DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, 20 November 2007 — Dubai will host the world’s richest golf tournament beginning in 2009 with a prize fund of $10 million.
The Dubai World Championship, to be held at the Jumeirah Golf Estates, would initially run for five years with the option of extending it for another five years, the European Tour said yesterday. The championship also would include an annual $10 million bonus pool. The winner will receive $1.66 million.
The Order of Merit will be renamed The Race to Dubai, with the player finishing No. 1 at the end of the season receiving $2 million. If a player wins both the Dubai World Championship and the overall season title, he will earn a total of $3.66 million.
“The Race to Dubai will bring a new dimension to the European Tour, creating great drama and theater throughout the year as all the best players in the world are given the opportunity to compete in the world’s richest tournament,” European Tour chief executive George O’Grady said.
Currently, the US Tour’s Players Championship is the richest single event, offering prize money of $9 million.
O’Grady denied the European Tour was trying to compete with the US PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup, and downplayed the fact that the top American players like Tiger Woods will have to play a minimum of 11 events to qualify for the Dubai World Championship.
“Our objective with this partnership is not Tiger Woods. Of course, if he wants to play, we already have a history of welcoming him with open arms. But for Dubai World Championship, he will have to fulfill the criteria of European Tour membership,” O’Grady said.
“We want to put up a credible alternative to the PGA Tour for those who do not want to take up residence in the US. This is in no way an attack on the PGA Tour,” he added.
The inaugural Dubai World Championship will take place at Jumeirah from Nov. 19-22, 2009, on either the Fire or Earth course. Both have been designed by Greg Norman.
The announcement was made at Dubai’s Burj Al Arab, the world’s most luxurious hotel built on a manmade island in the Gulf.
Dubai and the United Arab Emirates are trying to establish themselves as a premiere location for sports like golf and tennis.
Dubai is already home to the Dubai Desert Classic, and last year, Woods picked Dubai as the location for his first golf course. The Tiger Woods Dubai — a residential golf course development — will feature a 7,700-yard, par-72 course, golf academy, 320 exclusive villas and an 80-suite boutique hotel. The Dubai World Championship “is yet another step in Dubai’s evolution as one of the most important golf centers anywhere in the world,” said Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, chairman of Dubai World, the parent company of Leisurecorp. O’Grady said the Dubai World Championship is part of the European Tour’s aim to step up its act.
“We need to improve conditions here by making the events better, by raising the prize money,” O’Grady said. “We want to create conditions where the players feel compelled to stay and play on the European Tour.”
