Early New Year for European Tour, first Race to Dubai
By Helen Ross, PGATOUR.COM Chief of Correspondents
Forget that we're nearly two months away from watching that ball drop at midnight in Times Square to ring in the New Year. Heck, the champagne isn't even on ice yet.
Nevertheless, the European Tour kicks off its 2009 season on Thursday as Phil Mickelson defends his title at the HSBC Champions in Shanghai.
Mathematically, to be sure, it doesn't quite add up. The European Tour's "year" encompasses 382 days rather than the normal 352 on most other calendars.
Not to worry. There are bigger numbers to wrap your head around as the Race to Dubai begins its inaugural season -- as in that $10 million season-ending tournament and a $10 million bonus pool.
The European Tour will visit 27 different destinations, including the United States for six events co-sanctioned with the PGA TOUR, before ending the season in Dubai next November.
More important than the bounty of frequent flier miles that can be collected, though, is the potential for the $3,666,660 payday when the final putt drops at the Dubai World Championship.
To learn how this all adds up and get the answers to some other burning questions, read on.
1. What is the Race to Dubai?
It's a season-long competition, similar to the PGA TOUR's $35 million FedExCup. At stake are shares of a $10 million bonus pool with $2 million going to the man who finishes first in the standings at the end of the Dubai World Championship. He also gets a seven-year exemption. The players who rank Nos. 2-15 will share in the other $8 million.
The season finale in Dubai will be played on Greg Norman's Earth Course at Jumeirah Golf Estates, is open to the top 60 players in the standings and offers a $10 million purse. The tournament winner gets $1,666,660 -- and is in line for an even bigger payday thanks to the season-long race. He'll be exempt on the European Tour for five more years, as well.
2. Can PGA TOUR members play in the Race for Dubai?
There are already a fair number of PGA TOUR players with dual membership in the European Tour. Padraig Harrington, Ian Poulter and Luke Donald immediately come to mind. Camilo Villegas and Anthony Kim have also taken up European Tour membership, and others, including world No. 2 Phil Mickelson, are toying with the idea.
That doesn't mean that you won't see them on the PGA TOUR, too -- quite the contrary. The FedExCup is too lucrative and exciting not to participate. But a member only needs to compete in 12 events on the European Tour, and seven events (all four majors and the three World Golf Championships) count toward membership on both Tours. As a result, a player would only have to add five events to fulfill his European Tour requirements. Two of those events have to be in Europe -- so this is just a hunch -- but look for more TOUR players competing in the Barclays Scottish Open, the week before the Open Championship.
There are plenty of other options, though, with five European Tour events scheduled before the PGA TOUR kicks off its 2009 campaign and probably seven after THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola is over. The trick is earning enough money to finish in the top 60 to make the field for the Dubai World Championship.
3. What happens to the European Tour's Order of Merit?
It basically has a new name in the Race to Dubai standings. So in a weird way, when Robert Karlsson became the first Swede to win the Order of Merit on Sunday, he also became the one and only. Consistency was definitely rewarded there -- Karlsson won twice in 2008 and posted 10 other top-10 finishes, including in three of the four majors.
4. What's with this new logo?
As it launches its new era in golf, the European Tour decided to take on a new corporate identity. At the heart of the new logo is the image of the legendary Englishman, Harry Vardon, who in 1912 wrote that he had "found evidence of great enthusiasm for the game in other parts of the world." The Harry Vardon Trophy has been given to the winner of the Order of Merit since 1937, and his image will be a part of the Race to Dubai graphics and Dubai World Championship, as well.
In addition, the European Tour has a new world skyline graphic that represents the cities and countries that host tournaments throughout the year and speaks to the diversity of a membership of 47 different nationalities. You can see it on the Tour's web site.
5. What's up with Colin Montgomerie?
He's won more tournaments than any other European Tour player, but Monty failed to take home a victory in 2008. Not to mention, the man who won a record seven Order of Merits and was first again as recently as 2005 tumbled down to No. 27. He was unable to make what would have been a ninth straight European Ryder Cup Team, too. Of course, there was the little matter of the £1 million wedding at Loch Lomond in April to plan. The 45-year-old has proven resilient, but his window of opportunity is getting more limited. This is the year to make a stand.
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