2003 European Tour


The 2003 European Tour was the 32nd season of golf tournaments since the European Tour officially began in 1972.
The Order of Merit was won for the first time by South African Ernie Els.

Schedule

The table below shows the 2003 European Tour schedule which was made up of 45 tournaments counting towards the Order of Merit, which included the four major championships and three World Golf Championships, and three non-counting "Approved Special Events".
There were four new tournaments to the European Tour in 2003, the Nordic Open and three dual-ranking events, the Aa St Omer Open, BMW Russian Open and Mallorca Classic. Lost from the tour schedule were the English Open, Great North Open and the dual-ranking North West of Ireland Open.
DatesTournamentHost countryWinnerOWGR
points		Notes
21–24 NovBMW Asian OpenTaiwan Pádraig Harrington 16Co-sanctioned with the Davidoff Tour
28 Nov – 1 DecOmega Hong Kong OpenHong Kong Fredrik Jacobson 16Co-sanctioned with the Davidoff Tour
9–12 JanSouth African Airways OpenSouth Africa Trevor Immelman 32Co-sanctioned with the Sunshine Tour
16–19 JanDunhill ChampionshipSouth Africa Mark Foster 18Co-sanctioned with the Sunshine Tour
23–26 JanCaltex MastersSingapore Zhang Lianwei 20Co-sanctioned with the Davidoff Tour
30 Jan – 2 FebHeineken ClassicAustralia Ernie Els 30Co-sanctioned with the PGA Tour of Australasia
6–9 FebANZ ChampionshipAustralia Paul Casey 30Co-sanctioned with the PGA Tour of Australasia
13–16 FebJohnnie Walker ClassicAustralia Ernie Els 44Co-sanctioned with the PGA Tour of Australasia and the Davidoff Tour
20–23 FebCarlsberg Malaysian OpenMalaysia Arjun Atwal 20Co-sanctioned with the Davidoff Tour
26 Feb – 2 MarWGC-Accenture Match Play ChampionshipUnited States Tiger Woods 76World Golf Championships
6–9 MarDubai Desert ClassicUnited Arab Emirates Robert-Jan Derksen 30
13–16 MarQatar MastersQatar Darren Fichardt 24
20–23 MarMadeira Island OpenPortugal Bradley Dredge 24Dual ranking event with the Challenge Tour
10–13 AprMasters TournamentUnited States Mike Weir 100Major championship
17–20 AprAlgarve Open de PortugalPortugal Fredrik Jacobson 24
24–27 AprCanarias Open de EspañaSpain Kenneth Ferrie 24
1–4 MayItalian Open Telecom ItaliaItaly Mathias Grönberg 24
8–11 MayBenson and Hedges International OpenEngland Paul Casey 42
15–18 MayDeutsche Bank - SAP Open TPC of EuropeGermany Pádraig Harrington 48
22–25 MayVolvo PGA ChampionshipEngland Ignacio Garrido 64Flagship event
29 May – 1 JunCeltic Manor Resort Wales OpenWales Ian Poulter 24
5–8 JunDaily Telegraph Damovo British MastersEngland Greg Owen 24
12–15 JunU.S. OpenUnited States Jim Furyk 100Major championship
12–15 JunAa St Omer OpenFrance Brett Rumford 16Alternate to the U.S. Open; dual ranking event with the Challenge Tour
19–22 JunDiageo Championship at GleneaglesScotland Søren Kjeldsen 24
26–29 JunOpen de FranceFrance Philip Golding 24
3–6 JulSmurfit European OpenIreland Phillip Price 44
10–13 JulBarclays Scottish OpenScotland Ernie Els 50
17–20 JulThe Open ChampionshipScotland Ben Curtis 100Major championship
24–27 JulNissan Irish OpenIreland Michael Campbell 24
31 Jul – 3 AugScandic Carlsberg Scandinavian MastersSweden Adam Scott 24
7–10 AugNordic OpenDenmark Ian Poulter 24
14–17 AugPGA ChampionshipUnited States Shaun Micheel 100Major championship
14–17 AugBMW Russian OpenRussia Marcus Fraser 16Alternate to the PGA Championship; dual ranking event with the Challenge Tour
21–24 AugWGC-NEC InvitationalUnited States Darren Clarke 78World Golf Championships
28–31 AugBMW International OpenGermany Lee Westwood 30
4–7 SepOmega European MastersSwitzerland Ernie Els 30
11–14 SepTrophée LancômeFrance Retief Goosen 26
18–21 SepLinde German MastersGermany K. J. Choi 48
25–28 SepDunhill Links ChampionshipScotland Lee Westwood 52
2–5 OctWGC-American Express ChampionshipUnited States Tiger Woods 76World Golf Championships
9–12 OctDutch OpenNetherlands Maarten Lafeber 24
16–19 OctHSBC World Match Play ChampionshipEngland Ernie Els n/aApproved special event
16–19 OctTurespaña Mallorca ClassicSpain Miguel Ángel Jiménez 16Alternate to the World Match Play; dual ranking event with the Challenge Tour
23–26 OctTelefonica Open de MadridSpain Ricardo González 30
30 Oct – 2 NovVolvo Masters AndaluciaSpain Fredrik Jacobson 46
6–9 NovSeve TrophySpain Great Britain & Irelandn/aApproved special event; team event
15–18 NovWGC-World CupUnited States South African/aWorld Golf Championships; approved special event; team event

Order of Merit

In 2003, the European Tour's money list was known as the "Order of Merit". It was calculated in euro, although around half of the events had prize funds which were fixed in other currencies, mostly either British pounds or U.S. dollars. In these instances the amounts were converted into euro at the exchange rate for the week that the tournament was played. The top 10 golfers in 2003 were:
PositionPlayerCountryPrize money
1Ernie Els2,975,374
2Darren Clarke2,210,051
3Pádraig Harrington1,555,623
4Fredrik Jacobson1,521,303
5Ian Poulter1,500,855
6Paul Casey1,360,456
7Lee Westwood1,330,713
8Thomas Bjørn1,327,148
9Brian Davis1,245,513
10Phillip Price1,234,018

Awards