2013 European Tour Schedule Announced
By: Owen Davies | Sun 25 Nov 2012
After the dust had settled in Dubai the European Tour turned its attention to the 2013 season and announced the new shedule which includes 45 events, a desert swing and a massive money final series that will be headlined by the 2013 DP World 
Tour Championship.
The 2013 season will kick off in two weeks time in South Africa where ISPS Handa will be presenting the Nelson Mandela Championship. In total the tour will visit South Africa 6 times in the next year.
The 'Desert Swing' will once again headline the start of the 2013 calender year. It includes the Abu Dhabi Championship, the Qatar Masters and the Dubai Desert Classic. The Tour will then move to America for two WGC events.
Mid-season sees the inclusion of established events such as the flagship BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth, The Irish Open at Carton House, the French Open at Golf National and the Open Championship which is to be played at Muirfield.
Perhaps the most exciting deveolpment arrives at the end of the season which will now include a run in dubbed 'The Final Series'. This will include four tournaments; the US$7 million BMW Masters, the US$8.5 million WGC-HSBC Champions, the US$7 million Turkish Open and the US$8 million DP World Tour Championship, Dubai – making the total prize fund for ‘The Final Series’ a staggering US$30.5 million
These four tournaments will recieve a 20% boost in Race to Dubai points. Comparisons can be made to the PGA Tour's Fed-Ex Cup which includes four events as part of its 'playoffs'
One further deveolpment will see the reduction of the number of players retaining their card via their placing on the Race to Dubai. This will be reduced from 115 to 110 allowing more opportunity for Challenge Tour and European Tour School players to gain their 2014 card.
2012 | |||
| Dec | 6-9 | The Nelson Mandela Championship presented by ISPS Handa | Royal Durban GC, Durban, South Africa |
| 13-16 | Alfred Dunhill Championship | Leopard Creek CC, Malelane, South Africa | |
| 20-23 | |||
| 27-30 | |||
2013 | |||
| Jan | 3-6 | ||
| 10-13 | Volvo Golf Champions | Durban Country Club, Durban, South Africa | |
| 17-20 | Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship | Abu Dhabi GC, Abu Dhabi, UAE | |
| 23-26 | Commercialbank Qatar Masters (Sat Finish) | Doha GC, Doha, Qatar | |
| 31-3 Feb | Omega Dubai Desert Classic | Emirates GC, Dubai, UAE | |
| Feb | 7-10 | Joburg Open | Royal Johannesburg & Kensington GC, Johannesburg, South Africa |
| 14-17 | Africa Open | East London GC, East London, Eastern Cape, South Africa | |
| 21-24 | WGC - Accenture Match Play Championship | Ritz-Carlton GC, Dove Mountain, Marana, Arizona, USA | |
| 28-3 Mar | Tshwane Open | Copperleaf Golf & Country Estate, Centurion, South Africa | |
| Mar | 7-10 | WGC - Cadillac Championship | Doral Golf Resort & Spa, Doral, Florida, USA |
| 14-17 | Avantha Masters | Jaypee Greens GC, Greater Noida, Delhi/NCR, India | |
| 21-24 | Maybank Malaysian Open | Kuala Lumpur G&CC, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | |
| 28-31 | Trophée Hassan II | Golf du Palais Royal, Agadir, Morocco | |
| Apr | 4-7 | TBA | TBA |
| 11-14 | MASTERS TOURNAMENT | Augusta National GC, Georgia, USA | |
| 18-21 | Reale Seguros Open de España | TBA, Spain | |
| 25-28 | Ballantine's Championship | Blackstone GC, Icheon, Seoul, South Korea | |
| May | 2-5 | Volvo China Open | Binhai Lake GC, Tianjin, China |
| 9-12 | TBA | TBA | |
| 16-19 | Volvo World Match Play Championship | Thracian Cliffs Golf & Beach Resort, Kavarna, Bulgaria | |
| 23-26 | BMW PGA CHAMPIONSHIP | Wentworth Club, Surrey, England | |
| 30-2 Jun | Nordea Masters | Bro Hof Slott GC, Stockholm, Sweden | |
| Jun | 6-9 | Lyoness Open powered by Greenfinity | Diamond CC, Atzenbrugg, near Vienna, Austria |
| 13-16 | U.S. OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP | Merion Golf Club, Ardmore, Pennsylvania, USA | |
| 13-16 | Open Najeti Hotels and Golf | Aa Saint Omer GC, Lumbres, France | |
| 20-23 | BMW International Open | Golfclub München Eichenried, Munich, Germany | |
| 27-30 | The Irish Open | Carton House, Maynooth, Co. Kildare, Ireland | |
| Jul | 4-7 | Alstom Open de France | Le Golf National, Paris, France |
| 11-14 | Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open | Castle Stuart Golf Links, Inverness, Scotland | |
| 18-21 | THE 142nd OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP | Muirfield, Gullane, East Lothian, Scotland | |
| 25-28 | Russian Masters | TBA, Russia | |
| Aug | 1-4 | WGC – Bridgestone Invitational | Firestone CC, Akron, Ohio, USA |
| 8-11 | US PGA CHAMPIONSHIP | Oak Hill Country Club, Rochester, New York, USA | |
| 15-18 | TBA | TBA | |
| 22-25 | Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles | The Gleneagles Hotel, Perthshire, Scotland | |
| 29-1 Sept | ISPS Handa Wales Open | The Celtic Manor Resort, City of Newport, Wales | |
| Sept | 5-8 | Omega European Masters | Crans-sur-Sierre, Crans Montana, Switzerland |
| 12-15 | KLM Open | Kennemer G&CC, Zandvoort, The Netherlands | |
| 19-22 | Italian Open | TBA, Italy | |
| 26-29 | Alfred Dunhill Links Championship | Old Course, St Andrews, Carnoustie & Kingsbarns, Scotland | |
| Oct | 3-6 | Vivendi Seve Trophy | TBA |
| 10-13 | Portugal Masters | TBA, Portugal | |
| 17-20 | Perth International | Lake Karrinyup CC , Perth, Western Australia, Australia | |
| 24-27 | BMW Masters | Lake Malaren GC, Shanghai, China | |
| 31-3 Nov | WGC - HSBC Champions | Sheshan International GC, Shanghai, China | |
| Nov | 7-10 | Turkish Open | The Montgomerie Maxx Royal, Antalya, Turkey |
| 14-17 | DP WORLD TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP, DUBAI | Jumeirah Golf Estates, Dubai, UAE | |
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