1998 European Tour Explained
The 1998 European Tour, titled as the 1998 PGA European Tour,[1] was the 27th season of the European Tour, the main professional golf tour in Europe since its inaugural season in 1972.
Changes for 1998
For the first time the schedule included the Masters Tournament, U.S. Open and PGA Championship, although winnings did not count towards the Order of Merit. There were several changes from the previous season with the addition of the Qatar Masters, the return of the Belgian Open and the loss of the Dimension Data Pro-Am.
In March, the Chemapol Trophy Czech Open was cancelled in the wake of severe floods across the country in July 1997;[2] it was later replaced on the schedule by the German Open.[3] In July, the tour announced the cancellation of the Oki Pro-Am.[4]
Schedule
The following table lists official events during the 1998 season.[5] [6] [7]
| Date | Tournament | Host country | Purse
(£) | Winner | OWGR
points | Other
tours | Notes |
|---|
| 25 Jan | Johnnie Walker Classic | Thailand | 750,000 |  Tiger Woods (n/a) | 40 | ANZ | |
| 1 Feb | Heineken Classic | Australia | A$1,200,000 |  Thomas Bjørn (2) | 34 | ANZ | |
| 8 Feb | South African Open | South Africa | 450,000 |  Ernie Els (6) | 30 | AFR | |
| 15 Feb | Alfred Dunhill South African PGA Championship | South Africa | 400,000 |  Tony Johnstone (5) | 36 | AFR | |
| 1 Mar | Dubai Desert Classic | UAE | US$1,300,000 |  José María Olazábal (18) | 42 | | |
| 8 Mar | Qatar Masters | Qatar | US$1,000,000 | Andrew Coltart (1) | 30 | | New tournament |
| 15 Mar | Moroccan Open | Morocco | 350,000 |  Stephen Leaney (1) | 20 | | |
| 22 Mar | Portuguese Open | Portugal | 350,000 | Peter Mitchell (3) | 20 | | |
| 12 Apr | Masters Tournament | United States | US$3,200,000 | Mark O'Meara (n/a) | 100 | | Major championship |
| 19 Apr | Cannes Open | France | 300,000 |  Thomas Levet (1) | 20 | | |
| 26 Apr | Peugeot Open de España | Spain | 550,000 | Thomas Bjørn (3) | 28 | | |
| 3 May | Italian Open | Italy | 500,000 |  Patrik Sjöland (1) | 22 | | |
| 10 May | Turespaña Masters Open Baleares | Spain | 350,000 | Miguel Ángel Jiménez (3) | 20 | | |
| 17 May | Benson & Hedges International Open | England | 750,000 | Darren Clarke (3) | 36 | | |
| 25 May | Volvo PGA Championship | England | 1,200,000 | Colin Montgomerie (15) | 64 | | Flagship event |
| 1 Jun | Deutsche Bank - SAP Open TPC of Europe | Germany | 1,100,000 | Lee Westwood (3) | 42 | | |
| 7 Jun | National Car Rental English Open | England | 650,000 | Lee Westwood (4) | 34 | | |
14 Jun | Compaq European Grand Prix | England | – | Abandoned | – | | |
| 21 Jun | Madeira Island Open | Portugal | 300,000 | Mats Lanner (3) | 20 | | |
| 21 Jun | U.S. Open | United States | US$3,000,000 | Lee Janzen (n/a) | 100 | | Major championship |
| 28 Jun | Peugeot Open de France | France | 500,000 | Sam Torrance (21) | 22 | | |
| 5 Jul | Murphy's Irish Open | Ireland | 1,000,000 | David Carter (1) | 38 | | |
| 11 Jul | Standard Life Loch Lomond | Scotland | 850,000 | Lee Westwood (5) | 42 | | |
| 19 Jul | The Open Championship | England | 1,700,000 | Mark O'Meara (n/a) | 100 | | Major championship |
| 26 Jul | TNT Dutch Open | Netherlands | 800,000 | Stephen Leaney (2) | 36 | | |
| 2 Aug | Volvo Scandinavian Masters | Sweden | 800,000 | Jesper Parnevik (4) | 34 | | |
9 Aug | Chemapol Trophy Czech Open | Czech Republic | – | Cancelled | – | | |
| 9 Aug | German Open | Germany | 700,000 | Stephen Allan (1) | 20 | | |
| 16 Aug | PGA Championship | United States | US$3,000,000 |  Vijay Singh (8) | 100 | | Major championship |
| 23 Aug | Smurfit European Open | Ireland | 1,200,000 | Mathias Grönberg (2) | 38 | | |
| 30 Aug | BMW International Open | Germany | 850,000 | Russell Claydon (1) | 32 | | |
| 6 Sep | Canon European Masters | Switzerland | 800,000 |  Sven Strüver (3) | 34 | | |
| 13 Sep | One 2 One British Masters | England | 750,000 | Colin Montgomerie (16) | 34 | | |
| 20 Sep | Trophée Lancôme | France | 800,000 | Miguel Ángel Jiménez (4) | 44 | | |
| 27 Sep | Linde German Masters | Germany | 1,000,000 | Colin Montgomerie (17) | 40 | | |
| 4 Oct | Belgacom Open | Belgium | 400,000 | Lee Westwood (6) | 22 | | |
25 Oct | Oki Pro-Am | Spain | – | Cancelled | – | | |
| 1 Nov | Volvo Masters | Spain | 1,000,000 | Darren Clarke (4) | 42 | | Tour Championship | |
Unofficial events
The following events were sanctioned by the European Tour, but did not carry official money, nor were wins official.
Order of Merit
The Order of Merit was titled as the Volvo Order of Merit and was based on prize money won during the season, calculated in Pound sterling.[8]
| Position | Player | Prize money (£) |
|---|
| 1 | | 993,077 |
| 2 | | 902,867 |
| 3 | | 814,386 |
| 4 | | 518,819 |
| 5 | | 500,137 |
| 6 | | 470,798 |
| 7 | | 449,132 |
| 8 | | 433,884 |
| 9 | | 388,816 |
| 10 | | 358,779 | |
Awards
See also
Notes and References
- Web site: Tour History . European Tour . 17 October 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100404045237/http://www.europeantour.com/tourgroup/history/index.html . 4 April 2010.
- News: Czech Open cancelled . The Irish Times . 19 March 1998 . 3 May 2020.
- News: In brief Golf switch . Aberdeen Press and Journal . Aberdeen, United Kingdom . 20 March 1998 . 38 . British Newspaper Archive . 3 May 2020 . subscription.
- News: KO for the OKI pro-am . Colm . Smith . Irish Independent . Dublin, Ireland . 29 July 1998 . 25 . British Newspaper Archive . 3 May 2020 . subscription.
- Web site: 1998 Tournament schedule . European Tour . 18 October 2023.
- News: Scoreboard Golf 1998 European schedule . The Sydney Morning Herald . Sydney, New South Wales, Australia . 25 September 1997 . 45 . Newspapers.com . 3 May 2020 . subscription.
- News: Faldo Ready for the year of the Tiger . David . Davies . The Guardian . London, England . 21 January 1998 . 23 . Newspapers.com . 3 May 2020 . subscription.
- News: Montgomerie hits his rivals for six . John . Hopkins . The Times . London, United Kingdom . 2 November 1998 . 26 . The Times Digital Archive . 3 May 2020 . limited.
- News: Lee's predicting Major joy for Faldo . Lincolnshire Echo . Lincoln, United Kingdom . 27 . 15 December 1998 . 18 October 2023 . subscription . Newspapers.com . This season's European Golfer of the Year....
- News: Rose attempts to blossom again . Michael . Britten . The Guardian . London, United Kingdom . 29 . 18 November 1998 . 18 October 2023 . subscription . Newspapers.com . The Frenchman Olivier Edmond has become the 34th recipient of the Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year award on the European Tour..
