European Tour 2012 Schedule
By: Adam Smith | Wed 28 Sep 2011
The European Tour have released an early schedule of the 2012 season up until the end of June with more dates and venues to follow shortly.
Following on from last week’s news that Barclays have pulled the plug on their sponsorship of the Scottish Open in July, a week before the Open Championship, the Tour have decided to wait to release further details.
From what they have released so far the biggest change in the scheduling sees the Nordea Masters at Bro Hof Slott Golf Club in Stockholm, Sweden, move from its usual date in July, a week following on from the Open Championship to and early June date a week before the US Open.
Tournament organisers have also decided to host the event from Wednesday 6 June – Saturday 9 June instead of an events traditional Sunday finish to allow players more travelling time for the second major of the year at the Olympic Club in San Francisco.
The European Tour’s 2011 tournament winners gather for the second edition of the Volvo Golf Champions in January but with the venue still to be confirmed. Paul Casey will be defending his title along with the winners and all players under the age of 50 who have amassed ten or more European Tour career victories in the two million Euro event.
Two new venues have been confirmed however with the Binhai Lake Golf Club in Tianjin, China, hosting the Volvo China Open which also see’s Volvo, the Tours longest running sponsor host its 75th event.
The Sicilian Open also has a new venue in the shape of the Verdura Golf and Spa Resort, Sciacca, Sicily to be held at the end of March.
Old venues have been put back on the roster with the Open de España returning to Real Club de Golf de Sevilla where it was hosted back in 2008 and 2010 and the 20th Madeira Islands Open goes back to Santo da Serra Golf Club.
As usual the Tour starts with the Africa Open on January 5-8 at the East London Golf Club, Eastern Cape, South Africa and then moves onto the Joburg Open the following week in Johennesburg.
The Tours flagship event the BMW PGA Championship stays at the West Course at Wentworth. The 4.5 million Euro event takes place between May 24-27.
| Jan | 5-8 | Africa Open | East London GC, East London, Eastern Cape, South Africa |
| 12-15 | Joburg Open | Royal Johannesburg & Kensington GC, Johannesburg, South Africa | |
| 19-22 | Volvo Golf Champions | TBA | |
| 26-29 | Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship | Abu Dhabi GC, Abu Dhabi, UAE | |
| Feb | 2-5 | Commercialbank Qatar Masters | Doha GC, Doha, Qatar |
| 9-12 | Omega Dubai Desert Classic | Emirates GC, Dubai, UAE | |
| 16-19 | Avantha Masters | DLF G&CC, New Delhi, India | |
| 22-26 | WGC ‐ Accenture Match Play Championship | Ritz‐Carlton GC, Dove Mountain, Marana, Arizona, USA | |
| Mar | 8-11 | WGC ‐ Cadillac Championship | Doral Golf Resort & Spa, Doral, Florida, USA |
| 15-18 | Open de Andalucia de Golf | TBA | |
| 22-25 | Trophée Hassan II | Golf du Palais Royal, Agadir, Morocco | |
| 29-1 Apr | Sicilian Open | Verdura Golf & Spa Resort, Sicily, Italy | |
| Apr | 5-8 | Masters Tournament | Augusta National GC, Georgia, USA |
| 12-15 | Maybank Malaysian Open | TBA | |
| 19-22 | Volvo China Open | Binhai Lake GC, Tianjin, China | |
| 26-29 | Ballantine's Championship | Blackstone GC, Icheon, Seoul, South Korea | |
| May | 3-6 | Open de España | Real Club de Golf de Sevilla, Sevilla, Spain |
| 10-13 | TBA | TBA | |
| 17-20 | Volvo World Match Play Championship | Finca Cortesin, Casares, Andalucia, Spain | |
| 17-20 | Madeira Islands Open | Santo da Serra, Madeira, Portugal | |
| 24-27 | BMW PGA Championship | Wentworth Club, Surrey, England | |
| Jun | 31 Mar - 3 | The Celtic Manor Wales Open | The Celtic Manor Resort, City of Newport, Wales |
| 6-9 | Nordea Masters | Bro Hof Slott GC, Stockholm, Sweden | |
| 14-17 | US Open Championship | Olympic Club, San Francisco, USA | |
| 14-17 | Saint‐Omer Open | Aa Saint Omer GC, Lumbres, France |
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