European Tour expands presence in Dubai, adds new event for 2020 season

Gulf Today, Staff Reporter

Already established as a hub of sporting activities, Dubai's importance to the European Tour is set to be enhanced further after a new tournament, the Golf in Dubai Championship presented by DP World, was announced on Monday.

The event will take place on the Fire course at Jumeirah Golf Estates from Wednesday Dec.2 to Saturday Dec.5.

It will form a December ‘Dubai Swing’, preceding the fourth and final Rolex Series event of the year, the season-ending DP World Tour Championship, Dubai, which will be played on the neighbouring Earth course at Jumeirah Golf Estates from Thursday Dec.10 to Sunday Dec.13.

The tournament builds on the long-term relationship the European Tour has with Dubai, which began more than 30 years ago, and many of its Dubai-based Official Partners, including DP World, Dubai Duty Free and Emirates.

Since the inception of the Race to Dubai and the DP World Tour Championship in 2009, the Tour has not only brought the world’s best players to the emirate for its spectacular season ending finale, but it has helped to increase the strength of golf domestically, whilst showcasing Dubai as a world class hub for both business and sport.

The announcement of the new Golf in Dubai Championship presented by DP World completes the European Tour’s revamped 2020 schedule which now features 38 tournaments, including 15 additional events which did not exist prior to the season being paused between March and the beginning of July. It also means the European Tour will visit the United Arab Emirates four times in 2020.

With a prize fund of $1.2million, the Golf in Dubai Championship presented by DP World will be played in the same week as the South African Open, the final leg of a three-event swing in South Africa, which takes place from Thursday Dec.3 to Sunday Dec. 6 at the Gary Player Country Club in Sun City.