Dubai World Championship Will Debut In '09 With Record Purse
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European PGA Tour Announces
Details Of Dubai World Championship |
The European PGA Tour formally announced the Dubai World Championship, set to debut in November ’09, that will offer the “world’s largest purse” of any golf tournament at $10M, with the winner earning $1.6M, according to John Hopkins of the LONDON TIMES. The event will include the top 60 players on the Euro Tour money list and will culminate the Race to Dubai, currently tagged the Order of Merit, which offers a $2M bonus “for being Europe’s leading golfer" of the year (LONDON TIMES, 11/20). In London, James Corrigan notes the Dubai World Championship “will replace the Volvo Masters as the grand finale” to the Tour, which will now run from January to November instead of October to October (London INDEPENDENT, 11/20). Also in London, Lewine Mair notes Leisurecorp, the tour sponsor which put up the prize money, will “construct an international headquarters for the European Tour” in Dubai. The Tour will “combine with the company to create a global property operation to develop new tournament venues around the world.” European PGA Tour CEO George O’Grady “gave credit to Ernie Els as the first person to have come forward with the idea of an end-of-season tournament in the Middle East by way of an answer” to the PGA Tour's FedEx Cup. O’Grady said, “Ernie actually thinks we should go further and have a swing of three tournaments down here as a play-off. Now maybe that’s a good idea in the future, but right now this is the building block and this is the start” (London TELEGRAPH, 11/20).
NO TIGER: The INDEPENDENT's Corrigan notes Tiger Woods “is not a member of the European Tour and would be ineligible" for the event. To join the Tour, he would have to “fill in a form, pay a [US$515] fee and play in 11 tournaments on the schedule.” Woods currently “plays in around nine and is not believed to be willing to increase his travels” (London INDEPENDENT, 11/20). The LONDON TIMES' Hopkins writes, “Neither the European Tour nor the sponsors believe that Woods’s presence is essential.” O’Grady said, “It is about European Tour players at the end of the season. I admire the PGA Tour. … We have to accept our players are in demand now” (LONDON TIMES, 11/20). More O’Grady: “This is about growing the European Tour and, hopefully, developing our own Tiger” (London TELEGRAPH, 11/20).
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