The European Tour will be known as the DP World Tour from the start of the 2022 season; Rolex Series expands from four tournaments to five, with the season-ending DP World Tour Championship featuring a record prize fund of $10m
Tuesday 9 November 2021 13:51, UK
DP World will become the title sponsor of the European Tour as part of a history-making agreement from next season.
The Dubai-based logistics company has been associated with the European Tour since 2009, with the season-ending tournament renamed the DP World Tour Championship in 2012. The agreement heralds a new era in the history of the European Tour group, which, along with DP World, will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2022.
The 2022 DP World Tour schedule will feature a minimum of 47 tournaments in 27 different countries, with the season offering a total prize purse of over $200m for the first time in the Tour's history.
All tournaments solely sanctioned by the DP World Tour will offer minimum prize funds of $2m, with 13 - outside of the majors and World Golf Championship - having purses bigger than that, while five events feature in an expanded Rolex Series schedule for 2022.
The first four Rolex Series events will be Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, the Slync.io Dubai Desert Classic, the Genesis Scottish Open and the BMW PGA Championship, while the season-ending DP World Tour Championship will offer a record prize fund of $10m.
Keith Pelley, Chief Executive of the European Tour group, said: "Today's announcement is undoubtedly a momentous one in the proud history of our Tour. The launch of the DP World Tour in 2022, coinciding with both of our 50th anniversaries, will herald a new era in global golf, and crucially it will benefit everybody involved - all our players, caddies, fans and partners - as well as making an important contribution to wider society.
"The entire ecosystem of our Tour will be strengthened because of this hugely significant deal, and that was essential to us and to DP World, who have been an incredible supporter of our Tour as well as golf more widely, from grassroots through to the elite professional game.
"The DP World Tour is, therefore, a natural evolution of our decade-long partnership, and the presence of 'World' in our new title better reflects our global reach."
New tournaments in the UAE, Japan, South Africa and Belgium will feature in on the 2021-22 schedule, which begins with the Joburg Open from November 25-28.
The agreement will also see significant investment into prize funds on the Challenge Tour, with increased playing opportunities for players and the new John Jacobs Bursary Award supporting the top five players on the Challenge Tour Rankings with their travel and expenses the following year on the DP World Tour.
