Dubai World Championship - the richest golf tournament

The European Tour with a new grand finale - The Dubai World Championship will carry a purse of $10+ million.

Dubai World Championship - the richest golf tournament The European Tour announced that, starting in 2009, a new golf tournament will be staged as the season-ending tourney - the Dubai World Championship. Eligible for participation in the new golf tournament are top 60 on the money list, with the winner taking home the grand prize of $1,666,660 and further $10 million will be divided among the top 15 golfers. Players will be ranked according to their earnings from all events on the European Tour International Schedule, including all European Tour tournaments, the majors and the World Golf Championships. The first Dubai World Championship will take place on Nov. 19-22 2009 at Jumeirah Golf Estates.

The new tournament will attempt to boost back European Tour participation, as more and more European players are opting in for the PGA Tour with season-ending event the FedEx Cup. Media speculations that the Dubai World Championship was designed with the goal to bring in Tiger Woods were quickly denied by chief executive George O'Grady, who said: "This isn't to get the best players in the world, it's for players who make commitments to the European Tour. If Tiger Woods says he wants to join and promises to play a minimum of 11 events and pay his $500 joining fee, then he would qualify." O'Grady also said that Woods' management company had inquired about European Tour membership in the past.

Published on 11/19/2007