The Volvo Masters tournament’s history is inextricably linked to the latter part of that of the PGA (Professional Golfers Association), founded in 1901. This, and the history of the Ryder Cup are all part of the same expansion of golf throughout Europe and well beyond. Here are some of the more important dates:
1971 – Birth of the PGA European Tour- 1972 – Points of the European Tour were included in the European Order of Merit
- 1975 – Order of Merit is now decided by prize money, not points
- 1976 – An annual Qualifying School is started at 3 courses in the UK with 127 cards to be won
- 1977 – 36-hole cut is raised from 50 to 65, plus ties
- 1979 – The tour title officially becomes PGA European Golf Tour. Qualifying School moved to Portugal
1982 – New title: PGA European Tour. Qualifying School opened at La Manga, Spain- 1984 – European Tour becomes a limited Company. Pre-Qualifying for entry to Qualifying School begins at La Manga
- 1986 – Minimum number of tournaments to be played for inclusion in Order of Merit raised from 7 to 9
1988 – Volvo becomes first corporate sponsor of the European Tour with total prize money of £10 million
- 1990 – PGA European Tour and Professional Golfers Association form Ryder Cup Joint Venture. PGA European Tour Andalusian headquarters established at San Roque, Spain
1993 – 3-year TV agreement with Sky Sports is announced- 1994 – Valderrama is declared the first Continental Europe venue for 1997 Ryder Cup
1997 – Ryder Cup played outside the UK for the first time ever at Valderrama. Prize money for this tournament alone amounted to £1 million.- 1999 – World Golf Championships begin, with 3 tournaments, plus the 4 major Championships (British Open, US Open, Masters and PGA), counting towards the 11 tournaments that must be played for Membership of The European Tour
2000 – Colin Montgomerie becomes first player ever to win Volvo PGA Championship three years in a row. Record prize money, £2 million announced for Volvo Masters-
2001 – Tiger Woods makes history by holding the Masters and all four Major Championships at the same time - 2004 – The European Tour and Volvo announce a new global strategy for Volvo, which sees the company’s title sponsorship of the PGA Championship and the Order of Merit come to an end, but the Volvo Masters and the Volvo China Open contracted until the end of 2007, taking Volvo’s participation to a minimum of 20 years
2006 – Seve Ballesteros honoured by The European Tour to commemorate the 30th anniversary of his first Tour victory in the 1976 Dutch Open
