New Events, Revised Dates and Innovative Formats Define 2018 European Tour
The European Tour season has several considerably important weeks to come, but that hasn’t stopped the game’s most international and diverse circuit from unveiling its full 2018 schedule, which includes new events, revised dates, and innovative formats.
Beginning at the UBS Hong Kong Open from November 23-26, golf’s traveling circus will stop in 30 countries and once again includes eight Rolex Series tournaments that boast an eye-watering prize fund of at least $7million, as the tour builds towards a crescendo at the Ryder Cup and later the DP World Tour Championship that will bring the curtain down on another memorable campaign.
The BMW PGA Championship will again open those marquee big money weeks in late May, immediately followed by the Italian Open, which is moving from its autumn position on the calendar, adding significant momentum as players gear towards the U.S. Open.
For many people, the highlight of the European season comes in the summer, and that will be the case with three successive Rolex Series events prior to the 147th Open Championship at Carnoustie, in the form of the HNA Open de France at Le Golf National (June 28-July 1), the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open Hosted by the Rory Foundation at Ballyliffin (July 5-8), and the Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open at Gullane Golf Club (July 12-15).
The final Rolex Series tournaments will conclude the 2018 schedule with the Turkish Airlines Open (November 1-4), the Nedbank Golf Challenge hosted by Gary Player (November 8-11) and the showpiece DP World Tour Championship in Dubai (November 15-18). Aligned with the regular Desert Swing early in the year, these are distinct periods for chief executive Keith Pelley to promote heavily and attract big names.
That Middle East sojourn will include the NBO Oman Golf Classic, one of three new events along with Philippines Golf Championship (March 15-18) and the Belgian Knockout (May 17-20), the latter hosted by Ryder Cup star Thomas Pieters, adopting nine-hole strokeplay matches over the final two days.
Fans of match play will be thrilled to hear about the returning EURASIA Cup in January, while the 2019 Solheim Cup venue Gleneagles will host the intriguing European Golf Team Championships in August. The ISPS Handa World Super 6 Perth and GolfSixes both make a welcome return after enjoying successful debuts, as the European Tour looks to push more variety within its product.
Elsewhere, the popular British Masters switches to a slightly later date just after the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in October, and there are two dates that still need filing in April and May, coming after the Masters Tournament and GolfSixes respectively, while several venues are waiting to be announced by the circuit.
Any Ryder Cup year is a significant one for the European Tour, and with the continuing development of new formats and the lucrative Rolex Series, the progressively minded Pelley’s ambition of creating a “viable alternative” to the offerings in the United States remains an undeniably distant objective, but one that he is working hard to make a possibility.
2018 European Tour Schedule
- Nov 23-Nov 26
UBS Hong Kong Open
Hong Kong GC, Fanling, Hong Kong
$2,000,000
- Nov 30-Dec 03
Australian PGA Championship
RACV Royal Pines Resort, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia
A$1,500,000
- Nov 30-Dec 03
AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open
Heritage GC, Domaine de Bel Ombre, Mauritius
€1,000,000
- Dec 07-Dec 10
Joburg Open
Randpark Golf Club, Johannesburg, South Africa
ZAR16,500,000
- Jan 11-Jan 14
BMW SA Open hosted by the City of Ekurhuleni
Glendower GC, City of Ekurhuleni, Gauteng, South Africa
- Jan 12-Jan 14
EURASIA CUP presented by DRB-HICOM
Glenmarie G & CC, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
- Jan 18-Jan 21
Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship
Abu Dhabi GC, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
- Jan 25-Jan 28
Omega Dubai Desert Classic
Emirates GC, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
$3,000,000
- Feb 01-Feb 04
Maybank Championship
Saujana G&CC, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
$3,000,000
- Feb 08-Feb 11
ISPS Handa World Super 6 Perth
Lake Karrinyup CC, Perth, Australia
A$1,750,000
- Feb 15-Feb 18
NBO Oman Golf Classic
Almouj Golf, Muscat, Oman
$1,750,000
- Feb 22-Feb 25
Commercial Bank Qatar Masters
Doha GC, Doha, Qatar
$1,750,000
- Mar 01-Mar 04
WGC - Mexico Championship
Chapultepec GC, Mexico City, Mexico
$10,000,000
- Mar 01-Mar 04
Tshwane Open
Pretoria CC, Waterkloof, South Africa
- Mar 08-Mar 11
Indian Open
TBA, TBA, India
$1,750,000
- Mar 15-Mar 18
Philippines Golf Championship
TBA, TBA, Philippines
$1,500,000
- Mar 21-Mar 25
WGC - Dell Technologies Match Play
Austin CC, Austin, Texas, USA
$10,000,000
- Apr 05-Apr 08
THE MASTERS
Augusta National GC, Augusta, Georgia, USA
$11,000,000
- Apr 12-Apr 15
TBA (Europe)
TBA, TBA, Unknown
- Apr 19-Apr 22
Trophee Hassan II
Royal Golf Dar Es Salam, Rabat, Morocco
€2,500,000
- Apr 26-Apr 29
Volvo China Open
TBA, TBA, China PR
CNY20,000,000
- May 05-May 06
GolfSixes
TBA, TBA, Unknown
- May 10-May 13
TBA (Europe)
TBA, TBA, Unknown
- May 17-May 20
Belgian Knockout
Rinkven International GC, Antwerp, Belgium
- May 24-May 27
BMW PGA CHAMPIONSHIP
Wentworth Club, Virginia Water, Surrey, England
$7,000,000
- May 31-Jun 03
ITALIAN OPEN
TBA, TBA, Italy
$7,000,000
- Jun 07-Jun 10
Austrian Golf Open
Diamond CC, Atzenbrugg, near Vienna, Austria
€1,000,000
- Jun 14-Jun 17
US OPEN
Shinnecock Hills GC, Southampton, New York, USA
$12,000,000
- Jun 21-Jun 24
BMW International Open
Golf Club Gut Laerchenhof, Pulheim, Germany
€2,000,000
- Jun 28-Jul 01
HNA OPEN DE FRANCE
Le Golf National, Paris, France
$7,000,000
- Jul 05-Jul 08
DUBAI DUTY FREE IRISH OPEN HOSTED BY THE RORY FOUNDATION
Ballyliffin GC, Co. Donegal, Republic of Ireland
$7,000,000
- Jul 12-Jul 15
ABERDEEN STANDARD INVESTMENTS SCOTTISH OPEN
Gullane GC, Gullane, East Lothian, Scotland
$7,000,000
- Jul 19-Jul 22
147th OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP
Carnoustie Golf Links, Carnoustie, Scotland
$10,250,000
- Jul 26-Jul 29
Porsche European Open
Green Eagle Golf Courses, Hamburg, Germany
€2,000,000
- Aug 02-Aug 05
WGC - Bridgestone Invitational
Firestone CC, Akron, Ohio, USA
$10,000,000
- Aug 08-Aug 12
European Golf Team Championships
Gleneagles, Auchterarder, Perthshire, Scotland
- Aug 09-Aug 12
US PGA CHAMPIONSHIP
Bellerive CC, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
$10,500,000
- Aug 16-Aug 19
Nordea Masters
Hills GC, Gothenburg, Sweden
- Aug 23-Aug 26
D+D Real Czech Masters
Albatross Golf Resort, Prague, Czech Republic
€1,000,000
- Aug 30-Sep 02
Made In Denmark
Silkeborg Ry GC, Aarhus, Denmark
€1,500,000
- Sep 06-Sep 09
Omega European Masters
Crans-sur-Sierre GC, Crans Montana, Switzerland
- Sep 13-Sep 16
KLM Open
The Dutch, Spijk, Netherlands
€1,800,000
- Sep 20-Sep 23
Portugal Masters
Dom Pedro Victoria Golf Course, Vilamoura, Portugal
€2,000,000
- Sep 28-Sep 30
THE 2018 RYDER CUP
Le Golf National, Paris, France
- Oct 04-Oct 07
Alfred Dunhill Links Championship
Old Course St. Andrews, Carnoustie & Kingsbarns, Scotland, Scotland
$5,000,000
- Oct 11-Oct 14
British Masters supported by Sky Sports
TBA, TBA, Unknown
£3,000,000
- Oct 18-Oct 21
Andalucia Valderrama Masters
Real Club Valderrama, Sotogrande, Spain
€2,000,000
- Oct 25-Oct 28
WGC - HSBC Champions
Sheshan International GC, Shanghai, China PR
$9,750,000
- Nov 01-Nov 04
TURKISH AIRLINES OPEN
Regnum Carya Golf & Spa Resort, Antalya, Turkey
$7,000,000
- Nov 08-Nov 11
NEDBANK GOLF CHALLENGE HOSTED BY GARY PLAYER
Gary Player CC, Sun City, South Africa
$8,000,000
- Nov 15-Nov 18
DP WORLD TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP, DUBAI
Jumeirah Golf Estates, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
$8,000,000
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