europe. Major Championship Rolex Series event Regular event |
.svg.png.webp)    Location of official tournaments of the 2018 European Tour outside Europe. Major Championship World Golf Championship Rolex Series event Regular event
|
Race to Dubai
Since 2009, the European Tour's money list has been known as the "Race to Dubai". It was based on money earned during the season and calculated in points based on US dollars with 1 dollar = 1 point, and prize money for all tournaments being converted into points at the beginning of the season.
Final standings
Final top 10 players in the Race to Dubai:[3]
| Pos. | Player | Majors | WGCs | Rolex Series | Top 10s in other ET events | Tmts | Points and money | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mas | USO | Opn | PGA | WGC Mex |
WGC MP |
WGC Inv |
WGC Cha |
BMW PGA |
Ita | Fra | Ire | Sco | Tur | Ned | DPW TC |
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Reg. points |
Bon. ($) |
Total points | |||||||||
| 1 | Molinari |
T20 | T25 | 1st | T6 | T25 | 17th | T39 | T43 | 1st | 2nd | • | • | • | • | • | T26 | 12 | 4,791,521 | 1,250,000 | 6,041,521 | |||||||||||
| 2 |  Reed |
1st | 4th | T28 | CUT | T37 | T9 | T28 | T7 | • | • | • | • | T23 | • | • | T2 | T9 | 11 | 3,963,351 | 750,000 | 4,713,351 | ||||||||||
| 3 | Fleetwood |
T17 | 2nd | T12 | T35 | T14 | T17 | T14 | T7 | T20 | T23 | CUT | • | • | T7 | • | T16 | 6th | 1st | T6 | T2 | T9 | 19 | 3,799,755 | 600,000 | 4,399,755 | ||||||
| 4 | Schauffele |
T50 | T6 | T2 | T35 | T18 | T17 | 68th | 1st | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | T16 | 9 | 3,207,488 | 400,000 | 3,607,488 | |||||||||||
| 5 | Rose |
T12 | T10 | T2 | T19 | T37 | • | • | T3 | • | • | • | • | T9 | 1st | • | • | T10 | 8th | 11 | 3,431,616 | (500,000)[lower-alpha 4] | 3,431,616 | |||||||||
| 6 | Norén |
CUT | T25 | T17 | CUT | T14 | 3rd | T31 | T18 | T3 | T23 | 1st | • | • | • | • | T9 | 12 | 3,001,488 | 350,000 | 3,351,488 | |||||||||||
| 7 | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} McIlroy |
T5 | CUT | T2 | T50 | • | T36 | T6 | T54 | T2 | • | • | T28 | • | • | T21 | T20 | T3 | 2nd | 13 | 2,990,654 | 325,000 | 3,315,654 | |||||||||
| 8 |  Olesen |
• | CUT | T12 | T56 | • | • | T3 | T7 | T60 | 1st | CUT | T6 | • | T7 | • | T45 | 10th | T2 | 4th | 27 | 2,923,149 | 300,000 | 3,223,149 | ||||||||
| 9 |  Li |
T32 | T16 | T39 | WD | 63rd | T59 | T39 | T11 | T43 | T19 | T21 | CUT | T23 | 2nd | T5 | T30 | 1st | T5 | T9 | 27 | 2,843,291 | 275,000 | 3,118,291 | ||||||||
| 10 | Wallace |
• | CUT | CUT | • | • | • | • | T50 | T20 | T51 | CUT | CUT | CUT | T47 | T5 | T2 | 1st | T3 | 1st | 1st | 32 | 2,637,527 | 250,000 | 2,887,527 | |||||||
• Did not play
Awards
| Award | Winner | Ref. |
|---|---|---|
| Golfer of the Year | Francesco Molinari | [4] |
| Players' Player of the Year (Seve Ballesteros Award) | Francesco Molinari | [5] |
| Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year | Shubhankar Sharma | [6] |
Golfer of the Month
| Month | Player |
|---|---|
| January | Chris Paisley |
| February |  Joost Luiten |
| March |  Kiradech Aphibarnrat |
| April | Alexander Björk |
| May | Francesco Molinari |
| June | Tommy Fleetwood |
| July | Francesco Molinari |
| August | Thorbjørn Olesen |
| September | Matt Wallace |
| October | Eddie Pepperell |
| November | Lee Westwood |
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.
- Sunshine Tour flagship event
- By missing the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai, Rose was not eligible for the bonus pool.
References
- "European Tour reveals changes for 2018 season". Bunkered. 14 November 2017. Retrieved 22 June 2020.
- "2018 European Tour Schedule". European Tour. Retrieved 15 September 2017.
- "Race to Dubai Rankings". European Tour. 18 November 2018. Archived from the original on 24 November 2018. Retrieved 19 April 2023.
- "Francesco Molinari named 2018 Hilton European Tour Golfer of the Year". Today's Golfer. 11 December 2018. Retrieved 19 April 2023.
- "Irish Open champ Rahm receives Seve Ballesteros Award". Irish Golfer. 20 February 2020. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
- "Golfer Shubhankar Sharma wins Rookie of the year honours". The Times of India. 18 November 2018. Retrieved 19 April 2023.