The Harry Vardon Trophy is a golf award presented by the European Tour. Since 2009 it has been awarded to the winner of the Race to Dubai. Before then it was awarded to the winner of the "Order of Merit". From 1975 to 2008 the Order of Merit was based on prize money but before that date a points system was used. From 1937 until the European Tour became an independent organisation, the award was presented by the British PGA. The trophy is named for the Jersey golfing great Harry Vardon, who died in 1937.
The Race to Dubai is calculated in euro, although many of the events have prize funds which are fixed in other currencies, mainly pounds sterling or U.S. dollars. In these instances, the amounts are converted into euro at the exchange rate for the week that the tournament is played.
History
The award was created in 1937 as the Harry Vardon Memorial Trophy. In its first year the award was presented to the player with the best average in the major stroke play events. Seven events were used: Daily Mail Tournament, Silver King Tournament, Dunlop-Southport Tournament, Southend Tournament, Open Championship, Irish Open and News Chronicle Tournament. Qualifying rounds did not count and a minimum of 18 rounds had to be played. The Dunlop-Metropolitan Tournament with its restricted field was not included and so the last qualifying event was the delayed Southend Tournament. Charles Whitcombe became the first winner with an average of 71.62 for 24 rounds. He had played in 6 of the 7 events (all except the Irish Open) scoring 289, 289, 283, 294, 282 and 282 for a total of 1719. The Irish golfer Paddy Mahon was second with an average of 71.90.[1][2][3]
Six events were used in 1938 with a minimum of 16 rounds which had to include The Open Championship. The same events were used as in 1937 with the exception of the Southend Tournament. Henry Cotton won the award with an average of 72.87 having played in 4 of the 6 qualifying events. Reg Whitcombe was second with an average of 73.35 for 20 rounds.[4][5]
A new system was introduced in 1939. A points system was used with the winner getting 1 point, 2nd place getting 2 points, down to 26 points for finishing outside the top 25. Five events were used with a minimum of 16 rounds which had to include the four rounds of the Open Championship. The Dunlop-Southport Tournament did not take place but otherwise the same tournaments were used as in 1938. Reg Whitcombe won with a score of 27 (7th, 6th, 3rd, 2nd and 9th). Sam King was second on 49 which included 26 points because he had not played in the Irish Open. King had a lower average (72.87) than Whitcombe (73).[6][7]
In 1946, after World War II, the award was again given to the player with the best average in the major stroke play events. 20 rounds were required and four rounds of the Open were compulsory. Bobby Locke won with an average of 73.16 in 36 rounds.[8] Norman Von Nida won in 1947 with an average of 71.25 in 52 rounds[9] and Charlie Ward won in 1948 averaging 71.29 over 44 rounds.[10]
Before 1980, the Order of Merit had been based on a points system or stroke average, so it was not necessarily headed by the golfer who won the most money. In 1971 Peter Oosterhuis won the Order of Merit and won £9,269. Gary Player was the leading money winner with £11,281 but of that, £8,500 came from winning the 1971 Piccadilly World Match Play Championship.[11]
In 2009, the Order of Merit was replaced by the Race to Dubai, with a bonus pool of US$7.5 million[12] (originally $10 million) distributed among the top 15 players at the end of the season, with the winner taking $1.5 million[12] (originally $2 million). The new name reflected the addition of a new season ending tournament, the Dubai World Championship, held at the end of November in Dubai. The tournament also had a $7.5 million prize fund[12] (originally $10 million), and was contested by the leading 60 players in the race following the season's penultimate event, the Hong Kong Open. The winner of the Race to Dubai also receives a ten-year European Tour exemption, while the winner of the Dubai World Championship receives a five-year exemption.[13][14][15] The reduction in prize money, announced in September 2009,[12] was due to the global economic downturn. In 2012, the bonus pool was reduced to $3.75 million with the winner getting $1 million and only the top 10 golfers getting a bonus.[16] The bonus pool was increased to $5 million in 2014 with the top 15 players earning part of the pool.[17][18] 2019 saw further changes: in 2018 the top 10 finishers on the Race to Dubai shared the bonus pool of $5 million, but as of 2019 the sum was split between only the leading five finishers. Whoever topped the standings received an additional $2 million compared with the $1.25 million won by Francesco Molinari in 2018. In addition, the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai was cut to the top 50 golfers on the Race to Dubai list, the prize fund was kept at $8 million but the winner's share was increased to $3 million. This was designed to increase interest and player participation in the event.[19]
In November 2021, the Race to Dubai was renamed the DP World Tour Rankings in line with the tour being retitled as the DP World Tour. However, in November 2022, the tour announced that the Rankings would be reverted to the Race to Dubai, starting from the 2023 season.[20]
Winners
Multiple winners
| Rank | Player | Wins | Years won |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Colin Montgomerie |
8 | 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2005 |
| 2 |  Rory McIlroy |
7 | 2012, 2014, 2015, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025 |
| 3 |  Seve Ballesteros |
6 | 1976, 1977, 1978, 1986, 1988, 1991 |
| 4 |  Peter Oosterhuis |
4 | 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974 |
| T5 | Bernard Hunt |
3 | 1958, 1960, 1965 |
 Bobby Locke |
1946, 1950, 1954 | ||
| Sandy Lyle |
1979, 1980, 1985 | ||
| Lee Westwood |
2000, 2009, 2020 | ||
| T9 | Peter Alliss |
2 | 1964, 1966 |
| Neil Coles |
1963, 1970 | ||
 Ernie Els |
2003, 2004 | ||
| Nick Faldo |
1983, 1992 | ||
| Retief Goosen |
2001, 2002 | ||
 Bernhard Langer |
1981, 1984 | ||
 Christy O'Connor Snr |
1961, 1962 | ||
 Dai Rees |
1955, 1959 | ||
 Henrik Stenson |
2013, 2016 | ||
| Charlie Ward |
1948, 1949 | ||
| Harry Weetman |
1952, 1956 | ||
| Ian Woosnam |
1987, 1990 |
References
- "Harry Vardon Memorial Trophy". The Times. 10 September 1937. p. 5.
- "Harry Vardon Memorial Trophy". The Times. 13 September 1937. p. 6.
- "Harry Vardon Memorial Trophy – C A Whitcombe's fine average". The Times. 1 October 1937. p. 5.
- "Golf – The Harry Vardon Trophy". The Times. 13 January 1938. p. 6.
- "The "Vardon" Trophy". The Times. 20 August 1938. p. 3.
- "The Harry Vardon Trophy". The Times. 19 August 1939. p. 5.
- "The Harry Vardon Trophy – final placings". The Times. 2 September 1939. p. 3.
- "Golf – Locke wins Harry Vardon Trophy". The Times. 20 September 1946. p. 8.
- "Harry Vardon Trophy – Von Nida's success". The Times. 9 September 1947. p. 2.
- "Golf – Harry Vardon Trophy". The Times. 15 September 1948. p. 2.
- "Golf - Oosterhuis heads merit list". The Times. 6 November 1971. p. 15.
- "Dubai tourney winnings cut 25 percent". ESPN. 21 September 2009. Archived from the original on 3 November 2012. Retrieved 21 September 2009.
- "US boss welcomes European windfall". BBC Sport. 21 November 2007. Archived from the original on 17 December 2008. Retrieved 12 November 2008.
- "Race to Dubai". European Tour. Archived from the original on 9 December 2008. Retrieved 12 November 2008.
- "Euro Tour Unveils Race to Dubai". Golf Channel. 19 November 2007.
- Ballengee, Ryan (5 January 2012). "Race to Dubai bonus pool slashed in half for 2012". Golf Channel. Archived from the original on 8 January 2012. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
- "Race to Dubai Extended to 2017". PGA European Tour. 17 November 2013. Archived from the original on 11 January 2014. Retrieved 18 November 2013.
- "New qualifying format for Final Series". ESPN. Associated Press. 17 March 2014. Archived from the original on 19 March 2014. Retrieved 19 March 2014.
- Carter, Iain (13 February 2019). "Race to Dubai: Biggest top prize in golf of £2.3m announced by European Tour". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 7 July 2019. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
- "The DP World Tour Rankings to become the Race to Dubai Rankings in Partnership with Rolex for the 2023 season". European Tour. 21 November 2022. Archived from the original on 21 November 2022. Retrieved 21 November 2022.
External links
- Harry Vardon Trophy Honour Roll at www.pga.info
- Harry Vardon Trophy winners at www.europeantour.com