The European Open was a European Tour

PGA European Tour

The PGA European Tour is an organization which operates the three leading men's professional golf tours in Europe: the elite European Tour, the European Seniors Tour and the developmental Challenge Tour. Its headquarters are at Wentworth Club in Virginia Water, Surrey, England...

 golf

Golf

Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....

 tournament. Founded in 1978, up to 1994 it was played at various courses in England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, including Sunningdale

Sunningdale Golf Club

Sunningdale Golf Club is a golf club, located approximately 30 miles to the west of London, in Sunningdale, Berkshire, England....

 and Walton Heath

Walton Heath Golf Club

Walton Heath Golf Club is a golf club located just outside Walton-on-the-Hill in Surrey, England, that was founded in 1903.The club comprises two 18-hole golf courses, both of which are well known for having heather covering many of the areas of rough. The Old Course was the first to open in 1904,...

, except for the 1979 event, which was held at Turnberry in Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

. Between 1995 and 2007 the tournament was held at the K Club in Straffan

Straffan

Sruthán was mistakenly cited by Thomas O'Connor in the Ordnance Survey Letters in 1837, and adopted as the Irish form of Straffan. Seosamh Laoide used it in his list of Irish names of post-offices published in Post-Sheanchas . An Sruthán gained currency among those involved in the Irish revival...

, Ireland

Republic of Ireland

Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...

, before moving again in 2008, this time to the Jack Nicklaus

Jack Nicklaus

Jack William Nicklaus , nicknamed "The Golden Bear", is an American professional golfer. He won 18 career major championships on the PGA Tour over a span of 25 years and is widely regarded as one of the greatest professional golfers of all time. In addition to his 18 Majors, he was runner-up a...

-designed Heritage course at the London Golf Club near Sevenoaks

Sevenoaks

Sevenoaks is a commuter town situated on the London fringe of west Kent, England, some 20 miles south-east of Charing Cross, on one of the principal commuter rail lines from the capital...

, Kent

Kent

Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

.

It was an important tournament on the Tour, and in 2008 the total prize money was £

Pound sterling

The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...

2.4 million, putting it in the leading group of European Tour events outside of the major championships

Men's major golf championships

The men's major golf championships, commonly known as the Major Championships, and often referred to simply as the majors, are the four most prestigious annual tournaments in professional golf...

 and the three individual World Golf Championships

World Golf Championships

The World Golf Championships are a group of four annual events for male professional golfers created by the International Federation of PGA Tours, with a fifth to be added in 2012...

 events.

Winners

Year	Winner	Score
European Open
2009	Christian Cévaër Christian Cévaër Christian Georges Cévaër is a French professional golfer.Cévaër was born in Nouméa, New Caledonia, attended Stevenson School in Pebble Beach, California, and then took a golf scholarship at Stanford University in California, U.S., where he twice won the Pac-10 Championship. He also won the 1989...	281 (-7)
2008	Ross Fisher Ross Fisher Ross Daniel Fisher is an English professional golfer, who plays on the European Tour.Fisher was born in Ascot, Berkshire. His home course is the famous Wentworth Golf Club, Surrey, England, location of the European Tour administrative headquarters. As a child, he attended Charters School, a state...	268 (-20)
Smurfit Kappa European Open
2007	Colin Montgomerie Colin Montgomerie Colin Stuart Montgomerie, OBE is a Scottish professional golfer, often referred to by one of his nicknames 'Monty'. He has had one of the finest careers in European Tour history, having won a record eight Order of Merit titles, including a streak of seven consecutively from 1993 to 1999, and 31...	269 (-11)
2006	Stephen Dodd Stephen Dodd Stephen Dodd is a Welsh professional golfer who after a relatively moderate career, unexpectedly won two events on the European Tour in the 2005 season at the age of 38.Dodd was born in Cardiff...	279 (-9)
Smurfit European Open
2005	Kenneth Ferrie Kenneth Ferrie Kenneth Ferrie is an English professional golfer.Ferrie was born in Ashington, Northumberland. He won the British Boys Championship in 1996 and made his first appearance in a European Tour event that year as an invitee at his local event, the Slaley Hall Northumberland Challenge...	285 (-3)
2004	Retief Goosen Retief Goosen Retief Goosen is a South African professional golfer who has been in the top ten in the Official World Golf Rankings for over 250 weeks between 2001 and 2007. His main achievements have been two U.S...	275 (-13)
2003	Phillip Price Phillip Price John Phillip Price is a Welsh professional golfer who plays on the European Tour.-Professional golfer:Price turned professional in 1989 and qualified for membership of the European Tour for the 1991 season via the 1990 Qualifying School. His best year on the tour came in 2000, when he finished...	272 (-16)
2002	Michael Campbell Michael Campbell Michael Shane Campbell, CNZM is a New Zealand golfer who is best known for having won the 2005 U.S. Open and the richest prize in golf, the £1,000,000 HSBC World Match Play Championship, in the same year. He is a member of the European Tour.Ethnically, he is predominantly Māori, from the Ngati...	282 (-6)
2001	Darren Clarke Darren Clarke Darren Christopher Clarke is a professional golfer from Northern Ireland who currently plays on the European Tour and has previously played on the PGA Tour. He has won 22 tournaments worldwide on a number of golf's main tours including the European Tour, the PGA Tour, the Sunshine Tour and the...	273 (-15)
2000	Lee Westwood Lee Westwood Lee John Westwood OBE is an English professional golfer. Noted for his consistency, Westwood is one of the few golfers who has won tournaments on every major continent, including victories on the European Tour and the PGA Tour. He was named player of the year for the 1998, 2000, and 2009 seasons...	276 (-12)
1999	Lee Westwood Lee Westwood Lee John Westwood OBE is an English professional golfer. Noted for his consistency, Westwood is one of the few golfers who has won tournaments on every major continent, including victories on the European Tour and the PGA Tour. He was named player of the year for the 1998, 2000, and 2009 seasons...	271 (-17)
1998	Mathias Grönberg Mathias Grönberg Mathias David Grönberg is a Swedish professional golfer who has played on the European Tour, PGA Tour, and their second-tier tours.-Career:...	275 (-13)
1997	Per-Ulrik Johansson Per-Ulrik Johansson Per-Ulrik Johansson is a Swedish golfer. Like many European golfers he took a golf scholarship in the United States as sports scholarships do not exist in Europe...	267 (-21)
1996	Per-Ulrik Johansson Per-Ulrik Johansson Per-Ulrik Johansson is a Swedish golfer. Like many European golfers he took a golf scholarship in the United States as sports scholarships do not exist in Europe...	277 (-11)
1995	Bernhard Langer Bernhard Langer Bernhard Langer is a German professional golfer. He is a two-time Masters champion, and was one of the world's leading golfers throughout the 1980s and 90s, being the first official number one ranked player in 1986...	280 (-8)PO
European Open
1994	David Gilford David Gilford David Gilford is an English professional golfer.Gilford was born in Crewe. He won the English Amateur in 1984 and turned professional in 1986....	275 (-13)
GA European Open
1993	Gordon Brand, Jnr Gordon Brand, Jnr Gordon Brand, Jnr is a Scottish professional golfer who plays on the European Tour.Brand was born in Kirkcaldy. He turned professional in 1981 and quickly achieved success. He won that year's European Tour Qualifying School, and went on to win two European Tour events in his rookie season...	275 (-13)
1992	Nick Faldo Nick Faldo Sir Nicholas Alexander "Nick" Faldo, MBE is an English professional golfer on the European Tour who now mainly works as an on air golf analyst. Over his career, he has won six majors: three Open Championships and three Masters. He was ranked the World No...	262 (-18)
1991	Mike Harwood Mike Harwood Michael Geoffrey Harwood is an Australian golfer.Harwood was born in Sydney. He turned professional in 1979 and has extensive experience on the PGA Tour of Australasia and the European Tour. He won five times in Europe, including a 1990 victory in tour's home tournament at Wentworth, which was...	277 (-11)
Panasonic European Open
1990	Peter Senior Peter Senior Peter Albert Charles Senior is an Australian professional golfer who has won more than twenty tournaments around the world....	267 (-13)
1989	Andrew Murray Andrew Murray (golfer) Andrew Murray is an English professional golfer.Murray was born in Manchester. He turned professional in 1972. He played on the European Tour from the 1979 through 1995 before calling time on his career, after suffering from spondylitis for many years. He recorded only one win on the European...	277 (-11)
1988	Ian Woosnam Ian Woosnam Ian Harold Woosnam OBE is a Welsh professional golfer.Nicknamed 'Woosie', 'Woosers', or the 'Wee Welshman', Woosnam was one of the "Big Five" generation of European golfers, all born within 12 months of one another, all of whom have won majors, and made Europe competitive in the Ryder Cup...	260 (-20)
1987	Paul Way Paul Way Paul G. Way is an English professional golfer.Way was born in Kingsbury, Middlesex. He went to the Hugh Christie School in Tonbridge, Kent...	279 (-9)
1986	Greg Norman Greg Norman Gregory John Norman AO is an Australian professional golfer and entrepreneur who spent 331 weeks as the world's Number 1 ranked golfer in the 1980s and 1990s...	269 (-11)PO
1985	Bernhard Langer Bernhard Langer Bernhard Langer is a German professional golfer. He is a two-time Masters champion, and was one of the world's leading golfers throughout the 1980s and 90s, being the first official number one ranked player in 1986...	269 (-11)
1984	Gordon Brand, Jnr.	270 (-10)
1983	Isao Aoki Isao Aoki is one of Japan's most successful golfers. He was elected to the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2004.Aoki was born in Abiko, Chiba, Japan. He was introduced to golf while caddying at the Abiko Golf Club as a schoolboy. He turned professional in 1964...	274 (-6)
European Open Championship
1982	Manuel Piñero Manuel Piñero Manuel Piñero Sanchez is a Spanish professional golfer.Piñero was born in Badajoz. He turned professional in 1968 and established himself on the European Tour in the early 1970s. He won nine titles on the Tour, the most prestigious of them the 1977 British PGA Championship...	266 (-14)
Dixcel Tissues European Open
1981	Graham Marsh Graham Marsh Graham Vivian Marsh MBE was one of the leading Australian professional golfers of his generation.-Career outline:Marsh was born in Kalgoorlie, Australia...	275 (-13)
European Open Championship
1980	Tom Kite Tom Kite Thomas Oliver Kite, Jr. is an American professional golfer and golf course architect. He spent 175 weeks in the top-10 of the Official World Golf Rankings between 1989 and 1994....	284 (-8)
1979	Sandy Lyle Sandy Lyle Alexander Walter Barr "Sandy" Lyle, MBE is a Scottish professional golfer. Lyle has won two major championships during his career. Along with Nick Faldo and Ian Woosnam, he became one of Britain's top golfers during the 1980s...	275 (-9)
1978	Bobby Wadkins Bobby Wadkins Robert Edwin Wadkins is an American golfer.Wadkins was born in Richmond, Virginia. He turned pro in 1973. He never won on the PGA Tour despite six runner-up finishes, but he did win on the European Tour and the Japan Golf Tour...	283 (-5)PO

External links

• Coverage on the European Tour's official site