Dubai will host the world’s richest golf tournament, beginning in November 2009, with a prize fund of US$10 million. Europe’s top 60 money-earners will qualify via the season- long Race to Dubai, which will replace the Order of Merit and emulate the FedEx Cup on the PGA Tour. The rebranded money list will divide a $10 million bonus between the top 15 players.
The European PGA Tour chief executive George O’Grady said in a statement that, “The Race to Dubai will bring a new dimension to the European Tour,” and, “create great drama and theatre throughout the year as all the best players in the world are given the opportunity to compete in the world’s richest tournament.”
One of the more intriguing questions raised by yesterday’s announcement is whether the world’s No1, Tiger Woods will change his mind and consider becoming a European Tour member in 2009 so he can qualify to play in the Dubai World Championship. The rules state a player must play 11 tour events in a season to become a member and Woods has never played that many European Tour events in a single season during his career. The chances of this seem unlikely, which leaves the European Tour with the prospect of hosting the biggest event in its history without the world’s most famous player.
Nevertheless, the Dubai announcement is a significant milestone in the development of the European Tour, which for some time has been hoping to counter the financial influence of the American circuit. The inaugural Dubai World Championship will take place at Leisurecorp’s Jumeirah Golf Estates between November 19-22 on either the Fire or Earth course.
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