Order of Merit
An order of merit is a season-long ranking system in golf that awards points (or, historically, prize money) for how players finish across a set series of tournaments, with the golfer holding the highest total at the end of the season declared the winner.
What is an order of merit?
An order of merit measures how well a golfer performs over a whole season rather than in a single event. Every counting tournament hands out points based on where each player finishes, those points add up week by week, and a running table shows who leads. Whoever sits top of that table when the season ends is the order of merit champion, often called the number one.
The idea rewards steady form. A golfer can win an order of merit without winning a single tournament, simply by finishing near the top again and again. That makes it different from a one-off leaderboard, which reflects only a single event.
Orders of merit exist at every level of the game. Professional tours run them to crown their leading player, national bodies use them to rank the best amateurs, and thousands of clubs and societies keep their own version to find a Player of the Year. The counting events, the points on offer, and the number of scores that count all vary from one competition to the next.
How an order of merit works
Points sit at the centre of every order of merit. Each counting event awards a sliding scale of points by finishing position: the winner takes the largest share, second place a little less, and so on down the field. Big Shot Golf, a UK golf society, gives 100 points for a win, 75 for second, and 60 for third, with smaller amounts for lower placings.
Those totals carry forward through the season, and the table is redrawn after every event, so a player’s standing rises or falls with recent results. Many competitions count only a golfer’s best scores rather than every round. That protects someone who plays well but cannot enter every fixture.
Bigger tournaments usually carry more weight. A major or a flagship event tends to award more points than a routine fixture, which is why a strong week at the right moment can lift a player several places. When the last event is done, whoever holds the most points wins.
Order of merit vs money list and the FedEx Cup
Because several ranking systems do a similar job, the order of merit gets muddled with two others in particular: the money list and the FedEx Cup. They overlap, yet they are not the same thing.
A money list ranks players purely by prize money earned. It is an order of merit measured in currency rather than points, and it is how the European Tour decided its champion from 1980 to 2012 before returning to a points format.
The FedEx Cup is the PGA Tour’s season-long points race, ending in a playoff series. It does a comparable job to an order of merit, though the PGA Tour has never used the phrase itself, having relied for decades on a money list instead.
| System | How the ranking is decided | Where it is used |
|---|---|---|
| Order of merit | Points for finishing position, added across the season | European Tour (run as the Race to Dubai), amateur bodies, clubs and societies |
| Money list | Total prize money earned over the season | European Tour 1980 to 2012; still tracked on most pro tours |
| FedEx Cup | Season-long points plus a final playoff series | PGA Tour |
The label matters less than the principle. Any system that ranks players on a full season of results, whether by points or by money, is doing the work of an order of merit.
The order of merit in professional golf
The clearest example in the men’s professional game is the European Tour, now the DP World Tour, whose season-long ranking has long been called the order of merit. Today it runs as the Race to Dubai, and the golfer who tops it collects the Harry Vardon Trophy, a prize first handed out in 1937 and named after the six-time Open champion who died that year (Golf Monthly).
How the title gets decided has shifted over the decades. Points settled it from 1937 to 1979, prize money took over from 1980 to 2012, and the tour went back to points in 2013 (Golf Monthly). Colin Montgomerie holds the record with eight titles, seven of them in a row from 1993 to 1999. Rory McIlroy moved to seven after winning the 2025 Race to Dubai with 5,975 points, passing Seve Ballesteros on six (Golf News Net).
The term travels well beyond Europe. The Ladies European Tour, the Sunshine Tour in South Africa, the Asian Tour, and the Japan Golf Tour all crown their leading player through an order of merit. The PGA Tour and LPGA Tour reach the same goal through the FedEx Cup and the Race to the CME Globe.
Order of merit at club and amateur level
Away from the professional tours, the order of merit is a fixture of everyday club golf. Most clubs run one across their season of medal and stableford competitions, handing points to the leading finishers in each and adding them up over the months. The winner is often named the club’s Player of the Year.
Formats differ from club to club. Some count every qualifying round, others take a player’s best six or best twelve scores, and many weight the club championship more heavily than an ordinary medal. A typical setup gives points down to around 15th place, with extras for a deep run in the club matchplay knockout.
Amateur golf bodies run orders of merit on a national scale too. Golf Canada uses National Orders of Merit to rank its top male and female amateurs and to help pick national teams, drawing on the season’s leading events (Golf Canada). England Golf runs its own orders of merit for county and national amateur play. A high finish can open doors to bigger tournaments and representative selection.
Related Golf Terms
- Bag tag — A tag identifying a golfer’s bag and club membership.
- Major Championship — One of golf’s four most prestigious annual tournaments.
- Comeback putt — The return putt left after a missed first attempt.
- Tap-in — A very short putt that is almost certain to be made.
- Exemption — Status granting a player entry into events without qualifying.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does it mean to win the order of merit?
It means finishing top of the season-long points or money ranking. That player is regarded as the number one in the competition for the year, and on the DP World Tour, they receive the Harry Vardon Trophy.
Is the order of merit the same as the FedEx Cup?
Not quite. Both rank players over a full season, but the FedEx Cup is the PGA Tour’s own points system and ends in a playoff. The PGA Tour has never used the phrase order of merit.
How are order of merit points calculated?
Each counting event awards points by finishing position, with the winner taking the most and amounts falling away down the field. Larger events usually carry more points, and many competitions count only a player’s best results.
Who has won the most European Tour orders of merit?
Colin Montgomerie, with eight titles, seven of them consecutive from 1993 to 1999. Rory McIlroy is next on seven, ahead of Seve Ballesteros on six (Golf Monthly, Golf News Net).
Do amateur golfers have an order of merit?
Yes. National bodies such as Golf Canada and England Golf run amateur orders of merit, and most golf clubs keep their own to crown a Player of the Year.
Sources
- Golf Monthly. “Every European Tour Order of Merit Winner Since 1937.” Accessed July 2026.
https://www.golfmonthly.com/tour/every-european-tour-order-of-merit-winner - Golf News Net. “2025 DP World Tour Race to Dubai Final Results.” Accessed July 2026.
https://thegolfnewsnet.com/golfnewsnetteam/2025/11/16/2025-dp-world-tour-race-to-dubai-final-results-bonus-pool-payout-standings-and-how-much-each-golfer-won-139428/ - Golf Compendium. “European Tour Order of Merit Winners.” Accessed July 2026.
https://www.golfcompendium.com/2018/12/european-tour-order-of-merit.html - DP World Tour. “Race to Dubai Rankings.” Accessed July 2026.
https://www.europeantour.com/dpworld-tour/rankings/overview/ - Golf Canada. “National Orders of Merit.” Accessed July 2026.
https://golfcanada.bluegolf.com/bluegolfw/rcga19/poy/mensoom/overview.htm - Big Shot Golf. “Order of Merit.” Accessed July 2026.
https://bigshotgolf.co.uk/order-of-merit - England Golf. “Orders of Merit.” Accessed July 2026.
https://www.englandgolf.org/orders-of-merit
