European Tour announcement in Dubai©Getty Images21 Aug 2008
THE EUROPEAN TOUR RACE TO DUBAI - LEADING TO GOLF'S MOST LUCRATIVE SHOT
• Leading to The Dubai World Championship
• Replaces European Tour Order of Merit from the 2009 season
• The number 1 to 60 Tour players at the end of the season vie for US$10,000,000 prize fund at The Dubai World Championship
• The Race to Dubai delivers additional Bonus Pool of US$10,000,000 to the15 top-ranked players after The Dubai World Championship
A new, exhilarating era in world golf will be launched on November 6, 2008, when The Race to Dubai – a season long competition on The European Tour International Schedule – begins with the first shot hit at the HSBC Champions tournament in Shanghai, China.
Exactly 382 days later there is the mouth-watering prospect of one player earning a staggering US$ 3,666,660 with the last shot of the season when The Dubai World Championship unfolds on the Greg Norman-designed Earth Course at Jumeirah Golf Estates, Dubai, UAE, on November 19-22, 2009.
In between The Race to Dubai will take in 57 tournaments in 28 destinations with players from no fewer than 40 countries vying to be the first to face the most lucrative shot in golfing history.
That thrilling crescendo was conceived when The European Tour and Leisurecorp, the company developing Dubai’s leading residential golf community at Jumeirah Golf Estates, announced a wide-ranging five-year partnership.
The announcement was made, appropriately, in the Burj Al Arab hotel which towers 321 metres above the Persian Gulf in the dynamic city of Dubai – and the jewels in this Arabian crown are The Race to Dubai and The Dubai World Championship.
The Race to Dubai will offer a US$10,000,000 bonus pool from which the Number One player will receive not only US$2,000,000 but also the iconic Harry Vardon Trophy, first awarded in 1937 and won in recent times by Seve Ballesteros, Ernie Els, Nick Faldo, Retief Goosen, Padraig Harrington, Bernhard Langer, Sandy Lyle, Colin Montgomerie, Greg Norman, Ronan Rafferty, Justin Rose, Lee Westwood and Ian Woosnam, in addition to a ten year European Tour Card exemption.
All the world’s leading golfers will tee-up on The Race to Dubai and therefore hold the chance to qualify for The Dubai World Championship from which the champion will earn US$ 1,666,660 from the US$10,000,000 prize fund and a five year European Tour Card exemption.
In The Race to Dubai the players will be ranked according to their earnings from all events on The European Tour International Schedule including all European Tour events, the Major Championships and the World Golf Championships and the Number One to 60 players will qualify for The Dubai World Championship.
George O’Grady, Chief Executive of The European Tour, said: “The Race to Dubai will take us on a wonderful week by week, tournament by tournament odyssey around the world – creating great drama and theatre for the spectators and generating immense global media coverage.
“Leisurecorp’s sponsorship is giving us great confidence for the future and it will bring a whole new dimension to The European Tour by significantly raising the bar for the players to exhibit their outstanding skills on the world stage.”
The comprehensive agreement between The European Tour and Leisurecorp will run initially for five years, with an option to extend for a further five years, and will also include significant support for selected European Tour events; funding of The European Tour’s Physio Truck; the construction of a new International Headquarters for The European Tour at Jumeirah Golf Estates; and the creation of a global property company in a joint initiative to develop new tournament venues around the world.
For further information and releases regarding The Race to Dubai and The Dubai World Championship, please scroll down
The Race to Dubai on The 2009 European Tour International Schedule
06 Oct 2008
Nick Tarratt appointment
21 Aug 2008
Leisurecorp send congratulations to Vijay Singh
04 Aug 2008
Norman applauds European Tour Physio Unit
23 Jul 2008
Immelman going for a hat-trick
16 Jul 2008
European Tour unveils new identity to reflect a new era
02 Jul 2008
Jumeirah Golf Estates picks up International Property Award
22 Jun 2008
The Race to Dubai starts in China
Els, Goosen and Rose headline The South African Open
04 Jun 2008
Norman Clubhouse starts to take shape
Thomas Björn excited by Jumeirah Golf Estates partnership
30 Apr 2008
Leisurecorp to acquire Turnberry for £55 million
21 May 2008
Bjorn hails Dubai venue as 'sensational'
23 Apr 2008
Earth Course to host the Dubai World Championship
Leisurecorp to sponsor The European Tour Physio Unit
26 Mar 2008
PGA European Tour Courses Owned by Tour Again
21 Jan 2008
The European Tour Lands in Dubai
19 Nov 2007
Media Conference Transcript
19 Nov 2007
A symbolic presentation at the end of an historic day
19 Nov 2007
The European Tour International Headquarters
19 Nov 2007
The Dubai World Championship
19 Nov 2007
The Race to Dubai
19 Nov 2007
Pearl Valley to Host SAA Open for Three Years
11 Oct 2007
Email this news article to a friend
Print this page
