2003 European Tour
The 2003 European Tour was the 32nd season of the European Tour, the main professional golf tour in Europe since its inaugural season in 1972.
| Duration | 21 November 2002 – 2 November 2003 |
|---|---|
| Number of official events | 45 |
| Most wins |  Ernie Els (4) |
| Order of Merit | Ernie Els |
| Golfer of the Year | Ernie Els |
| Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year |  Peter Lawrie |
← 2002 2004 → | |
Changes for 2003
There were four new tournaments to the European Tour in 2003, the Nordic Open[1] 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.[2]
Schedule
The following table lists official events during the 2003 season.[3]
.svg.png.webp){kind=small}
.svg.png.webp){kind=small}
.svg.png.webp){kind=small}
Unofficial events
The following events were sanctioned by the European Tour, but did not carry official money, nor were wins official.
| Date | Tournament | Host country | Purse | Winner(s) | OWGR points |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19 Oct | HSBC World Match Play Championship | England | £2,300,000 | Ernie Els | n/a | Limited-field event |
| 9 Nov | Seve Trophy | Spain | n/a |  Team GB&I | n/a | Team event |
| 18 Nov | WGC-World Cup | United States | US$4,000,000 | Trevor Immelman and Rory Sabbatini | n/a | World Golf Championship Team 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 Euros.[4][5]
| Position | Player | Prize money (€) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ernie Els | 2,975,374 |
| 2 | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Darren Clarke | 2,210,051 |
| 3 | Pádraig Harrington | 1,555,623 |
| 4 |  Freddie Jacobson | 1,521,303 |
| 5 |  Ian Poulter | 1,500,855 |
| 6 | Paul Casey | 1,360,456 |
| 7 | Lee Westwood | 1,330,713 |
| 8 |  Thomas Bjørn | 1,327,148 |
| 9 | Brian Davis | 1,245,513 |
| 10 |  Phillip Price | 1,234,018 |
Awards
| Award | Winner | Ref. |
|---|---|---|
| Golfer of the Year | Ernie Els | [6] |
| Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year | Peter Lawrie | [7] |
See also
Notes
- 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.
- AFR − Sunshine Tour; ANZ − PGA Tour of Australasia; ASA − Asian PGA Tour; CHA − Challenge Tour.
- Sunshine Tour flagship event
References
- "Nordic Open will make debut in 2003". ESPN. Reuters. 6 November 2002. Retrieved 5 May 2003.
- "Golf". The Charlotte Observer. Charlotte, North Carolina. 27 November 2002. p. 24 (2C in paper). Retrieved 5 May 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
Russia will host its first top-tier European Tour event next year one of four new tournaments for 2003. The tour also added events in Denmark, France and Majorca. The English Open, the Great North Open in England and the North West of Ireland Open were dropped after sponsors withdrew.
- "2003 Tournament schedule". European Tour. Retrieved 17 October 2023.
- "2003 Order of Merit". European Tour. Archived from the original on 14 March 2005. Retrieved 17 October 2023.
- "Els takes European title". BBC Sport. 18 October 2003. Retrieved 17 October 2023.
- "Els named European player of year". CNN. 11 December 2003. Retrieved 17 October 2023.
- "Lawrie Named Euro Tour Rookie of the Year". NBC Sports. 4 November 2003. Retrieved 17 October 2023.