2016 European Tour

The 2016 European Tour was the 45th season of the European Tour, the main professional golf tour in Europe since its inaugural season in 1972.

Rule changes
For the 2016 season, the European Tour modified its membership requirements from 13 tournaments inclusive of the four majors and four World Golf Championships, to 5 tournaments exclusive of them; the change was intended to make it easier for United States-based players outside the top-50 in the OWGR to retain their membership, as they may not be eligible for the majors and WGCs.

Schedule changes
There were many changes from the previous season. Seven tournaments were lost from the schedule, the most significant being the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational which, due to a clash of dates with the 100th edition of the Open de France, was not sanctioned by the European Tour in 2016. Other tournaments which were removed were the Africa Open, the Malaysian Open, the Madeira Islands Open, the Russian Open, the BMW Masters and the Hong Kong Open, which would take place early in the 2017 season due to a change in dates from October to December. There were four additions to the schedule: the return of the Perth International, the first European Tour sanctioned Australian PGA Championship; the inaugural Maybank Championship, which replaced the Malaysian Open; and the Olympic Men's Golf Competition.

The Final Series was also adjusted; the Nedbank Golf Challenge replaced the dropped BMW Masters, and the series was reduced to three events with the removal of the WGC-HSBC Champions. As a result of the change of dates, the Nedbank Golf Challenge was played twice during the season.

The Fiji International and the King's Cup were added to the schedule during the year.

Schedule
The following table lists official events during the 2016 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 tournament results during the season, calculated using a points-based system.

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