The 2008 European Tour was the 37th

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping ...

season since the

European Tour The European Tour (currently known as the DP World Tour for sponsorship reasons), legally the PGA European Tour is the leading men's professional golf tour in Europe. The organisation also operates the European Senior Tour (for players aged fi ...

officially began in 1972. The season began in November 2007 and consisted of 50 official money events, a drop of two from the previous year. This included seven major championships and

World Golf Championships The World Golf Championships (WGC) are a group of annual professional golf tournaments created by the International Federation of PGA Tours as a means of gathering the best players in the world together more frequently than the pre-existing four ...

, which are also sanctioned by the

PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized in all capital letters as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in the United States and North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also ...

. 27 events took place in Europe, 11 in Asia, six in the United States, four in South Africa, one in Australia and one in New Zealand. The Order of Merit was won by

Robert Karlsson Robert Karlsson (born 3 September 1969) is a Swedish professional golfer who has played on the European Tour and the PGA Tour, and now plays on the PGA Tour Champions. Early life Karlsson was born in Katrineholm, Sweden where his father Björn ...

, the first Swedish golfer to do so. The Golfer of the Year award was given to

Pádraig Harrington Pádraig Peter Harrington (born 31 August 1971) is an Irish professional golfer who plays on the European Tour, PGA Tour and the PGA Tour Champions. He has won three major championships: The Open Championship in 2007 and 2008 and the PGA Champ ...

, who won two major championships during the season and finished second in the Order of Merit. The

Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year The European Tour (currently known as the DP World Tour for sponsorship reasons), legally the PGA European Tour is the leading men's professional golf professional golf tours, tour in Europe. The organisation also operates the European Senior To ...

was

Pablo Larrazábal Pablo Larrazábal Corominas (born 15 May 1983) is a Spanish professional golfer currently playing on the European Tour. He also played in the inaugural LIV Golf Invitational Series event at the Centurion Club. Early life Larrazábal was born in ...

from

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

Major tournaments

For a summary of the major tournaments and events of 2008, including the major championships and the

, see 2008 in golf.

Changes for 2008

There were four new tournaments, the

Indian Masters The Indian Masters was a professional golf tournament on the European and Asian Tours, that was played in February 2008. The tournament was introduced as part of the continuing globalisation of the European Tour, making India the 37th territory ...

, the

Ballantine's Championship The Ballantine's Championship (known as The Championship at Laguna National in its final year) was a European Tour golf tournament which was played from 2008 to 2014. It was the first European Tour event to be staged in South Korea. From 2008 to 2 ...

in South Korea, and in Spain the Madrid Masters and the Castelló Masters Costa Azahar. Lost from the tour schedule were the

Singapore Masters The Singapore Masters was an annual men's professional golf tournament which was played in Singapore from 2001 to 2007. It was co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour and the European Tour, and was one of many European Tour events established in East Asi ...

, the

TCL Classic The TCL Classic was a men's professional golf tournament which was played on a course designed by American Robert Trent Jones, Jr. at Yalong Bay Golf Club in Sanya on Hainan Island, People's Republic of China four times between 2002 and 2007. ...

, the

Deutsche Bank Players Championship of Europe The Deutsche Bank Players Championship of Europe was an annual 72-hole stroke play professional golf tournament for men. It was last played in Germany and was part of the European Tour schedule. The tournament was founded in 1992 as the Honda Open ...

, the

Madrid Open There are three sporting events known as the Madrid Open: * Madrid Open (golf) The Madrid Open was an annual men's golf tournament which was held in and around the Spanish capital Madrid from 1968 to 2007, apart from a seven-year gap from 1994 to ...

and the

Mallorca Classic The Mallorca Classic was a men's professional golf tournament on the European Tour, held between 2003 and 2007 at Pula Golf in Mallorca. It marked the return of the tour to the island, having previously played host to the Open de Baleares betwe ...

. the World Match Play Championship was originally scheduled, but was not held; it returned in

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

with a new sponsor and venue.

Schedule

The following table lists official events during the 2008 season.

Unofficial events

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

Location of tournaments

Order of Merit

The Order of Merit was based on prize money won during the season, calculated in

Euro The euro ( symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . ...

s.Tiger Woods – Career record
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Awards

Golfer of the Month

The winners of the European Tour Golfer of the Month Award were as follows:
Source

Notes

References

External links

2008 season results on the PGA European Tour website
{{European Tour Seasons European Tour seasons

Major tournaments

Changes for 2008

Schedule

Unofficial events

Location of tournaments

Order of Merit

Awards

Golfer of the Month

See also

Notes

References

External links