The 1991 European Tour, titled as the 1991 Volvo Tour for sponsorship reasons, was the 20th season of the European Tour, the main professional golf tour in Europe since its inaugural season in 1972.
| Duration | 7 February 1991 – 27 October 1991 |
|---|---|
| Number of official events | 34[a] |
| Most wins |  Ian Woosnam (3) |
| Order of Merit |  Seve Ballesteros |
| Golfer of the Year | Seve Ballesteros |
| Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year |  Per-Ulrik Johansson |
← 1990 1992 → | |
It was the fourth season of the tour under a title sponsorship agreement with Volvo, that was announced in May 1987.[1]
Changes for 1991
editThere were several changes from the previous season, with the return of both the Catalan Open and the Jersey Open; the addition of the Girona Open; the loss of the Tenerife Open; and the Scandinavian Enterprise Open and the PLM Open were merged to create the Scandinavian Masters.[2]
After provisionally being scheduled for 14–17 October, the Portuguese Open was moved to 21–24 March, taking the venue and dates of the Atlantic Open, which was lost from the calendar.[3] Also before the season started, three more tournaments were removed from the schedule; the Dubai Desert Classic was cancelled due to the Gulf War, the El Bosque Open was cancelled due to lack of sponsorship, and the AGF Open was cancelled as sponsors sought to replace the event's promotion company.[4] These changes resulted in a reduction to 34 counting tournaments for the Order of Merit.
Schedule
editThe following table lists official events during the 1991 season.[5]
| Date | Tournament | Host country | Purse (£) |
Winner[b] | OWGR points |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dubai Desert Classic | UAE | – | Cancelled | – | ||
| El Bosque Open | Spain | – | Cancelled | – | ||
| 24 Feb | Girona Open | Spain | 250,000 | 24 | New tournament | |
| 3 Mar | Fujitsu Mediterranean Open | France | 400,000 | 38 | ||
| 10 Mar | Open de Baleares | Spain | 275,000 | 30 | ||
| 17 Mar | Open Catalonia | Spain | 300,000 | 32 | ||
| Vinho Verde Atlantic Open | Portugal | – | Cancelled | – | ||
| 24 Mar | Portuguese Open | Portugal | 275,000 | 16 | ||
| 31 Mar | Volvo Open di Firenze | Italy | 200,000 | 16 | ||
| AGF Open | France | – | Cancelled | – | ||
| 14 Apr | Masters Tournament | United States | US$1,350,000 | 100 | Major championship[c] | |
| 14 Apr | Jersey European Airways Open | Jersey | 200,000 | 16 | ||
| 21 Apr | Benson & Hedges International Open | England | 400,000 | 52 | ||
| 28 Apr | Madrid Open | Spain | 275,000 | 20 | ||
| 5 May | Credit Lyonnais Cannes Open | France | 350,000 | 24 | ||
| 12 May | Peugeot Spanish Open | Spain | 350,000 | 48 | ||
| 19 May | Lancia Martini Italian Open | Italy | 325,000 | 42 | ||
| 27 May | Volvo PGA Championship | England | 500,000 | 64 | Flagship event | |
| 2 Jun | Dunhill British Masters | England | 450,000 | 42 | ||
| 9 Jun | Murphy's Cup | England | 350,000 | 34 | ||
| 16 Jun | Renault Belgian Open | Belgium | 250,000 | 16 | ||
| 16 Jun | U.S. Open | United States | US$1,300,000 | 100 | Major championship[c] | |
| 23 Jun | Carroll's Irish Open | Ireland | 375,000 | 48 | ||
| 30 Jun | Peugeot Open de France | France | 400,000 | 42 | ||
| 6 Jul | Torras Monte Carlo Open | France | 400,000 | 44 | ||
| 13 Jul | Bell's Scottish Open | Scotland | 500,000 | 56 | ||
| 21 Jul | The Open Championship | England | 900,000 | 100 | Major championship | |
| 28 Jul | Heineken Dutch Open | Netherlands | 500,000 | 44 | ||
| 4 Aug | Scandinavian Masters | Sweden | 600,000 | 48 | New tournament | |
| 11 Aug | European Pro-Celebrity | England | 250,000 | 16 | Pro-Am | |
| 11 Aug | PGA Championship | United States | US$1,350,000 | 100 | Major championship[c] | |
| 18 Aug | NM English Open | England | 450,000 | 30 | ||
| 25 Aug | Volvo German Open | Germany | 525,000 | 30 | ||
| 1 Sep | GA European Open | England | 500,000 | 52 | ||
| 8 Sep | Canon European Masters Swiss Open | Switzerland | 450,000 | 36 | ||
| 15 Sep | Trophée Lancôme | France | 450,000 | 56 | Limited-field event | |
| 22 Sep | Epson Grand Prix of Europe | Wales | 450,000 | 38 | Limited-field event | |
| 29 Sep | Mitsubishi Austrian Open | Austria | 250,000 | 16 | ||
| 6 Oct | Mercedes German Masters | Germany | 500,000 | 50 | ||
| 13 Oct | BMW International Open | Germany | 400,000 | 38 | ||
| 27 Oct | Volvo Masters | Spain | 600,000 | 52 | Tour Championship |
Unofficial events
editThe 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 Sep | Equity & Law Challenge | England | 150,000 | n/a | ||
| 29 Sep | Ryder Cup | United States | n/a | n/a | Team event | |
| 13 Oct | Dunhill Cup | Scotland | US$1,700,000 | n/a | Team event | |
| 20 Oct | Toyota World Match Play Championship | England | 500,000 | 48 | Limited-field event | |
| 3 Nov | World Cup | Italy | US$1,100,000 | n/a | Team event | |
| World Cup Individual Trophy | n/a | |||||
| 10 Nov | Benson & Hedges Trophy | Spain | 200,000 | n/a | Team event | |
| 10 Nov | Asahi Glass Four Tours World Championship | Australia | US$1,150,000 | n/a | Team event | |
| 22 Dec | Johnnie Walker World Golf Championship | Jamaica | US$2,500,000 | 64 | Limited-field event |
Order of Merit
editThe 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.[6][7]
| Position | Player | Prize money (£) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 545,353 | |
| 2 | 393,155 | |
| 3 | 372,703 | |
| 4 | 343,575 | |
| 5 | 328,116 | |
| 6 | 317,441 | |
| 7 | 302,270 | |
| 8 | 257,433 | |
| 9 | 249,240 | |
| 10 | 245,892 |
Awards
edit| Award | Winner | Ref. |
|---|---|---|
| Golfer of the Year | [8] | |
| Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year | [9] |
See also
editNotes
edit- ^ A further four tournaments were scheduled but were cancelled.
- ^ 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.
- ^ a b c Unofficial money event at the time, but retrospectively counted as an official win.
References
edit- ^ White, Graeme (26 May 1987). "Volvo boost for Euro golf". Black Country Evening Mail. West Bromwich, United Kingdom. p. 33. Archived from the original on 6 November 2023. Retrieved 19 October 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Platts, Mitchell (13 October 1990). "Tour offers £20m pickings". The Times. p. 30. Retrieved 25 April 2020 – via The Times Digital Archive.
- ^ "European Tour itinerary". The Observer. London, United Kingdom. 24 February 1991. p. 46. Archived from the original on 30 August 2020. Retrieved 25 April 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Sport in brief | Golf". The Guardian. London, United Kingdom. 16 January 1991. p. 16. Archived from the original on 1 April 2022. Retrieved 25 April 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "1991 Tournament schedule". European Tour. Archived from the original on 6 December 2022. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
- ^ "Final Scores from Valderrama". The Times. 28 October 1991. p. 40. Archived from the original on 30 April 2024. Retrieved 26 April 2020 – via The Times Digital Archive.
- ^ Williams, Michael (29 October 1991). "High returns for mediocrity may lead players to take soft option". The Daily Telegraph. London, United Kingdom. p. 17. Archived from the original on 30 April 2024. Retrieved 19 October 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Whaley, David (11 December 1991). "Seve putts on the Ritz in Europe". Birmingham Evening Mail. Birmingham, United Kingdom. p. 32. Archived from the original on 30 April 2024. Retrieved 19 October 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Top rookie". Liverpool Echo. Liverpool, United Kingdom. 27 November 1991. p. 46. Archived from the original on 30 April 2024. Retrieved 19 October 2023 – via Newspapers.com.