Ahead of the 2020 Race to Dubai re-starting next week in South Africa we at europeantour.com bring you all the details you need to know about the year ahead.
When did the 2020 Race to Dubai start? Where is it going this year?
As has been the case since 2000, the 2020 European Tour campaign officially began at the Alfred Dunhill Championship in November last year. Following three events, in South Africa, Mauritius and Australia at the tail end of 2019, there will be a minimum of 41 tournaments in 2020, with the European Tour set to visit 27 countries. The first event of the calendar year, and the decade, sees the Tour head to Johannesburg for the long-running South African Open on January 9-12. After 11 months of tough competition the top 50 players in the Race to Dubai Rankings presented by Rolex will arrive in the United Arab Emirates for the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai, from November 19-22.
Which players are hosting European Tour events?
A number of the Tour’s most renowned players will host events this year. Sergio Garcia – through his foundation – will, once again, hold the Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucía Masters at Real Club Valderrama in his homeland, Spain, while Lee Westwood will reprise the role he first undertook in 2017 as Betfred British Masters host. Westwood, a 24-time winner on Tour, will oversee the English event at Close House Golf Club in Newcastle – the same venue he took the event to three years ago. Elsewhere Graeme McDowell will debut as a tournament host at this year’s Dubai Duty Free Irish Open. The 2010 U.S. Open winner succeeds Rory McIlroy and, latterly, Paul McGinley as host and will be in charge in both 2020 and 2021. The 2020 edition of the historic event will take place from May 28-31 at Mount Juliet Estate, while the 2021 venue is yet to be confirmed. Nine-time Major Champion Gary Player will continue in his role as Nedbank Golf Challenge host in Sun City, while Swedish stars Henrik Stenson and Annika Sörenstam are both on hosting duty for the Scandinavian Mixed Hosted by Henrik and Annika – a new format of event on the European Tour.
What is the Scandinavian Mixed Hosted by Henrik and Annika?
Major Champions Stenson and Sörenstam will host an innovative mixed event in Sweden this year with men and women going head-to-head for the first time on the same course competing for one prize fund and one trophy.
As part of the European Tour’s commitment to inclusivity in golf, the inaugural Scandinavian Mixed Hosted by Henrik and Annika will feature 78 men and 78 women at Bro Hof Slott Golf Club in Stockholm from June 11-14, 2020 and will be co-sanctioned by the European Tour and Ladies European Tour.
Hosted by Sweden’s most successful male and female golfers for the next three years and with a prize fund of €1,500,000 for the entire field, the tournament will offer Official World Golf Ranking points for both Tours, plus Race to Dubai and Ryder Cup points for European Tour members, and Order of Merit points for the Ladies European Tour.
When is the Rolex Series?
First launched in 2017 the Rolex Series is a premium category of eight events, each with a minimum prize fund of USD$7 million.
This year the prestigious series re-starts in the Middle East at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship presented by EGA from January 16-19 where current Open Champion Shane Lowry will look to defend his title. From May 28-31 reigning Race to Dubai Champion Jon Rahm will go in search of his third Dubai Duty Free Irish Open trophy in four seasons. From July 9-12 the world’s finest players will travel to North Berwick for the Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open, while at the start of autumn Wentworth Golf Club will once again host the BMW PGA Championship, from September 10-13.
One month later Rome is the Italian Open, from October 8-11, before the Rolex Series concludes over the course of the final three events of the 2020 season in November: the Turkish Airlines Open (November 5-9), Nedbank Golf Challenge hosted by Gary Player (November 12-15) and the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai (November 19-22).
How can European Tour players qualify for The Ryder Cup in 2020?
The qualification period for Europe’s 2020 Ryder Cup team began at the 2019 BMW PGA Championship and will conclude at the same event in September 2020, with players competing in any Race to Dubai event during that period able to earn points in the race to qualify for the 12-man European Team.
Captain Padraig Harrington’s European side will comprise the first four players from the European Points List (points earned through European Tour events) followed by the leading five players from the World Points List (points earned through Official World Golf Ranking sanctioned events).
Available Race to Dubai points and World Ranking points will be multiplied by 1.5 towards the end of the qualification period, starting at the Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucía Masters hosted by the Sergio Garcia Foundation in May.
Qualification points in both 2019 and 2020 will not be available anywhere in the world from a tournament played opposite a Rolex Series event, further enhancing the status of the premier series of events on the European Tour.
