2020 European Tour
The 2020 European Tour is the 49th season of golf tournaments since the European Tour officially began in 1972 and the 12th edition of the Race to Dubai.
| Duration | 28 November 2019 – 13 December 2020 |
|---|---|
| Number of official events | 54 (17 postponed or cancelled) |
← 2019 2021 → | |
The COVID-19 pandemic had a major impact on the season, with many tournaments being rescheduled or cancelled. All four major championships were affected; the Open Championship was cancelled, and the Masters Tournament, U.S. Open and PGA Championship were moved to dates much later in the year.
After a three-month hiatus following the Qatar Masters in early March, the tour resumed with a much changed schedule in July. Two dual-ranking events in Austria were followed by six-tournament stretch in the United Kingdom and three tournaments in Spain and Portugal, with the rescheduled major events starting in late September.
On 13 August, it was announced that Alexander Lévy had become the first European Tour player to return a positive test for COVID-19. He and Romain Wattel, who had been in close contact with Lévy, were withdrawn from the field for the Celtic Classic.[1]
Planned changes from previous season
Rule changes
In order to combat slow play, from the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship onwards, regulations were introduced whereby a player would receive a one-stroke penalty for two bad times during a tournament.[2]
Scheduling changes
With the addition of golf at the Olympic Games to the schedule in 2020, the Irish Open was moved to May from its previous date in July in order to avoid a clash with the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational, which had already been moved to avoid the Olympics. The Open de France was then scheduled opposite the WGC Invitational, and the British Masters was scheduled opposite the Olympics.[3]
Tournament changes
- Format change: the Scandinavian Invitation (formerly the Scandinavian Masters) became the Scandinavian Mixed, a co-sanctioned event with the Ladies European Tour consisting of a field of 78 men and 78 women.
- No longer part of the schedule: ISPS Handa World Super 6 Perth, Belgian Knockout
Schedule
In-season changes
Due to the 2019–20 Hong Kong protests, the Honma Hong Kong Open, originally scheduled for 28 November – 1 December 2019 as a co-sanctioned event with the Asian Tour, was rescheduled for 9–12 January 2020 as an Asian Tour event without European Tour sanctioning.[4][5]
The remainder of the schedule was severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
- On 14 February, the Maybank Championship in Malaysia and the Volvo China Open were postponed.[6]
- On 6 March, the Magical Kenya Open was postponed.[7]
- On 11 March, the Hero Indian Open was postponed,[8] and the D+D Real Czech Masters was cancelled.[9]
- On 13 March, the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play was cancelled.[10]
- On 17 March, the Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucía Masters was postponed.[11]
- On 19 March, the GolfSixes Cascais was cancelled and the Made in Denmark was postponed.[12]
- On 30 March, the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open was postponed.[13]
- On 6 April, the Trophée Hassan II was postponed and the inaugural Scandinavian Mixed was cancelled.[14] The R&A also announced the cancellation of the Open Championship in 2020, and the seasons other major championships were rescheduled.[15][16]
- On 16 April, the PGA Tour announced the rescheduling of several tournaments, including the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational.[17]
- On 17 April, the BMW International Open and Open de France were cancelled, and the Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open was postponed.[18]
- On 1 May, the Omega European Masters was cancelled.[19]
- On 28 May, the European Tour announced a revamp to the 2020 schedule including a 6-week "UK swing" in July and August, starting with the Betfred British Masters which was brought forward a week, finishing on 25 July. That would be followed by revivals of the English Open and the Wales Open, and three new tournaments: the English Championship, the Celtic Classic, and the UK Championship. In addition to this, four Rolex Series events were given rescheduled dates, with the Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open and the BMW PGA Championship being pushed into October, and the Nedbank Golf Challenge and the season-ending DP World Tour Championship, Dubai being played in December.[20] It was also announced that the Porsche European Open had been cancelled.[21]
- On 15 June, it was announced that both the European Tour and the Challenge Tour would return on 9 July with two consecutive dual-ranking events in Austria: the Austrian Open and the Euram Bank Open.[22]
- On 3 July, it was announced that the Hero Indian Open had been cancelled.[23]
- On 7 July, organisers announced the cancellation of the KLM Open.[24]
- On 8 July, new dates were announced for the postponed Andalucía Masters; the Portugal Masters was also rescheduled, with both tournaments being held during September.[25] Later in the day, it was announced that the 43rd Ryder Cup matches had been postponed until 2021.[26]
- On 10 July, new dates in November were announced for the Kenya Open, originally scheduled for March.[27] The Challenge Tour's Open de Portugal was also added to the schedule as a dual-ranking event; held in September following the Portugal Masters, the addition created a three event "Iberian Swing" starting with the Andalucía Masters.[28]
- On 13 July, the cancellation of the Mutuactivos Open de España was announced after suitable dates could not be found in the revised schedule.[29]
- On 27 July, the cancellation of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship was announced, with organisers citing complexities of accommodating the European Tour's COVID-19 safety plan given the event's scale as an international pro-am and its traditional use of three separate venues.[30][31]
- On 14 August, the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open was rescheduled to 24–27 September with a change of venue to Galgorm Castle in Northern Ireland and a reduced prize fund, which also meant the loss of its status as a Rolex Series event.[32]
As a result of the season being extended into December, the Australian PGA Championship was played twice during the 2020 season.
Official events
The following table lists official events for 2019–20.[33]
| Date (R4) |
Tournament | Host country | Winner[lower-alpha 1] | OWGR points[lower-alpha 2] |
Race to Dubai points |
Purse | Other tours[lower-alpha 3] |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hong Kong Open | Hong Kong | Postponed | – | 2,000 | $1,500,000 | ASA | ||
| 1 Dec | Alfred Dunhill Championship | South Africa |  |
19 | 2,750 | €1,500,000 | AFR | |
| 8 Dec | AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open | Mauritius |  |
17 | 2,000 | €1,000,000 | AFR, ASA | |
| 22 Dec | Australian PGA Championship | Australia | .svg.png){kind=small} |
20 | 2,000 | A$1,500,000 | ANZ | |
| 12 Jan | South African Open[lower-alpha 5] | South Africa |  |
32 | 2,000 | ZAR17,500,000 | AFR | |
| 19 Jan | Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship | UAE |  |
50 | 7,000 | $7,000,000 | Rolex Series event | |
| 26 Jan | Omega Dubai Desert Classic | UAE | |
48 | 4,250 | $3,250,000 | ||
| 2 Feb | Saudi International | Saudi Arabia |  |
48 | 4,250 | $3,500,000 | ||
| 9 Feb | ISPS Handa Vic Open | Australia | |
20 | 2,000 | A$1,600,000 | ANZ | |
| 23 Feb | WGC-Mexico Championship | Mexico |  |
70 | 9,000 | $10,500,000 | World Golf Championships | |
| 1 Mar | Oman Open | Oman |  |
24 | 2,750 | $1,750,000 | ||
| 8 Mar | Commercial Bank Qatar Masters | Qatar | |
24 | 2,750 | $1,750,000 | ||
| Hero Indian Open | India | Cancelled | – | 2,750 | $1,750,000 | ASA | ||
| WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play | United States | Cancelled | – | 9,000 | $10,500,000 | World Golf Championships | ||
| TBD |
Maybank Championship | Malaysia | Postponed | 3,500 | $3,000,000 | ASA | ||
| TBD |
Volvo China Open | China | Postponed | 3,500 | CNY20,000,000 | ASA | ||
| TBD |
Made in Denmark | Denmark | Postponed | 4,250 | €3,000,000 | |||
| TBD |
Trophée Hassan II | Morocco | Postponed | 3,500 | €2,500,000 | |||
| Scandinavian Mixed | Sweden | Cancelled | – | 2,750 | €1,500,000 | LET | Field of 78 men and 78 women[lower-alpha 9] | |
| BMW International Open | Germany | Cancelled | – | 2,750 | €2,000,000 | |||
| Open de France | France | Cancelled | – | 2,750 | €1,500,000 | |||
| 12 Jul | Austrian Open[lower-alpha 10] | Austria |  |
18 | 1,000 | €500,000 | CHA | Not played since 2018 |
| 18 Jul | Euram Bank Open[lower-alpha 10] | Austria |  |
18 | 1,000 | €500,000 | CHA | New to European Tour |
| The Open Championship | England | Cancelled | – | 10,000 | Major championship | |||
| 25 Jul |
Betfred British Masters | England |  |
24 | 2,000 | €1,250,000 | ||
| 2 Aug | Hero Open[lower-alpha 10] | England | |
24 | 2,000 | €1,000,000 | Not played since 2002 | |
| 2 Aug |
WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational | United States | |
76 | 9,000 | $10,500,000 | World Golf Championships | |
| 9 Aug | English Championship[lower-alpha 10] | England | |
24 | 2,000 | €1,000,000 | New tournament | |
| 9 Aug |
PGA Championship | United States | |
100 | 10,000 | $11,000,000 | Major championship | |
| 16 Aug | Celtic Classic[lower-alpha 10] | Wales |  |
24 | 2,000 | €1,000,000 | New tournament | |
| 23 Aug | ISPS Handa Wales Open[lower-alpha 10] | Wales | |
2,000 | €1,000,000 | Not played since 2014 | ||
| D+D Real Czech Masters | Czech Republic | Cancelled | – | 2,000 | €1,000,000 | |||
| 30 Aug | ISPS Handa UK Championship[lower-alpha 10] | England | |
2,000 | €1,000,000 | New tournament | ||
| Omega European Masters | Switzerland | Cancelled | – | 3,500 | €2,500,000 | |||
| 6 Sep |
Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucía Masters | Spain | ||||||
| Porsche European Open | Germany | Cancelled | – | 2,750 | €2,000,000 | |||
| 13 Sep |
Portugal Masters | Portugal | |
2,000 | €1,000,000 | |||
| 20 Sep |
U.S. Open | United States | |
100 | 10,000 | $12,500,000 | Major championship | |
| KLM Open | Netherlands | Cancelled | – | 2,750 | €2,000,000 | |||
| 20 Sep | Open de Portugal[lower-alpha 10] | Portugal | |
1,000 | €500,000 | CHA | Last played on the European Tour in 2017 | |
| 27 Sep |
Dubai Duty Free Irish Open | Northern Ireland | $1,250,000 | |||||
| Alfred Dunhill Links Championship | Scotland | Cancelled | – | $5,000,000 | ||||
| 11 Oct |
Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open | Scotland | Rolex Series event | |||||
| TBD |
Italian Open | Italy | Pending | 7,000 | $7,000,000 | Rolex Series event | ||
| 18 Oct |
BMW PGA Championship | England | |
64 | Flagship event; Rolex Series event | |||
| Mutuactivos Open de España | Spain | Cancelled | – | |||||
| 1 Nov | WGC-HSBC Champions | China | |
9,000 | $10,500,000 | World Golf Championships | ||
| 8 Nov | Turkish Airlines Open | Turkey | |
9,000 | $7,000,000 | Rolex Series event | ||
| 15 Nov |
Masters Tournament | United States | |
100 | 10,000 | $11,500,000 | Major championship | |
| 15 Nov |
Magical Kenya Open | Kenya | 2,000 | €1,000,000 | ||||
| 6 Dec |
Nedbank Golf Challenge | South Africa | |
AFR | Rolex Series event | |||
| 6 Dec | Australian PGA Championship | Australia | |
2,000 | A$1,600,00 | ANZ | ||
| 13 Dec |
DP World Tour Championship, Dubai | UAE | |
Tour Championship; Rolex Series event |
- The numbers in parentheses after the winners' names show the number of official career wins they had on the European Tour up to and including that event. Totals are only shown for members of the European Tour 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.
- Except for the major championships, which have fixed points allocations, points listed for tournaments that have not been completed are official projections based on the expected field and/or minimum points allocations. Final allocations are usually published the day after completion of all tournaments eligible for ranking points that week.[34]
- Several tournaments are hosted under co-sanctioning agreements with other tours: ASA – Asian Tour; ANZ – PGA Tour of Australasia; AFR – Sunshine Tour; CHA – Challenge Tour (dual-ranking); LET – Ladies European Tour
- Postponed due to protest violence;[4] rescheduled to January 2020 without European Tour co-sanctioning.[5]
- Sunshine Tour flagship event
- Initially postponed and then later cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic.
- Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic.
- Postponed due to COVID-19 pandemic.
- Ranking points based on finish among men's field only.
- Tournament added to the schedule as part of changes due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Rescheduled due to COVID-19 pandemic.
- Removed from schedule due to COVID-19 pandemic, pending a possibile rescheduling.[35]
Unofficial events
The following events appear on the schedule, but do not carry official money.
| Date | Tournament | Host country | Winner | OWGR points |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GolfSixes Cascais | Portugal | Cancelled | n/a | Sixteen 2-man teams Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic | |
| Olympic men's golf competition | Japan | Postponed | – | 60-player field Postponed to 2021 due to COVID-19 pandemic | |
| Ryder Cup | United States | Postponed | n/a | Two 12-man teams Postponed to 2021 due to COVID-19 pandemic |
Location of tournaments
The tournament locations below represent the original schedule, before any changes due to COVID-19 pandemic.
    Location of official tournaments of the 2020 European Tour in Europe.
|
.svg.png)    Location of official tournaments of the 2020 European Tour outside Europe.
|
Race to Dubai points leaders
Current Race to Dubai standings of top 10 players (through PGA Championship):
| Pos. | Player | Majors | World Golf Ch. | Rolex Series | Top 10s in other ET events | Total pts | Tmts | Money | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PGA | USO | Mas | Opn | Mex | MP | Inv | Cha | Abu | Sco | PGA | Ita | Tur | Ned | Dub | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Regular (€) | Bonus ($) | |||||||
| 1 | | 1st 1,665 | C A N C E L L E D | T42 53 | C A N C E L L E D | T20 103 | • | 1,821 | 3 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | | T13 151 | 1st 1500 | T47 48 | • | 1,698 | 4 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | | • | T22 99 | • | 1st 1165 | 1,300 | 6 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | | T2 870 | 11 165 | T67 20 | • | 1,055 | 3 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 5 | | T33 79 | T51 41 | T6 226 | 5th 297 | 2nd 222 | 910 | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 6 | | CUT 0 | T58 30 | T49 43 | T67 16 | 1st 710 | 873 | 8 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 7 | | T29 89 | T18 110 | T35 63 | T2 523 | 854 | 5 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 8 | | CUT 0 | T37 63 | T6 226 | T2 523 | 835 | 5 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 9 | | • | • | • | CUT 0 | 1st 335 | 2nd 222 | T6 56 | 3rd 125 | 828 | 11 | |||||||||||||||||
| 10 | | CUT 0 | • | T2 599 | CUT 0 | T3 219 | 818 | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||
UK Swing Order of Merit
With the return of the European Tour after the COVID-19 hiatus and as part of the new Golf for Good initiative – which underpinned all events for the remainder of the 2020 season – a mini Order of Merit ran for all six events in the "UK Swing", with the top ten players sharing an additional £250,000 to donate to charities of their choice.[36] The top ten, not otherwise exempt, from the standings of the UK Swing Order of Merit after the first five events received entry into the 2020 U.S. Open.[37]
Current UK Swing Order of Merit standings (through the English Championship):[36]
| Place | Player | Event | Total pts | Tmts | Donation (£) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | |||||
| 1 | |
T4 85 |
T41 12 |
1st 335 |
432 | 3 | ||||
| 2 | |
2nd 222 |
T6 56 |
3rd 125 |
• | 403 | 3 | |||
| 3 | |
T10 36 |
1st 335 |
CUT 0 |
371 | 3 | ||||
| 4 | |
1st 335 |
T28 18 |
T34 14 |
CUT 0 |
367 | 4 | |||
| 5 | |
T35 15 |
CUT 0 |
2nd 222 |
237 | 3 | ||||
| 6 | .svg.png){kind=small} |
CUT 0 |
2nd 222 |
T56 7 |
229 | 3 | ||||
| 7 | |
3rd 125 |
CUT 0 |
T53 8 |
133 | 3 | ||||
| 8 | |
CUT 0 |
T3 103 |
T19 23 |
CUT 0 |
126 | 4 | |||
| 9 |  |
T47 10 |
T3 103 |
• | 113 | 2 | ||||
| 10 | |
T4 85 |
T15 26 |
• | • | 111 | 2 | |||
1 = Betfred British Masters;
2 = Hero Open;
3 = English Championship;
4 = Celtic Classic;
5 = ISPS Handa Wales Open;
6 = ISPS Handa UK Championship
See also
References
- "Coronavirus: Alex Levy becomes first European Tour golfer to test positive". Sky Sports. PA Media. 13 August 2020. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
- Lavner, Ryan (22 January 2020). "Here's early evidence the Euro Tour's new pace-of-play policy works". Golf Channel. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
- Heath, Elliott (2 October 2019). "2020 European Tour Schedule Revealed". Golf Monthly. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
- "Statement on the Hong Kong Open". PGA European Tour. 20 November 2019. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
- "Hong Kong Open rescheduled for January 2020". ESPN. 6 December 2019.
- "Statement on the Maybank Championship and Volvo China Open". PGA European Tour. 14 February 2020.
- Gray, Will (6 March 2020). "European Tour cancels Kenya Open over coronavirus". Golf Channel. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
- "Joint Statement on the Hero Indian Open". European Tour. 11 March 2020. Retrieved 11 March 2020.
- ČTK (11 March 2020). "Golfové Czech Masters se letos neuskuteční. Pořadatelé akci s velkým předstihem odvolali" [Golf Czech Masters will not take place this year. The organizers cancelled the event long in advance]. iRozhlas.cz (in Czech). Retrieved 11 March 2020.
- Harig, Bob (13 March 2020). "PGA Tour cancels Players Championship after first round". ESPN. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
- Gray, Will (17 March 2020). "European Tour postpones Andalucia Masters over COVID-19 concerns". Golf Channel. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
- "European Tour cancels GolfSixes, postpones Made in Denmark". Golf Channel. 19 March 2020. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
- "Irish Open: Mount Juliet European Tour event postponed because of coronavirus". BBC Sport. 30 March 2020. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
- Stafford, Ali (6 April 2020). "Coronavirus: European Tour cancels inaugural Scandinavian Mixed". Sky Sports. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
- "The Open cancelled; Masters, US Open & US PGA Championship rescheduled". BBC Sport. 6 April 2020. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
- Jackson, Keith (6 April 2020). "The 149th Open cancelled for this year and will return to Sandwich in 2021". Sky Sports. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
- "PGA Tour announces schedule adjustments for remainder of 2019-20 FedExCup season, releases fall portion of 2020-21 PGA Tour Regular Season schedule". PGA Tour. 16 April 2020. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
- "A message from European Tour Chief Executive Keith Pelley". European Tour. 17 April 2020. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
- "European Tour: Omega European Masters cancelled". Sky Sports. 1 May 2020. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
- "European Tour announces resumption of 2020 season". European Tour. 28 May 2020. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
- "Porsche European Open cancellation". European Tour. 28 May 2020. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
- "European Tour and Challenge Tour to resume in Austria". European Tour. 15 June 2020. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
- "Hero Indian Open 2020 cancelled". Asian Tour. 3 July 2020. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
- "KLM Open 2020 afgelast" (in Dutch). KLM Open. 7 July 2020. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
- "European Tour announces continuation of 2020 season in Spain And Portugal". European Tour. 8 July 2020. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
- Porter, Kyle (8 July 2020). "Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits postponed to 2021, Presidents Cup to 2022 amid coronavirus pandemic". CBS Sports. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
- "Magical Kenya Open to be held in November". European Tour. 10 July 2020. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
- "Open de Portugal at Royal Óbidos completes three-event Iberian Swing". European Tour. 10 July 2020. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
- "Cancelado el Mutuactivos Open de España de 2020". 20 minutos (in Spanish). 13 July 2020. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
- Stafford, Ali (27 July 2020). "Alfred Dunhill Links Championship cancelled due to coronavirus". Sky Sports. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
- "Alfred Dunhill Links Championship called off by organisers". BBC Sport. 27 July 2020. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
- Heath, Elliott (14 August 2020). "Irish Open To Take Place At Galgorm Castle In Ryder Cup Spot". Golf Monthly. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
- "The 2020 European Tour schedule". PGA European Tour. Retrieved 25 October 2019.
- "Events | European Tour | 2020". Official World Golf Ranking. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
- Legramandi, Sauro (24 July 2020). "Open d'Italia 2020 di golf, eppur qualcosa si muove" [2020 Italian Open of golf, yet something moves]. TgCom24. Mediaset. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
- "UK Swing Order of Merit". European Tour. Retrieved 29 July 2020.
- "US Open exemptions available through UK Swing on European Tour". Irish Golf Desk. Retrieved 29 July 2020.
External links
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