The European Tour and DP World recently announced that the international professional golf circuit will be renamed the DP World Tour starting in 2022.
The DP World Tour will see single-season prize money surpass the $200 million mark for the first time, with a new minimum prize fund of $2 million for all tournaments solely sanctioned by the DP World Tour.
“The entire ecosystem of our Tour will be strengthened because of this hugely significant deal, and that was essential to us and to DP World, who have been an incredible supporter of our Tour as well as golf more widely, from grassroots through to the elite professional game,” European Tour chief executive Keith Pelley said in a statement, noting that the partnership coincides with the 50th anniversary for both the European Tour and DP World.
“The DP World Tour is, therefore, a natural evolution of our decade-long partnership, and the presence of ‘World’ in our new title better reflects our global reach.”
Beginning Nov. 25 with the first round of the Joburg Open, the 2022 DP World Tour will feature a minimum of 47 tournaments in 27 different countries, including new tournaments in the United Arab Emirates, Japan, South Africa and Belgium, as well as an expanded Rolex Series comprising five events — the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, Slync.io Dubai Desert Classic, Genesis Scottish Open, BMW PGA Championship and the season-ending DP World Tour Championship.
For the first time, three tournaments will be co-sanctioned with the PGA Tour — the Genesis Scottish Open, Barbasol Championship and Barracuda Championship. This sanctioning partnership is a result of the strategic alliance between golf’s leading men’s professional tours.
“Thanks to the support of long-standing partner DP World, today’s announcement significantly elevates the European Tour on a global basis,” said Jay Monahan, PGA Tour commissioner and a European Tour board member. “We are excited for the continued growth and evolution of the European Tour, as well as the momentum this provides toward our Strategic Alliance. I’ve said before that our respective Tours are positioned to grow — together — over the next 10 years faster than we ever have at any point in our existence, and today’s announcement is another point of proof in those efforts.”
—Agencies
