EURO TOUR GETS CASH BOOST
Golf's richest tournament will provide the finale to the European Tour from 2009 with a USm prize fund up for grabs.
The European Tour will end in a new limited-field event to be named the Dubai World Championship which will offer a m prize-fund, with a further m bonus to be paid out to the world's top players.
The European Order of Merit will be rebranded as The Race to Dubai with the number one player earning a bonus of just over .9m. The top sixty players will earn the right to enter the Dubai World Championship.
The inaugural Dubai World Championship will take place at Jumeirah Golf Estates from November 19 to November 22, 2009.
European Tour chief executive George O'Grady claimed that the move would bring together the world's best players in a thrilling finale.
"The Race to Dubai will bring a new dimension to The European Tour, creating 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 - The Dubai World Championship.
"With the combined prize funds of The Dubai World Championship and The Race to Dubai we have the prospect of a player standing over a putt for US,666,660."
The move comes in response to the growing number of players joining the exodus to the US PGA Tour in search of greater prize money.
The PGA Tour's season-ending event, the FedEx Cup, offers m to the winner from a m bonus pool.
England's Justin Rose claimed last season's Order of Merit title at the Tour finale, the Volvo Masters although there was controversy over his victory as Ernie Els, who was leading the money race up until the season-ending Volvo Masters, was unable to enter due to a contractual obligation to compete in the Singapore Open on the same weekend.
As part of the restructuring, the European Tour will move to a new international headquarters at Jumeirah Golf Estates in Dubai.
Related links:
