The European Tour Golfer of the Year Award was inaugurated in 1985 and continued until 2020. The award was made by a panel made up of golf journalists and radio & television broadcasters.
The European Tour Players' Player of the Year Award started in 2008 and the winner was presented with an award as a result of votes cast by his fellow professionals. In 2017 the Award became The Seve Ballesteros Award. The two awards merged from 2021.
The combined total of wins of the two awards from 1985-2024 is as follows:
Total
Country
Golfer of
the Year
Players' Player
of the Year
7
Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland)
3
4
6
Lee Westwood (England)
4
2
4
Henrik Stenson (Sweden)
2
2
4
Colin Montgomerie (Scotland)
4
0
3
Seve Ballesteros (Spain)
3
0
3
Pádraig Harrington (Ireland)
2
1
3
Nick Faldo (England)
3
0
3
Jon Rahm (Spain)
0
3
3
Ernie Els (South Africa)
1
2
Up to and including the 2024 Award, made in January 2025.
Th first winner of the Golfer of the Year Award in 1985 was Germany's Bernhard Langer, while the first winner of the Players' Player of the Year Award in 2008 was Pádraig Harrington. The first recipient of the newy named Seve Ballesteros Award in 2017 was Henrik Stenson.