The European Tour is revamped for the next season. The second major golf circuit in the world after the PGA will be renamed the DP World Tour in the 2021/2022 course, which starts at the end of the month with the Joburg Open in South Africa. A new nomenclature that better reflects the global character (and not just European, as the previous one indicated) that it has acquired in recent times, with many tournaments far from the borders of the Old Continent, and that includes the United Arab Emirates firm DP World , a port operator that has already sponsored the Dubai final since 2012 and is an Official Partner since 2015.
But these are not the only novelties on the roadmap for the near future. It has also been announced that the economic prizes distributed among all the appointments on the calendar (47 in 27 countries including majors and world championships) will exceed 200 million dollars (172 euros) for the first time, with a minimum of two ‘kilos’ in each one. There will be new stops in Belgium, South Africa, the United Arab Emirates and Japan, an expanded Rolex Series and, importantly, three tournaments sewn with the PGA that will mean a greater presence of Americans in European lands and good showcases for the members of the DP World Tour who want to cross. the puddle.
The downside is that the Andalusia Masters hosted by Valderrama, which was among the options to be promoted to Rolex category or to be re-sanctioned, is not among those initially chosen by the circuit management. The head of the European Tour, Keith Pelley, met with those responsible for the tournament during the last edition, last October, but the meeting has not yet crystallized in a new status. The new Rolex Series will be the Dubai Desert Classic (HSBC Championship, Scottish Open, BMW PGA Championship and DP World Tour Championship remain) and the Barbasol and Barracuda, which were already in the PGA agenda, and the Scottish Open.
The changes will also reach the lower layers of the golf structure of the European Tour. The Challenge, the second division, will see its prize pools increased and the infrastructure of its competitions improved and the base will be worked on, promoting this sport in all countries that host events. Links with the women’s circuit will also be strengthened, promoting mixed tournaments such as the ISPS Handa World Invitational or the Scandinavian Mixed.