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.

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.

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;[4] and the Olympic Men's Golf Competition.

[1][2] As a result of the change of dates, the Nedbank Golf Challenge was played twice during the season.

The Race to Dubai was based on tournament results during the season, calculated using a points-based system.