DUBAI — The European Tour has announced new membership regulations and a revamped Final Series for its new season.
A player will have to play just five tournaments during the season to remain a member of the European Tour, as against 13 that was the current mandatory requirement.
And the Final Series, which was introduced in 2013 and comprised of four tournaments, will become a three-event series in the 2016 Race to Dubai.
The WGC-HSBC Champions tournament in Shanghai will no longer be a part of the Final Series, while the BMW Masters, also held in Shanghai, is no longer part of the European Tour schedule.
The new Final Series will be the $7 million Turkish Airlines Open (Nov. 3-6, 2016), the $7 million NedBank Challenge (Nov. 10-13) in South Africa and the $8 million DP World Tour Championship in Dubai (Nov. 17-20).
The mandatory requirement cut is not as drastic as it sounds, with the only change being the exclusion of the four majors and the four World Golf Championship events as counting events.
The step has been taken to protect some of the leading European Tour members who are also part of the PGA Tour, but are ranked outside the top-50 of the world rankings — which does not guarantee them a start in all the majors and the WGCs.
Keith Pelley, chief executive of The European Tour, said Tuesday ahead of the DP World Tour Championship: “We are in the midst of structuring our overall Tour in a more, what I call, players-first philosophy.
“This, I believe, will allow our players to schedule more efficiently at the beginning of the year, so they know exactly how they are going to maintain their membership.”
The new schedule will feature 45 tournaments in 25 different countries, including three special events — the EurAsia Cup (Jan. 14-17), the Olympic Games (Aug. 11-14) and the Ryder Cup (Sept. 30-Oct. 2).
The change in the Final Series has been prompted by BMW dropping the sponsorship of the Masters in Shanghai, and also the fact that many top-ranked players in the Race to Dubai are not able to gain an entry into the WGC-HSBC Champions field.
As a result of becoming a part of the Final Series, the NedBank Challenge field in Sun City will now be increased to 72 players from the current 30. — AFP
