European Tour chief executive Keith Pelley is optimistic about the 2021 season as the sporting world approaches the end of a year which has been ravaged by the Covid-19 pandemic.
“With advances in the vaccine globally, there are plenty of reasons for optimism as we head into the new year, but I also think everyone realises getting that back to normality will take a while. We will therefore continue to proceed with care, adopting the step-by-step approach that served us well in 2020,” noted Pelley in a general address on the tour’s website.
“Earlier this month, we unveiled an expansive 2021 schedule which will feature a minimum of 42 events in 24 different countries. It included an enhanced Rolex Series, innovative events and Tour classics, plus the return of the Middle East, Iberian and UK Swings, as well as the rescheduled Ryder Cup and Olympics. Announcing this schedule was another considerable feat, coming only five weeks after we confirmed the final events of our 2020 season.
“We also ended the year by announcing our strategic alliance with the PGA Tour. Bringing together golf’s two leading global tours presents immense opportunities for both of us and I am looking forward to working with commissioner Jay Monahan and his team to develop our ideas during 2021,” he added.
The European Tour’s 2021 schedule, announced in mid-December, will feature a minimum of 42 tournaments in 24 countries. Running from January to November, the schedule features 18 returning tournaments which were either postponed or cancelled in 2020 due to the pandemic.
The 2021 season is headlined by a refined Rolex Series which now features the tour’s four premium events spread across key points in the global golfing calendar, each one featuring a prize fund increase, elevated Race to Dubai points and enriched media, content and broadcast coverage. 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$8 million, an increase of US$1 million. 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$1 million to US$9 million. The European Tour season-ender 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 which is some 2,000 points above those on offer at the four Majors.
Some key points of the 2021 season are:
▪ Prize funds for all four UK Swing events in July / August will be increased
▪ The second event of the UK Swing (July 29-Aug 1) will be co-sanctioned with the LET/LPGA
▪ The UK Swing will have a Bonus Pool for the players in addition to a charity element
▪ Prize funds for the new tournaments in Tenerife and Gran Canaria in April will each be €1.5 million. The Portugal Masters, which follows these two events, will also increase to €1.5 million
▪ The prize fund for the Betfred British Masters hosted by Danny Willett will rise to €2 million from €1.25 million
▪ Prize funds for the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open and the Italian Open will each rise to €3 million, from €1.25 million and €1 million respectively
The 2021 European Tour schedule is also structured to reduce travelling wherever possible. In addition to the traditional group of tournaments in the Middle East at the start of the year, the schedule also includes the return of the Iberian Swing in April and the UK Swing in July/August, which follows on from the run of the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open, the Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open and The Open Championship. Also next to each other are the Open de España and the Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucía Masters in Spain in the first two weeks of October, followed by the Trophee Hassan II in Morocco.
“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,” said Pelley.
