The European Tour today announces its full schedule for 2018 which features three new tournaments in Belgium, Oman and the Philippines.
Starting at the UBS Hong Kong Open, from November 23-26, the 2018 Race to Dubai will take in 30 different countries, and will include eight Rolex Series events each with a minimum prize fund of US$7million.
The first two of these Rolex Series events will take place in consecutive weeks in May, with the Italian Open moving to a new date of May 31-June 3, a week after the BMW PGA Championship (May 24-27) at Wentworth Club, in England.
The HNA Open de France, at the 2018 Ryder Cup venue Le Golf National (June 28-July 1), will once again launch an impressive mid-summer run of Rolex Series events, followed by the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open Hosted by the Rory Foundation at Ballyliffin (July 5-8) and the Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open at Gullane Golf Club (July 12-15) in the three weeks immediately prior to The Open at Carnoustie.
A trio of Rolex Series events will also conclude the 2018 campaign, with the Turkish Airlines Open (November 1-4) and the Nedbank Golf Challenge hosted by Gary Player, in South Africa, (November 8-11) followed by the season-ending DP World Tour Championship, Dubai (November 15-18) when the 2018 Race to Dubai champion will be crowned.
That will mark the tenth consecutive year the European Tour has brought the curtain down on its season at Jumeriah Golf Estates in Dubai, and the European Tour will also visit a new country in the Middle East when the NBO Oman Golf Classic takes place at Almouj Golf from February 15-18.
The NBO Oman Golf Classic is one of three new events on the 2018 schedule, along with the Philippines Golf Championship (March 15-18) and the Belgian Knockout (May 17-20).
The latter features nine hole stroke play knockout matches on the weekend, continuing the European Tour’s adoption of new formats, with the ISPS Handa World Super 6 Perth (February 8-11) featuring on the Race to Dubai after premiering in 2017, while the popular GolfSixes, another event which made a successful debut earlier this year, also returns as a special event from May 5-6.
Matchplay will, of course, also feature in two significant team contests in 2018; firstly when the third edition of the EURASIA Cup presented by DRB-HICOM is played in Malaysia from January 12-14 before France hosts The Ryder Cup between Europe and the United States for the first time from September 28-30. Meanwhile, the 2014 Ryder Cup venue, Gleneagles, will host the first European Golf Team Championships, from August 8-12.
Keith Waters, the European Tour’s Chief Operating Officer, said: “We are delighted to be able to announce three new events as part of the 2018 European Tour schedule, providing vital playing opportunities for our members.
“It also combines diversity, visiting 30 different countries on the Race to Dubai, and innovation, through varied formats such as the new Belgian Knockout and GolfSixes alongside more traditional strokeplay events, including the eight Rolex Series tournaments.”
