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Race to Dubai revealed

New Tour taking shape

By Rob Carragher Last updated: 6th October 2008

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The unveiling of the format for the 2009 European Tour and the inaugural Race to Dubai, has revealed that it will feature a record 53 tournaments in 26 destinations.

The Race to Dubai replaces the Order of Merit and begins with the HSBC Champions event in Shanghai in November 2008 before ending with the $20million (�11.3m) Dubai World Championship at the Jumeirah Golf Estates in November 2009.

The format of the competition ensures that the top 60 players in the Race to Dubai will qualify for the Dubai World Championship.

Qualification will in turn give the players the chance to share in the $10m(�5.6m) prize fund and claim a potential $3.6m (�2m) for a first-placed finish.

On top of this, a bonus pool of 10million US dollars will also be shared by the top 15 players in the Race to Dubai, with the winner taking away another $2m (�1.1m).

The record number of tournaments is due in part to the HSBC Champions and the UBS Hong Kong Open each counting twice on the 2009 schedule - once in 2008 and again in 2009.

Five new tournaments have also been introduced - the Czech Golf Open, English Open, Canal+ Open, Volvo World Match Play Championship and Dubai World Championship.

Excited

Although this means that the tour will spread from November to November in its inaugural format, the 2010 tour will run during the calendar year, starting with the South African Open at Pearl Valley in January and concluding with the Dubai World Championship in November.

With the Race to Dubai therefore beginning and ending at a Leisurecorp-owned course, the deal also sees the growing influence of the Dubai-based company in the golfing world.

However, George O'Grady, chief executive of the European Tour, remains adamant that this commercially motivated move is a positive step for golf and such deals with Leisurecorp will be pivotal to the future of the Tour.

"We are excited about the start of the Race to Dubai and the superb quality of the field for the HSBC Champions in Shanghai, with five of the top seven currently active players in the world all entered," said O'Grady.

"The Race to Dubai will bring a new dimension to the European Tour and the partnership with Leisurecorp is central to our plans for the future."