The 1996 European Tour, titled as the 1996 PGA European Tour, was the 25th season of the European Tour, the main professional golf tour in Europe since its inaugural season in 1972.
Changes for 1996 The 1996 season saw co-sanctioning arrangements expand, with the PGA Tour of Australasia's Heineken Classic joining three Southern Africa Tour events on the schedule. The season was ultimately made up of 38 tournaments counting for the Order of Merit, and several non-counting "Approved Special Events".
Other changes from the previous season included the addition of the Heineken Classic, the Dimension Data Pro-Am and the Loch Lomond World Invitational; and the loss of the Turespaña Open De Canaria and the Open de Baleares. Soon after the schedule was announced, a third Southern Africa Tour event was added, the FNB Players Championship.
In January, the Jersey Open was moved onto the European Senior Tour schedule and the Open Mediterrania was replaced by the Catalan Open. In February, a new tournament in Spain, the Oki Pro-Am, was added opposite the Dunhill Cup. In March, the Slaley Hall Northumberland Challenge was added to the schedule, taking the dates vacated by the Jersey Open, opposite the U.S. Open.
Schedule The following table lists official events during the 1996 season.
DateTournamentHost countryPurse(£)WinnerOWGRpointsOthertoursNotes28 JanJohnnie Walker ClassicSingapore600,000 Ian Woosnam (25)42ANZ4 FebHeineken ClassicAustraliaA$800,000 Ian Woosnam (26)34ANZNew to European Tour11 FebDimension Data Pro-AmSouth Africa400,000 Mark McNulty (13)30AFRNew Pro-Am tournament18 FebAlfred Dunhill South African PGA ChampionshipSouth Africa300,000 Sven Strüver (1)22AFR25 FebFNB Players ChampionshipSouth Africa400,000 Wayne Westner (2)28AFRNew to European Tour3 MarTurespaña Open MediterraniaSpain–Cancelled–3 MarCatalan OpenSpain300,000 Paul Lawrie (1)2010 MarMoroccan OpenMorocco350,000 Peter Hedblom (1)2617 MarDubai Desert ClassicUAEUS$1,000,000 Colin Montgomerie (10)3624 MarPortuguese OpenPortugal350,000 Wayne Riley (2)2031 MarMadeira Island OpenPortugal300,000 Jarmo Sandelin (2)2014 AprMasters TournamentUnited StatesUS$2,500,000 Nick Faldo (30)100Major championship21 AprAir France Cannes OpenFrance400,000 Raymond Russell (1)2028 AprTurespaña MastersSpain500,000 Diego Borrego (1)265 MayConte of Florence Italian OpenItaly500,000 Jim Payne (2)2412 MayPeugeot Spanish OpenSpain550,000 Pádraig Harrington (1)3219 MayBenson & Hedges International OpenEngland700,000 Stephen Ames (2)4427 MayVolvo PGA ChampionshipEngland1,000,000 Costantino Rocca (3)64Flagship event2 JunDeutsche Bank Open TPC of EuropeGermany750,000 Frank Nobilo (5)389 JunAlamo English OpenEngland650,000 Robert Allenby (2)3016 JunJersey OpenJersey–Cancelled–16 JunSlaley Hall Northumberland ChallengeEngland300,000 Retief Goosen (1)20New tournament16 JunU.S. OpenUnited StatesUS$2,400,000 Steve Jones (n/a)100Major championship23 JunBMW International OpenGermany500,000 Marc Farry (1)2030 JunPeugeot Open de FranceFrance600,000 Robert Allenby (3)407 JulMurphy's Irish OpenIreland750,000 Colin Montgomerie (11)4013 JulScottish OpenScotland480,000 Ian Woosnam (27)4221 JulThe Open ChampionshipEngland1,500,000 Tom Lehman (n/a)100Major championship28 JulSun Microsystems Dutch OpenNetherlands650,000 Mark McNulty (14)284 AugVolvo Scandinavian MastersSweden700,000 Lee Westwood (1)3211 AugHohe Brücke OpenAustria250,000 Paul McGinley (1)2011 AugPGA ChampionshipUnited StatesUS$2,400,000 Mark Brooks (n/a)100Major championship18 AugChemapol Trophy Czech OpenCzech Republic750,000 Jonathan Lomas (1)2025 AugVolvo German OpenGermany700,000 Ian Woosnam (28)2031 AugOne 2 One British MastersEngland700,000 Robert Allenby (4)368 SepCanon European MastersSwitzerland750,000 Colin Montgomerie (12)3215 SepTrophée LancômeFrance650,000 Jesper Parnevik (3)3822 SepLoch Lomond World InvitationalScotland750,000 Thomas Bjørn (1)4029 SepSmurfit European OpenIreland750,000 Per-Ulrik Johansson (3)386 OctLinde German MastersGermany650,000 Darren Clarke (2)4013 OctOki Pro-AmSpain450,000 Tom Kite (n/a)20New tournament27 OctVolvo MastersSpain900,000 Mark McNulty (15)40Tour Championship
Unofficial events The following events were sanctioned by the European Tour, but did not carry official money, nor were wins official.
DateTournamentHost countryPurse(£)Winner(s)OWGRpointsNotes13 OctDunhill CupScotland1,000,000 Team USAn/aTeam event20 OctToyota World Match Play ChampionshipEngland650,000 Ernie Els42Limited-field event20 OctOpen Novotel PerrierFrancen/a Steven Bottomley and Jonathan Lomasn/aTeam event3 NovSubaru Sarazen World OpenUnited StatesUS$1,900,000 Frank Nobilo4024 NovWorld Cup of GolfSouth AfricaUS$1,300,000 Ernie Els and Wayne Westnern/aTeam eventWorld Cup of Golf Individual TrophyUS$200,000 Ernie Elsn/a22 DecJohnnie Walker World Golf ChampionshipJamaica–Cancelled–5 JanAndersen Consulting World Championship of GolfUnited StatesUS$3,650,000 Greg Norman58Limited-field event
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.
Position Player Prize money (£)1 Colin Montgomerie 875,1462 Ian Woosnam 650,4233 Robert Allenby 532,1434 Costantino Rocca 482,5855 Mark McNulty 463,8476 Lee Westwood 428,6937 Andrew Coltart 345,9368 Darren Clarke 329,7959 Paul Broadhurst 300,36410 Thomas Bjørn 292,023
Awards AwardWinner Golfer of the Year Colin Montgomerie Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year Thomas Bjørn
See also 1996 Challenge Tour 1996 European Seniors Tour
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