Revamped European Tour announces 2019 schedule

It's all change on The European Tour for 2019. The BMW is now in September, the British Masters is now in May and The Open has moved to November 15th. Only kidding. About the Open...

Here's the skinny:

* Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship presented by EGA elevated to a Rolex Series event

* British Masters hosted by Tommy Fleetwood, to be staged at Hillside Golf Club

* Schedule features a total of 48 tournaments spanning 31 countries and five continents

The elevation of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship presented by EGA to a Rolex Series event and the continuation of the British Masters with Ryder Cup hero Tommy Fleetwood as host at Hillside Golf Club are two of the many highlights of the 2019 European Tour International Schedule which is released today.

Hillside. Awesome...

Once again, the expansive 12 month schedule from November 2018 to November 2019 emphasises the global nature of the European Tour with 48 tournaments in 31 countries spanning five continents – Europe, Asia, Africa, Australasia and North America.

As in 2018 there are 47 tournaments counting towards the Race to Dubai - in addition to the return of the inventive GolfSixes for its third staging in June. This total includes the eight tournaments which form the Rolex Series events, the premier tournament category on the European Tour, each of which has a minimum prize fund of US$7 million.

The Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship presented by EGA has long been recognised as one of the stand-out tournaments on the European Tour and its elevation to the Rolex Series – with an associated prize fund rise from US$3 million to US$7 million – now properly reflects that.

Glorious Lahinch hosts the 2019 Irish Open

It takes its place alongside the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open (Lahinch), the Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open, the BMW PGA Championship, the Italian Open, the Turkish Airlines Open, the Nedbank Golf Challenge hosted by Gary Player and the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai, in the line-up for the third year of the Rolex Series, which again combines the leading fields with innovative coverage.

While the Rolex Series tournaments in Ireland and Scotland retain their July date and those in Turkey, South Africa and Dubai remain in November, there are changes for the BMW PGA Championship which moves from May to September, and the Italian Open which moves from June to October, both made to adapt to the ever-changing global golf landscape.

Other tournaments to alter their 2019 dates include the Open de France, which moves from June to October; and the Andalucia Valderrama Masters, which moves from October to June.

Valderrama to host the Andalusian Open in June 2019

In terms of dates, Tommy Fleetwood will have an eye on the second week of May when he follows in the footsteps of his fellow countrymen Ian Poulter, Luke Donald, Lee Westwood and Justin Rose as the central figure of the British Masters hosted by Tommy Fleetwood.

The British Masters hosted by Tommy Fleetwood will mark the European Tour’s first visit to Hillside since 1982 when Tony Jacklin won the Sun Alliance PGA Championship – the precursor to the BMW PGA Championship – beating his fellow Ryder Cup Captain Bernhard Langer in a play-off.

Hillside Golf Club also played host to the European Tour in its inaugural season in 1972, when Tommy Horton won the Piccadilly Medal, and the following year when former Tour Chairman Neil Coles won the PGA Match Play title. It was also utilised by the R&A as a Final Qualifying venue for the Open Championship from 2014 to 2017.

As always, innovation remains an integral part of any European Tour season and in addition to the third staging of the GolfSixes event – which this year will be held in Portugal – the pioneering Shot Clock Challenge is also set to return in August after its ground-breaking debut earlier this year, as will the Belgian Knockout at the end of May.

13th Beach Golf Links, Victoria, Australia will host the Vic Open in February

Without question one of the major successes of this year’s GolfSixes was the introduction of women professionals into the format and the concept of men and women competing together remains prominent on the European Tour in 2019.

In addition to GolfSixes, men and women professionals will play together at the Trophee Hassan II tournament in Morocco in April as well as at the Vic Open in Australia in February, which makes its debut on the European Tour.

The AUD$3 million tournament is Australia’s richest and sees men and women professionals play on the same course at the same time for an equal share of the prize fund. Preceding yet another innovative tournament on the schedule – the ISPS Handa World Super 6 Perth – this represents the first time the European Tour has staged back-to-back tournaments in Australia since 2004.

Another example of back-to-back tournaments in the same country comes at the end of this calendar year when the South African Open hosted by the City of Johannesburg precedes the Alfred Dunhill Championship at the wonderful Leopard Creek, a tournament which makes a welcome return to the European Tour International Schedule after a year’s hiatus.

Leopard Creek, Kruger National Park, to host the Alfred Dunhill Championship end of this year

South Africa and Morocco are not the only African countries to feature on the European Tour in 2019 – the third country from that continent to take its place being Kenya in the shape of the Kenya Open at the Karen Country Club in Nairobi in March, the tournament stepping up from the Challenge Tour where it has featured since 1991.

Keith Waters, Chief Operating Officer of the European Tour, said: “We are delighted with our 2019 International Schedule which illustrates precisely what we are all about; namely a Tour which delivers a significant breadth and scope of global coverage in addition to taking a leading role in innovation and transformation.

“Our grateful thanks go to our co-sanctioning partners at the Asian Tour, the ISPS Handa PGA Tour of Australasia and the Sunshine Tour, in addition to the many sponsors, partners and promoters we work with in so many different countries to deliver these world-class events.”

Here it is, the full monty...

	Nov 29	Dec 02		Australian PGA Championship RACV Royal Pines Resort, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia
	Nov 29	Dec 02		Afrasia Bank Mauritius Open at Anahita Four Seasons GC Mauritius at Anahita, Beau Champ, Mauritius
	Dec 06	Dec 09		South African Open hosted by the City of Johannesburg Randpark GC, Johannesburg, South Africa
	Dec 13	Dec 16		Alfred Dunhill Championship Leopard Creek CC, Malelane, South Africa
	Jan 16	Jan 19		ABU DHABI HSBC CHAMPIONSHIP PRESENTED BY EGA Abu Dhabi GC, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
	Jan 24	Jan 27		Omega Dubai Desert Classic Emirates GC, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
	Jan 31	Feb 03		Saudi International Royal Greens G&CC, King Abdullah Economic City, Saudi Arabia
	Feb 07	Feb 10		Vic Open 13th Beach GC, Geelong, Victoria, Australia
	Feb 14	Feb 17		ISPS Handa World Super 6 Perth Lake Karrinyup CC, Perth, Australia
	Feb 21	Feb 24		WGC - Mexico Championship Chapultepec GC, Mexico City, Mexico
	Feb 28	Mar 03		Oman Open Al Mouj Golf, Muscat, Oman
	Mar 07	Mar 10		Qatar Masters Doha GC, Doha, Qatar
	Mar 14	Mar 17		Kenya Open Karen CC, Nairobi, Kenya
	Mar 21	Mar 24		Maybank Championship Saujana G&CC, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
	Mar 27	Mar 31		WGC - Dell Technologies Match Play Austin CC, Austin, Texas, USA
	Mar 28	Mar 31		Hero Indian Open DLF G&CC, New Delhi, India
	Apr 11	Apr 14		THE MASTERS Augusta National GC, Augusta, Georgia, USA
	Apr 25	Apr 28		Trophee Hassan II Royal Golf Dar Es Salam, Rabat, Morocco
	May 02	May 05		Volvo China Open The Tradition at Wolong Valley, Chengdu, China PR
	May 09	May 12		British Masters hosted by Tommy Fleetwood Hillside GC, Southport, Merseyside, England
	May 16	May 19		US PGA CHAMPIONSHIP Bethpage State Park BK Course, Bethpage, New York, USA
	May 23	May 26		Made in Denmark Himmerland Golf & Spa Resort, Farsø, Denmark
	May 30	Jun 02		Belgian Knockout Rinkven International GC, Antwerp, Belgium
	Jun 08	Jun 09		GolfSixes TBC, TBC, Portugal
	Jun 13	Jun 16		US OPEN Pebble Beach Golf Links, Pebble Beach, California, USA
	Jun 20	Jun 23		BMW International Open Golfclub München Eichenried, Munich, Germany
	Jun 27	Jun 30		Andalucia Valderrama Masters Real Club Valderrama, Sotogrande, Spain
	Jul 04	Jul 07		DUBAI DUTY FREE IRISH OPEN Lahinch GC, Lahinch, Co. Clare, Republic of Ireland
	Jul 11	Jul 14		ABERDEEN STANDARD INVESTMENTS SCOTTISH OPEN The Renaissance Club, North Berwick, Scotland
	Jul 18	Jul 21		148th OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP Royal Portrush GC, Portrush, County Antrim, Northern Ireland
	Jul 25	Jul 28		WGC - FedEx St. Jude Invitational TPC Southwind, Memphis, Tennessee, USA
	Aug 01	Aug 04		TBC TBC, TBC, Unknown
	Aug 08	Aug 11		Shot Clock Challenge TBC, TBC, Unknown
	Aug 15	Aug 18		D+D Real Czech Masters Albatross Golf Resort, Prague, Czech Republic
	Aug 22	Aug 25		Scandinavian Invitation Hills Golf & Sports Club, Gothenburg, Sweden
	Aug 29	Sep 01		Omega European Masters Crans-sur-Sierre GC, Crans Montana, Switzerland
	Sep 05	Sep 08		Porsche European Open Green Eagle Golf Courses, Hamburg, Germany
	Sep 12	Sep 15		KLM Open The International, Amsterdam, Netherlands
	Sep 19	Sep 22		BMW PGA CHAMPIONSHIP Wentworth Golf Club, Virginia Water, Surrey, England
	Sep 26	Sep 29		Alfred Dunhill Links Championship Old Course St. Andrews, Carnoustie & Kingsbarns, Scotland, Scotland
	Oct 03	Oct 06		Open de Espana TBC, TBC, Spain
	Oct 10	Oct 13		ITALIAN OPEN Olgiata GC, Rome, Italy
	Oct 17	Oct 20		Open de France Le Golf National, Paris, France
	Oct 24	Oct 27		Portugal Masters Dom Pedro Victoria Golf Course, Vilamoura, Portugal
	Oct 31	Nov 03		WGC - HSBC Champions Sheshan International GC, Shanghai, China PR
	Nov 07	Nov 10		TURKISH AIRLINES OPEN TBC, TBC, Turkey
	Nov 14	Nov 17		NEDBANK GOLF CHALLENGE HOSTED BY GARY PLAYER Gary Player CC, Sun City, South Africa
	Nov 21	Nov 24		DP WORLD TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP, DUBAI Jumeirah Golf Estates, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Related:

Tommy Fleetwood to bring the British Masters to Hillside. In May!