The European Tour has announced its schedule for 2021 which features a minimum of 42 tournaments in 24 countries, as golf’s global Tour resumes a full international programme.
Running from January to November, the schedule also features 18 returning tournaments which were either postponed or cancelled in 2020 due to the Coronavirus pandemic.
The 2021 season is headlined by a refined Rolex Series which now features the European Tour’s four premium events spread across key points in the global golfing calendar, each one enhanced by a prize fund increase and elevated Race to Dubai points.
The Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship (January 21-24), the Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open (July 8-11) and the BMW PGA Championship (September 9-12) will each now have a prize fund of US$ 8million – an increase of $1million.
They will also all have 8,000 Race to Dubai points available, the same as on offer at the four World Golf Championship events.
The prize fund for the fourth and final Rolex Series event of the season – the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai – also increases by US$ 1million to US$ 9million.
The European Tour season-ending finale will also continue to feature the largest winner’s cheque in the world of golf – US$ 3 million – with, additionally, 12,000 Race to Dubai points available, some 2,000 points above those on offer at the four Major Championships.
At the point the final details for a handful of events are still to be confirmed and there will be an event announced in the UK in July which is co-sanctioned with the Ladies European Tour and LPGA Tour.
Keith Pelley, Chief Executive of the European Tour, said: “I am incredibly proud to announce our 2021 global schedule, one that once again sees us journey through continents and across the world.
“With the pursuit of Ryder Cup points beginning again in January for our European members; qualification spots now available for our Rolex Series events; a sustained pursuit of innovation and a continued celebration of our wonderful heritage, it is understandable that our overarching narrative for this season is that: ‘Every Week Counts.’
“There is no question that the challenge of reshaping our 2020 season in many ways informed our approach to 2021.
“One of the key learnings was to group events together in terms of their geographical location to create a more travel friendly season for our members. That is reflected in numerous concentrations of event locations.”
