The European Tour prides itself on being golf’s global Tour and this week’s marks a significant milestone as Cyprus becomes the 50th different country to host an official European Tour event in the Tour’s 48-year history.
Being global is one of the Tour’s three key pillars, along with innovation and inclusivity, and since the Tour inception with the Open de Espana in 1972, it has evolved from the heartlands of Europe to now play tournaments around the world.
In its first year, the Tour played tournaments in ten different countries; England, France, Germany, Republic of Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Scotland, Spain, Switzerland and the USA.
The following year saw the addition of Portugal, Sweden and Wales, and by 1990 the number had expanded to include Austria, Jersey, Tunisia, Morocco, Belgium, Monaco, and the UAE.
During the last decade of the 20th century, the addition of events in Australia, the Czech Republic, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Qatar, South Africa, Singapore and Thailand increased the number of countries visited to 29.
Argentina, Brazil and Taiwan followed in 2000, with Hong Kong, Mexico, Denmark, China, Russia, Indonesia, South Korea, India all hosting events over the next ten years.
The Tour then visited Bahrain in 2011, Northern Ireland in 2012, Bulgaria and Turkey in 2013, Mauritius in 2015, Fiji in 2016, Oman in 2018, Saudi Arabia and Kenya in 2019, and finally Cyprus in 2020.
The location of this week’s venue is Aphrodite Hills, situated in Paphos, and is the first ever leisure and golf development of its kind in the country. The venue’s 18-hole championship golf course is just one of six courses across the entire nation.
A list of countries visited by the European Tour
Argentina
Australia
Austria
Belgium
Brazil
Bulgaria
China
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Denmark
England
Fiji
France
Germany
Hong Kong
India
Indonesia
Ireland
Italy
Jersey
Kenya
Kingdom of Bahrain
Malaysia
Mauritius
Mexico
Monaco
Morocco
Netherlands
New Zealand
Northern Ireland
Oman
Philippines
Portugal
Qatar
Russia
Saudi Arabia
Scotland
Singapore
South Africa
South Korea
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Taiwan
Thailand
Tunisia
Turkey
UAE
USA
Wales
