2009 European Tour

The 2009 European Tour was the 38th season of the European Tour, the main professional golf tour in Europe since its inaugural season in 1972.

Race to Dubai introduction
There were major changes for the 2009 season as the tour entered a partnership agreement with Dubai based Leisurecorp. The Order of Merit was renamed as the Race to Dubai, with a bonus pool of US$7.5 million (originally $10 million) distributed among the top 15 players at the end of the season, with the winner taking $1.5 million (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 (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 received a ten-year European Tour exemption, while the winner of the Dubai World Championship received a five-year exemption. The reduction in prize money, announced in September 2009, was due to the global economic downturn.

Changes for 2009
Changes for the 2009 season included two new tournaments, the Moravia Silesia Open in the Czech Republic and the Dubai World Championship, the addition of the Singapore Open, and the return of the Volvo World Match Play Championship after being cancelled in 2008. In addition, as a result of plans to realign the schedule with the calendar year for 2010, the HSBC Champions, Hong Kong Open and the Australian Masters were held twice during the 2009 season. The HSBC Champions became a World Golf Championships event effective with its November 2009 edition.

In December 2008 the Indian Masters, scheduled for February, was cancelled due to fallout from the ongoing financial crisis, and then in January 2009 it was announced that the revival of the English Open, scheduled for August, would be postponed for at least two years after developers of the St. Mellion International Resort ran into financial difficulties. In May it was announced that due to lack of sponsorship the British Masters had also been dropped from the schedule, with the Austrian Open being rescheduled from June to take its place on the calendar in September.

Schedule
The following table lists official events during the 2009 season.

Unofficial events
The following events were sanctioned by the European Tour, but did not carry official money, nor were wins official.

Race to Dubai
The Race to Dubai was based on prize money won during the season, calculated in Euros.

{{legend|lime|Win}} {{legend|yellow|Top 10}} {{legend|#afeeee|Made cut}} {{legend|pink|Missed cut}} {{legend|lightgrey|Withdrew}} {{legend|transparent|Did not play|text=•}}