Harry Vardon Trophy Harry Vardon Trophy The Harry Vardon Trophy is awarded by the European Tour. Since 2009 it has been awarded to the winner of the Race to Dubai. Before then it was awarded to the winner of the "Order of Merit". From 1975 to 2008 the Order of Merit was based on prize money but before that date a points system was used. From 1937 until the formation of the European Tour in 1972 the award was presented by the British PGA. The trophy is named for the Jersey golfing great Harry Vardon, who died in 1937. The Race to Dubai
Harry Vardon member of the Great Triumvirate, also traveled to the USA on a mini tour in 1900. Vardon played in more than 90 matches and capped it off with a victory in the U.S. Open, where Taylor was second. Vardon wrote that while on this tour, he lost only two matches while playing head-to-head against a single opponent, and both were against the Boston professional Bernard (Ben) Nicholls, older brother of Gilbert Nicholls; the Nicholls brothers had recently emigrated from the British Isles. In 1913, accompanied by Ted Ray, Vardon played in 45 exhibition matches winning 36 of them, and in