European Tour Announces 42-Tournament Schedule for 2021

AGAINST all the odds, the European Tour has announced its 2021 schedule, featuring 42 tournaments in 24 countries. Running from January to November, the schedule features 18 tournaments which were postponed or cancelled in 2020 due to the pandemic.

The 2021 season will include a refined Rolex Series which features the four events, each one enhanced by a prize fund increase, and elevated Race to Dubai points. At a time when the global economy is in crisis, that it no mean feat.

The Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship (January 21-24), the Scottish Open (July 8-11) and the BMW PGA Championship (September 9-12) will each now have a prize fund of $8m – an increase of $1m. They will also all have 8,000 Race to Dubai points available, the same as on offer at the four World Golf Championship events.

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There will also be new opportunities for all players to qualify for both the Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open and the BMW PGA Championship with three places now available from respective mini orders of merit based on a series of European Tour events leading up to them. Full details of these will be announced in due course.

The prize fund for the fourth and final Rolex Series event of the season – the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai – also increases by $1m to $9m. The European Tour season-ending finale will also continue to feature the largest winner’s cheque in the world of golf - $3m – with, additionally, 12,000 Race to Dubai points available, some 2,000 points more than those on offer at the four Major Championships.

(Image Credit: Kevin Diss Photography)

Many details have still to be finalised, but this is what we do know:

• Prize funds for all four UK Swing events in July / August will be increased
• The second event of the UK Swing (July 29-Aug 1) – whose details will be announced early next year – will be co-sanctioned with the LET/LPGA
• The UK Swing will have a Bonus Pool for the players in addition to a charity element
• Prize funds for new tournaments in Tenerife and Gran Canaria in April will each be €1.5 million. The Portugal Masters, which follows these two events, will also increase to €1.5 million
• Prize fund for the Betfred British Masters hosted by Danny Willett will rise to €2 million from €1.25 million
• Prize funds for the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open and the Italian Open will each rise to €3 million, from €1.25 million and €1 million respectively

In addition to increased prize fund levels, the 2021 European Tour season also offers considerable playing opportunities across the 11 months with a schedule intended to reduce travelling wherever possible.

In addition to the tournaments in the Middle East at the start of the year, the schedule includes the return of the Iberian Swing in April and the UK Swing in July and August, which follows on from the run of the Irish Open, the Scottish Open and The Open Championship. Also next to each other on the schedule are the Open de España and the Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucía Masters in Spain in the first two weeks of October followed by the Trophee Hassan II in Morocco the following week.

European Tour Schedule 2021

Keith Pelley, Chief Executive of the European Tour, said: “I am incredibly proud to announce our 2021 global schedule today, one that once again sees us journey through continents and across the world.

“With the pursuit of Ryder Cup points beginning again in January for our European members; qualification spots now available for our Rolex Series events; a sustained pursuit of innovation and a continued celebration of our wonderful heritage, it is understandable that our overarching narrative for this season is that: ‘Every Week Counts.’

“There is no question that the challenge of reshaping our 2020 season in many ways informed our approach to 2021. One of the key learnings was to group events together in terms of their geographical location to create a more travel friendly season for our members. That is reflected in numerous concentrations of event locations.

“Another was to continue to enhance our Rolex Series events at strategic points in the global golfing calendar when the European Tour will be the focal point of golf on the world stage. This is one of the many aspects we will continue to develop in our Strategic Alliance discussions with the PGA Tour, following our historic partnership announcement last month.

“Our events in the initial part of the 2021 season will continue to operate under the guidelines of our world-class Health Strategy, which will evolve aligned to the latest medical advice.

“However, with the incredible progress that has been made in recent months in terms of a vaccine, we look forward to hopefully welcoming the gradual return of the fans we’ve so dearly missed, whilst at the same time continuing to entertain viewers at home through our unrivalled World Feed TV output and across our award-winning digital platforms.”

Notably, the Open de France, which was first played in 1906 and has been part of the European Tour since 1972, is not included on the schedule. Additionally, the tour is not sanctioning tournaments in Australia or Turkey, but the rise in UK tournaments will delight British fans, assuming they can return as spectators in some capacity during 2021.

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