European Tour rebranded with $700m boost
Government firm’s backing could rise to $1 billion hrelaunch as DP World Tour comes after Saudi Arabia plans
The European Tour is no more. From next season, golf’s secondbiggest circuit will be called the DP World Tour, in a deal with the Dubai company which could prove to be worth up to $1 billion.
The bonanza will be triggered almost immediately with the 2022 campaign starting in two weeks’ time and boasting total prize money of more than $200million (£147million) for the first time.
The name change and startling investment has caused ripples throughout a professional game still reeling from the recent and ongoing attempts by Saudi Arabia to challenge the status quo at the elite level. While this will be seen as a response to the threat of losing big names, the partnership with the logistics firm owned by the Dubai government has been more than two years in the pipeline.
The Daily Telegraph has since learned that in the summer the deal was feared to be in jeopardy because of Saudi links with DP World – the port operator whose first contract was in Jeddah – but Keith Pelley, the Tour’s chief executive, and right-hand man Guy Kinnings managed to get it over the line.
At yesterday’s glitzy announcement at the Dubai Expo, Pelley was unrepentant in bringing to an end an era of almost 50 years.
“When I joined [in 2015] I told the board
I felt the name of the Tour was a misnomer and did not reflect our brand. Next year we will have 47 events, 23 of which will be in Europe and 24 in other countries around the globe,” Pelley said, before a cheeky reference to the Saudi plans to create a global circuit. “We are definitely a world tour.”
For the Tour to trade its naming rights and embark on a radical rebranding is a huge undertaking at its Wentworth HQ and underlines how much the Emirate is putting up in what is easily the Tour’s biggest commercial deal. DP World’s association with the Tour spans more than a decade, but this economic input will be on a different level. Pelley declined to reveal the exact scale of the finance – with the naming rights wrapped up within the Dubai Ports contract that also backs events and the year-long Race To Dubai – but it is understood to be set over 10 years with initial guarantees of $70million-plus per annum.
Pelley and his board may come under pressure for essentially selling up to a country accused of systemic human-rights abuses, but they will contend that their duties are towards their player members. Yes, rich golfers will be getting even richer. As a gauge, last year’s combined Tour prize funds (excluding majors) was $70million – next year it will be $140million. “Including the majors, it will be north of $200million,” Pelley said.
There will be a minimum purse of $2 million at each event, with at least 13 tournaments above that and the five in the Rolex Series offering at least $8million. The 2022 DP World Tour Championship – the seasonending finale which stages its 13th edition next week – will have a purse of $10million. More stops will be added, while the Challenge Tour, the main Tour’s feeder league, will also benefit significantly.
Tommy Fleetwood was one of the Ryder Cup players in attendance in
‘I felt the name was a misnomer. We will have 47 events, 24 of which will be outside Europe’
the DP World Pavilion at the world expo, with world No1 Jon Rahm, Ian Poulter and American Collin Morikawa, the Open champion, appearing via video to celebrate the news. As well they might. It has been a staggering turnaround by a Tour which in the midst of the pandemic was afraid for its future.
A vital upturn came in last November’s “strategic alliance” with the PGA Tour, which included a cash injection. The US circuit is on board with this revamp, with Jay Monahan, the PGA Tour’s commissioner, also on videolink to express his congratulations. “This is a landmark deal on a landmark day,” Monahan said.