Golf in Dubai Championship added to European Tour’s revamped calendar

The UAE will soon have a fourth European Tour event after the Golf in Dubai Championship presented by DP World was announced yesterday.

Taking place on the Fire course at Jumeirah Golf Estates from December 2 to December 5, the Golf in Dubai Championship will be held in the penultimate week of the European Tour season.

The following week, the season- ending DP World Tour Championship will be played on the neighbouring Earth course.

In addition to the Golf in Dubai Championship and DP World Tour Championship, the UAE is home to two more European Tour events – the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, presented by EGA, and the Omega Dubai Desert Classic, both staged at the start of each year. The announcement of the new Golf in Dubai Championship completes the European Tour’s revamped 2020 schedule, which now features 38 tournaments.

That includes 15 additional events which did not exist prior to the season being paused between March and the beginning of July because of the coronavirus pandemic.

“It has undoubtedly been a very different and complex challenge to completely reimagine our 2020 schedule since March, but our team has worked incredibly hard behind the scenes, demonstrating creativity and agility,” Keith Pelley, the European Tour’s Chief Executive, said in a statement.

“The Golf in Dubai Championship presented by DP World is the final piece in this jigsaw and continues our policy of playing in geographical clusters.”

With a prize fund of $1.2million, the Golf in Dubai Championship will be played in the same week as the South African Open.

Players in both fields will attempt to secure their spot in the $8m DP World Tour Championship which, due to the disruption this year, will have the leading 60 available players on the Race to Dubai standings as well as any European Tour member in the top 75 on the Official World Golf Ranking at the conclusion of this week’s Masters who is not otherwise exempt.

“As a long-term partner of the European Tour, DP World is proud to support the Golf in Dubai Championship,” Daniel Van Otterdijk, chief communications officer, DP World said.

“The new tournament is another great example of Dubai’s ability to host world class events and underscores its position as a leading hub for both trade and sport.”