2008 European Tour#Order of Merit

{{Infobox golf season

| year = 2008

| tour = European Tour

| regular_season = {{Start date|2007|11|8|df=y}} – {{end date|2008|11|2|df=y}}

| no_of_events = 52{{efn|A further two tournaments were scheduled but were cancelled.}}

| most_wins = {{nowrap|{{flagicon|NIR}} Darren Clarke (2){{efn|Tiger Woods won three events, but was not a European Tour member.}}
{{flagicon|ENG}} Richard Finch (2)
{{flagicon|IRL}} Pádraig Harrington (2)
{{flagicon|ESP}} Miguel Ángel Jiménez (2)
{{flagicon|SWE}} Robert Karlsson (2)
{{flagicon|GER}} Martin Kaymer (2)
{{flagicon|NIR}} Graeme McDowell (2)}}

| honor1 = Order of Merit

| honoree1 = {{flagicon|SWE}} Robert Karlsson

| honor2 = Golfer of the Year

| honoree2 = {{flagicon|IRL}} Pádraig Harrington

| honor3 = Players' Player of the Year

| honoree3 = {{flagicon|IRL}} Pádraig Harrington

| honor4 = Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year

| honoree4 = {{flagicon|ESP}} Pablo Larrazábal

| prevseason = 2007

| nextseason = 2009

}}

The 2008 European Tour was the 37th season of the European Tour, the main professional golf tour in Europe since its inaugural season in 1972.

Changes for 2008

There were four new tournaments, the Emaar-MGF Indian Masters, the Ballantine's Championship in South Korea,{{cite web |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/golf/7045703.stm |title=Euro Tour to hit India and Korea |work=BBC Sport |date=15 October 2007 |access-date=6 May 2020}} and in Spain the Madrid Masters and the Castelló Masters Costa Azahar. Lost from the tour schedule were the Singapore Masters,{{cite news |url=https://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/golf/arid-30343811.html |title=Singapore Masters cancelled |newspaper=Irish Examiner |date=10 January 2008 |access-date=12 September 2023}} the TCL Classic, the Deutsche Bank Players Championship of Europe, the Madrid Open and the Mallorca Classic. The World Match Play Championship was originally scheduled, but was not held; it returned in 2009 with a new sponsor and venue.{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/golf/2303878/Matchplays-44-year-run-at-Wentworth-ends.html |title=Matchplay's 44-year run at Wentworth ends |newspaper=The Telegraph |first=Lewine |last=Mair |date=23 June 2008 |access-date=6 May 2020}}

Schedule

The following table lists official events during the 2008 season.{{cite web |title=2008 Tournament schedule |url=https://www.europeantour.com/dpworld-tour/schedule/2008/ |publisher=European Tour |access-date=16 October 2023}}

class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%"

!Date

!Tournament

!Host country

!Purse

!Winner{{efn|name=totals|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.}}

!OWGR
points

!Other
tours{{efn|AFR − Sunshine Tour; ANZ − PGA Tour of Australasia; ASA − Asian Tour; CHA − Challenge Tour; KOR − Korean Tour.}}

!Notes

11 Nov

|HSBC Champions

|China

|align=right|US$5,000,000

|{{flagicon|USA}} Phil Mickelson (n/a)

|align=center|52

|AFR,{{efn|Sunshine Tour unofficial event}} ANZ,{{efn|PGA Tour of Australasia unofficial event}} ASA{{efn|Asian Tour unofficial event}}

|Limited-field event

18 Nov

|UBS Hong Kong Open

|Hong Kong

|align=right|US$2,250,000

|{{flagicon|ESP}} Miguel Ángel Jiménez (14)

|align=center|36

|ASA

25 Nov

|MasterCard Masters

|Australia

|align=right|A$1,500,000

|{{flagicon|AUS}} Aaron Baddeley (n/a)

|align=center|24

|ANZ

2 Dec

|Michael Hill New Zealand Open

|New Zealand

|align=right|NZ$1,500,000

|{{flagicon|ENG}} Richard Finch (1)

|align=center|20

|ANZ

9 Dec

|Alfred Dunhill Championship

|South Africa

|align=right|€1,000,000

|{{flagicon|ENG}} John Bickerton (3)

|align=center|22

|AFR

16 Dec

|South African Airways Open

|South Africa

|align=right|€1,000,000

|{{flagicon|ZAF}} James Kingston (1)

|align=center|32

|AFR{{efn|Sunshine Tour flagship event}}

13 Jan

|Joburg Open

|South Africa

|align=right|€1,100,000

|{{flagicon|ZAF}} Richard Sterne (3)

|align=center|20

|AFR

20 Jan

|Abu Dhabi Golf Championship

|UAE

|align=right|US$2,000,000

|{{flagicon|DEU}} Martin Kaymer (1)

|align=center|44

27 Jan

|Commercialbank Qatar Masters

|Qatar

|align=right|US$2,500,000

|{{flagicon|AUS}} Adam Scott (6)

|align=center|46

3 Feb

|Dubai Desert Classic

|UAE

|align=right|US$2,500,000

|{{flagicon|USA}} Tiger Woods (n/a)

|align=center|50

10 Feb

|Emaar-MGF Indian Masters

|India

|align=right|US$2,500,000

|{{flagicon|IND}} Shiv Chawrasia (1)

|align=center|26

|ASA

|New tournament

~~17 Feb~~

|Singapore Masters

|Singapore

|align=center|–

|Cancelled

|align=center|–

|ASA

17 Feb

|Enjoy Jakarta Astro Indonesia Open

|Indonesia

|align=right|US$1,200,000

|{{flagicon|CHL}} Felipe Aguilar (1)

|align=center|20

|ASA

style="background:#dfe2e9;"

|24 Feb

|WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship

|United States

|align=right|US$8,000,000

|{{flagicon|USA}} Tiger Woods (n/a)

|align=center|76

|World Golf Championship

2 Mar

|Johnnie Walker Classic

|India

|align=right|£1,250,000

|{{flagicon|NZL}} Mark Brown (1)

|align=center|38

|ANZ, ASA

9 Mar

|Maybank Malaysian Open

|Malaysia

|align=right|US$2,000,000

|{{flagicon|IND}} Arjun Atwal (3)

|align=center|24

|ASA

16 Mar

|Ballantine's Championship

|South Korea

|align=right|€2,000,000

|{{flagicon|NIR}} Graeme McDowell (3)

|align=center|28

|ASA, KOR

|New tournament

23 Mar

|Madeira Islands Open BPI - Portugal

|Portugal

|align=right|€700,000

|{{flagicon|SCO}} Alastair Forsyth (2)

|align=center|24

style="background:#dfe2e9;"

|23 Mar

|WGC-CA Championship

|United States

|align=right|US$8,000,000

|{{flagicon|AUS}} Geoff Ogilvy (3)

|align=center|76

|World Golf Championship

30 Mar

|MAPFRE Open de Andalucia

|Spain

|align=right|€1,000,000

|{{flagicon|FRA}} Thomas Levet (4)

|align=center|24

6 Apr

|Estoril Open de Portugal

|Portugal

|align=right|€1,250,000

|{{flagicon|FRA}} Grégory Bourdy (2)

|align=center|24

style="background:#e5d1cb;"

|13 Apr

|Masters Tournament

|United States

|align=right|US$7,500,000

|{{flagicon|ZAF}} Trevor Immelman (4)

|align=center|100

|Major championship

20 Apr

|Volvo China Open

|China

|align=right|US$2,200,000

|{{flagicon|IRL}} Damien McGrane (1)

|align=center|20

|ASA

27 Apr

|BMW Asian Open

|China

|align=right|US$2,300,000

|{{flagicon|NIR}} Darren Clarke (11)

|align=center|32

|ASA

4 May

|Open de España

|Spain

|align=right|€2,000,000

|{{flagicon|IRL}} Peter Lawrie (1)

|align=center|24

11 May

|Methorios Capital Italian Open

|Italy

|align=right|€1,700,000

|{{flagicon|ZAF}} Hennie Otto (1)

|align=center|24

18 May

|Irish Open

|Ireland

|align=right|€2,500,000

|{{flagicon|ENG}} Richard Finch (2)

|align=center|28

style="background:#f2ecce;"

|25 May

|BMW PGA Championship

|England

|align=right|€4,500,000

|{{flagicon|ESP}} Miguel Ángel Jiménez (15)

|align=center|64

|Flagship event

1 Jun

|Celtic Manor Wales Open

|Wales

|align=right|£1,800,000

|{{flagicon|AUS}} Scott Strange (1)

|align=center|36

8 Jun

|Bank Austria GolfOpen

|Austria

|align=right|€1,300,000

|{{flagicon|IND}} Jeev Milkha Singh (3)

|align=center|24

style="background:#e5d1cb;"

|15 Jun

|U.S. Open

|United States

|align=right|US$7,500,000

|{{flagicon|USA}} Tiger Woods (n/a)

|align=center|100

|Major championship

15 Jun

|Saint-Omer Open

|France

|align=right|€600,000

|{{flagicon|ENG}} David Dixon (1)

|align=center|18

|CHA

22 Jun

|BMW International Open

|Germany

|align=right|€2,000,000

|{{flagicon|DEU}} Martin Kaymer (2)

|align=center|30

29 Jun

|Open de France Alstom

|France

|align=right|€4,000,000

|{{flagicon|ESP}} Pablo Larrazábal (1)

|align=center|38

6 Jul

|European Open

|England

|align=right|£2,400,000

|{{flagicon|ENG}} Ross Fisher (2)

|align=center|40

13 Jul

|Barclays Scottish Open

|Scotland

|align=right|£3,000,000

|{{flagicon|NIR}} Graeme McDowell (4)

|align=center|50

style="background:#e5d1cb;"

|20 Jul

|The Open Championship

|England

|align=right|£4,200,000

|{{flagicon|IRL}} Pádraig Harrington (13)

|align=center|100

|Major championship

27 Jul

|Inteco Russian Open Golf Championship

|Russia

|align=right|US$2,000,000

|{{flagicon|SWE}} Mikael Lundberg (2)

|align=center|24

style="background:#dfe2e9;"

|3 Aug

|WGC-Bridgestone Invitational

|United States

|align=right|US$8,000,000

|{{flagicon|FJI}} Vijay Singh (13)

|align=center|74

|World Golf Championship

style="background:#e5d1cb;"

|10 Aug

|PGA Championship

|United States

|align=right|US$7,500,000

|{{flagicon|IRL}} Pádraig Harrington (14)

|align=center|100

|Major championship

17 Aug

|SAS Masters

|Sweden

|align=right|€1,600,000

|{{flagicon|SWE}} Peter Hanson (2)

|align=center|24

24 Aug

|KLM Open

|Netherlands

|align=right|€1,800,000

|{{flagicon|NIR}} Darren Clarke (12)

|align=center|30

31 Aug

|Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles

|Scotland

|align=right|£1,400,000

|{{flagicon|FRA}} Grégory Havret (3)

|align=center|32

7 Sep

|Omega European Masters

|Switzerland

|align=right|€2,000,000

|{{flagicon|FRA}} Jean-François Lucquin (1)

|align=center|24

14 Sep

|Mercedes-Benz Championship

|Germany

|align=right|€2,000,000

|{{flagicon|SWE}} Robert Karlsson (8)

|align=center|34

|Limited-field event

28 Sep

|Quinn Insurance British Masters

|England

|align=right|£1,800,000

|{{flagicon|ESP}} Gonzalo Fernández-Castaño (4)

|align=center|30

5 Oct

|Alfred Dunhill Links Championship

|Scotland

|align=right|US$5,000,000

|{{flagicon|SWE}} Robert Karlsson (9)

|align=center|50

|Pro-Am

~~12 Oct~~

|World Match Play Championship

|England

|align=center|–

|Cancelled

|align=center|–

12 Oct

|Madrid Masters

|Spain

|align=right|€1,000,000

|{{flagicon|ZAF}} Charl Schwartzel (3)

|align=center|24

|New tournament

19 Oct

|Portugal Masters

|Portugal

|align=right|€3,000,000

|{{flagicon|ESP}} Álvaro Quirós (2)

|align=center|38

26 Oct

|Castelló Masters Costa Azahar

|Spain

|align=right|€2,000,000

|{{flagicon|ESP}} Sergio García (7)

|align=center|38

|New tournament

style="background:thistle;"

|2 Nov

|Volvo Masters

|Spain

|align=right|€4,250,000

|{{flagicon|DNK}} Søren Kjeldsen (2)

|align=center|50

|Tour Championship

=Unofficial events=

The following events were sanctioned by the European Tour, but did not carry official money, nor were wins official.

class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%"

!Date

!Tournament

!Host country

!Purse

!Winners

!OWGR
points

!Notes

21 Sep

|Ryder Cup

|United States

|align=center|n/a

|{{flagdeco|USA}} Team USA

|align=center|n/a

|Team event

30 Nov

|Omega Mission Hills World Cup

|China

|align=right|US$5,500,000

|{{flagicon|SWE}} Robert Karlsson and
{{flagicon|SWE}} Henrik Stenson

|align=center|n/a

|Team event

Location of tournaments

{{Location map+ |Europe |float=center |width=550 |caption=Location of official tournaments of the 2008 European Tour in Europe.
8px Major Championship
8px Flagship event
8px Tour Championship
8px Regular event|places=

{{Location map~ |Europe |lat=53.622 |long=-3.033|mark=Blue pog.svg }}

{{Location map~ |Europe |lat=51.40 |long=-0.59|mark=Orange pog.svg }}

{{Location map~ |Europe |lat=36.285 |long=-5.330|mark=Yellow pog.svg }}

}}

{{Location map+ |World |float=center |width=550 |caption=Location of official tournaments of the 2008 European Tour outside Europe.
8px Major Championship
8px World Golf Championship
8px Regular event|places=

{{location map~ |World |lat=32.471 |long=-111.105|mark=Green pog.svg }}

{{location map~ |World |lat=25.815 |long=-80.34|mark=Green pog.svg }}

{{location map~ |World |lat=33.503 |long=-82.020|mark=Blue pog.svg }}

{{location map~ |World |lat=32.904 |long=-117.246|mark=Blue pog.svg }}

{{location map~ |World |lat=41.008 |long=-81.508|mark=Green pog.svg }}

{{location map~ |World |lat=42.544 |long=-83.277|mark=Blue pog.svg }}

{{Location map~ |World |lat=-25.339 |long=27.106|mark=Point carte.svg }}

{{Location map~ |World |lat=25.022 |long=55.199|mark=Solid blue.svg }}

}}

{{Location map+ |South Africa|float=center |width=200 |caption=8px South Africa|places=

}}

{{Location map+ |United Arab Emirates |float=center |width=200 |caption=8px United Arab Emirates|places=

{{Location map~ |United Arab Emirates |lat=24.415 |long=54.529|mark=Red pog.svg }}

{{Location map~ |United Arab Emirates |lat=25.086 |long=55.161|mark=Red pog.svg }}

}}

Order of Merit

The Order of Merit was based on prize money won during the season, calculated in Euros.{{cite web |url=http://www.europeantour.com/default.sps?pagegid=%7B7E944807%2D48EC%2D411A%2DB82A%2DD56203FDC915%7D |title=2008 Order of Merit |publisher=European Tour |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081103023100/http://www.europeantour.com:80/default.sps?pagegid=%7B7E944807%2D48EC%2D411A%2DB82A%2DD56203FDC915%7D |archive-date=3 November 2008 |access-date=24 April 2023}}{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2008/nov/03/golf |title=Swede success for Karlsson in Order of Merit triumph |newspaper=The Guardian |first=Lawrence |last=Donegan |date=3 November 2008 |access-date=24 April 2023}}

class="wikitable" !Position !! Player !! Prize money (€)
align=center\|1	{{flagicon\|SWE}} Robert Karlsson	align=center\|2,732,748
align=center\|2	{{flagicon\|IRL}} Pádraig Harrington	align=center\|2,459,109
align=center\|3	{{flagicon\|ENG}} Lee Westwood	align=center\|2,424,642
align=center\|4	{{flagicon\|ESP}} Miguel Ángel Jiménez	align=center\|2,066,596
align=center\|5	{{flagicon\|NIR}} Graeme McDowell	align=center\|1,859,346
align=center\|6	{{flagicon\|ENG}} Ross Fisher	align=center\|1,836,530
align=center\|7	{{flagicon\|SWE}} Henrik Stenson	align=center\|1,798,617
align=center\|8	{{flagicon\|GER}} Martin Kaymer	align=center\|1,794,500
align=center\|9	{{flagicon\|ESP}} Sergio García	align=center\|1,591,917
align=center\|10	{{flagicon\|DEN}} Søren Kjeldsen	align=center\|1,440,979

Awards

class="wikitable" !Award!!Winner!!{{abbr\|Ref.\|Reference(s)}}
Golfer of the Year	{{flagicon\|IRL}} Pádraig Harrington	{{cite magazine \|url=https://www.golfmonthly.com/news/tour-news/harrington-named-european-tour-golfer-of-the-year-20815 \|title=Harrington named European Tour Golfer of the Year \|magazine=Golf Monthly \|date=8 December 2008 \|access-date=24 April 2023}}
Players' Player of the Year	{{flagicon\|IRL}} Pádraig Harrington	{{cite web \|url=https://golfbusinessnews.com/news/people/harrington-awarded-by-fellow-players/ \|title=Harrington awarded by fellow players \|work=Golf Business News \|date=21 May 2009 \|access-date=24 April 2023}}
Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year	{{flagicon\|ESP}} Pablo Larrazábal	{{cite news \|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2008/SPORT/golf/11/05/golf.larrazabal/index.html \|title=Larrazabal named European rookie of year \|work=CNN \|date=5 November 2008 \|access-date=24 April 2023}}

Notes

References

External links

{{official site|https://www.europeantour.com/}}

Category:European Tour seasons

European Tour

2008 European Tour#Order of Merit

Changes for 2008

Schedule

=Unofficial events=

Location of tournaments

Order of Merit

Awards

See also

Notes

References

External links