03 Oct 2024

Why The European Tour Changed Its Name To The DP World Tour

Ben Cowen, DP World Tour, Chief Tournament & Operations Officer: Since the European Tour group’s main Tour became the DP World Tour at the start of the 2022 season, the presence of ‘world’ in our new title has unquestionably given our competition brand a more accurate designation.

It was, of course, simply one of many factors why DP World’s partnership was such a good fit for us, but certainly in my role overseeing our season-long schedule, it is a daily reminder of the global nature of our product. 

 

Changes

Changes we made to our schedule at the start of this year were introduced to both celebrate this global approach and place more emphasis on it. 

As global golf continues to evolve, we implemented some three distinct phases to our season – the five ‘Global Swings’, the ‘Back 9’ and the ‘DP World Tour Play-Offs’. 

The move has been well-received so far, and as we put the finishing touches to our 2025 schedule, we’re in the process of making some adjustments which will help us further refine and enhance our offering for next year. 

 

Global Swings

The ‘Global Swings’ have given us a strong narrative in the first nine months of our season, because they explicitly accentuate what we are: golf’s global Tour. 

Through our partnerships with other international Tours, we have created a calendar that takes our Tour to Africa, Australia, Asia, the Middle East and America, as well our traditional summer in Europe. 

Crucially, the five ‘Global Swings’ – the Opening Swing, International Swing, Asian Swing, European Swing and Closing Swing – each celebrate and showcase the diversity of courses, cultures and players which our Tour has become synonymous with. They also give qualification routes into the ‘Back 9’ of our season, which we are currently part way through and which has already been compelling viewing. 

 

Opportunity

In our conversations with other organisations across our industry, including the PGA TOUR, we had identified the ‘Back 9’ as a terrific opportunity for our Tour. It takes place after the conclusion of the FedEx Cup, meaning more of our dual members are available to compete, along with a number of non-members also seeking to play internationally. 

The result so far has been some fantastic fields for our tournaments, and some truly thrilling drama on the course. 

The BMW PGA Championship, our third Rolex Series event of 2024, exemplified exactly what we are striving to achieve with our ‘Back 9’. This year’s tournament attracted record crowds, had a stellar line-up for the Celebrity Pro-Am – including Andy Murray’s first appearance after his retirement this summer – and continued our tradition of top-class entertainment outside the ropes with performances by Rudimental, Groove Armada and Sigala. 

 

Inside the ropes

Inside the ropes, Wentworth’s famous West Course lived up to its reputation for ensuring theatre throughout, and the global nature of our Tour was once again underlined with a South African, a European and an American contesting the play-off. 

For Thriston Lawernce and Rory McIlroy it was another near miss, with the pair having now amassed a remarkable nine runner-up finishes between them on the DP World Tour this season, Rory having also finished second on home soil the previous week in the Amgen Irish Open at Royal Country Down. 

Instead, it was a piece of history for Billy Horschel whose long eagle putt on the second extra hole meant he became the first American to win the BMW PGA Championship twice, following his first win in 2021.

Billy is a terrific supporter of our Tour and I know he speaks highly of his experiences on the DP World Tour when he returns to the other side of the Atlantic. Hopefully that will encourage other players to play in our ‘Back 9’ in the future which will only enhance our already strong fields in this phase of the season. 

 

 

Play-offs

As we enter the final weeks of the 2024 campaign, momentum is building towards the new ‘DP World Tour Play-Offs’ in the UAE, which were introduced as the finale to our new look schedule. 

The back-to-back Rolex Series events in Abu Dhabi and Dubai will provide a terrific conclusion to what has, so far, been another absorbing Race to Dubai. 

By the time we reach the UAE in November, we will have announced our 2025 schedule. Following the success of the changes made for 2024, it will look broadly similar, with the addition of a couple of new destinations and a few other tweaks we’ve made following feedback from stakeholders. 

 

Listening to the players

Our Chief Executive Guy Kinnings has spent a lot of time in his first six months in office meeting with players in particular. He had a two and a half hours session with some members at the Betfred British Masters at the end of August and we’ve listened to their views on various aspects, including categories, the number of events and how they qualify for them, and we are using this information to help us shape future schedules. 

What has been clear throughout though is that golf currently has an opportunity to go truly international, especially in this current part of the calendar.  Given the DP World Tour’ s global experience, expertise and relationships, we are uniquely equipped to help our sport deliver on that potential. 

 

by Ben Cowen
DP World Tour, Chief Tournament & Operations Officer

 

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