Oosthuizen aiming to become King of the Mountains - European Tour

THE RACE TO DUBAI ON THE 2011 EUROPEAN TOUR INTERNATIONAL SCHEDULE
The 2011 European Tour International Schedule - Initial Sector
The third edition of The Race to Dubai –
the season-long competition for the world’s
leading golfers – will launch from December
9-12 with the Alfred Dunhill Championship
in South Africa and include the new Volvo
Tournament of Champions in the Kingdom of
Bahrain. This brings to four with Abu Dhabi,
Dubai and Qatar the number of host countries
in the Middle East on The European Tour
International Schedule.
The initial sector of The 2011 European
Tour International Schedule will begin with
four tournaments co-sanctioned with the
Sunshine Tour in South Africa followed
by the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship,
the Volvo Tournament of Champions, the
Commercialbank Qatar Masters presented
by Dolphin Energy and the Omega Dubai
Desert Classic. The second Avantha Masters,
co-sanctioned with the Asian Tour and the
Professional Golf Tour of India, will be played
in India ahead of the WGC-Accenture Match
Play Championship in the United States.
Since the first Dubai Desert Classic in 1989 a
total of 40 tournaments have been played on
The European Tour International Schedule in
the Middle East. This takes in 21 Dubai Desert
Classics (1989-2010), 13 Qatar Masters (1998-
2010), five Abu Dhabi Golf Championships
(2006-2010) and the inaugural Dubai World
Championship played last November at
Jumeirah Golf Estates, Dubai, United Arab
Emirates, and which Lee Westwood won to
secure Number One honours in 2009.
Volvo, one of the most prolific and longest
serving supporters of world golf, has title
sponsored 70 tournaments on The European
Tour International Schedule, and this number
will increase with the announcement of the
Volvo Tournament of Champions, which follows
the recent news that the Volvo World
Match Play Championship will resume with
a new date – from May 19-22 – at the superb
Finca Cortesin Hotel Golf and Spa in Casares,
Spain, in 2011.
The 2011 Volvo Tournament of Champions,
to be played at the Royal Golf Club in the
Kingdom of Bahrain (pictured above right)
from January 27-30, will have an initial prize
fund of €1,700,000 with a field primarily
comprising players who have won on The
European Tour International Schedule. The
inaugural Volvo Tournament of Champions,
which has the full support of the Bahrain
Economic Development Board, will have a
field of up to 126 players with a halfway cut
to the leading 60 and ties after 36 holes.
The Volvo Tournament of Champions is scheduled
to be the first event on The European
Tour International Schedule in both 2012 and
2013 when the prize fund will increase to a
minimum of €2,000,000.
The 7,243 yard, par 72 Montgomerie championship
course, designed by European Ryder
Cup Captain Colin Montgomerie with his
associates at European Golf Design, offers
a unique blend of links and desert golf
by taking advantage of Bahrain’s natural
rough desert terrain and combining it with
vast man-made lakes. The rolling links-style
fairways and undulating greens deliver an
inspiring and demanding challenge.
Royal Golf Club, Kingdom Royal Golf of Bahrain Club, Kingdom of Bahrain
George O’Grady, Chief Executive of The
European Tour, said: “Volvo’s support of The
European Tour has been invaluable to our
development and we again thank them for
maintaining this strong and powerful partnership.
The Kingdom of Bahrain becomes
the 38th country to host European Tour competition
and our members will look forward
to exhibiting their world class skills in
this new arena. We would also congratulate
International Management Group for continuing
their important support of the Tour
Membership by adding another tournament
to those which they already stage on The
European Tour International Schedule.”
Keith Waters, Chief Operating Officer of The
European Tour, said: “We are particularly
delighted to announce this strong and exciting
initial sector of the schedule for 2011. This
underlines The European Tour’s ethos to work
with our partners around the world and to
promote the game of golf globally. We thank
all our colleagues at the Asian Tour, the PGTI
and the Sunshine Tour, the promoters and
sponsors for their support and we look forward
to another exciting Race in 2011.”
THE RACE TO DUBAI ON THE 2011 EUROPEAN TOUR INTERNATIONAL SCHEDULE
2010
Dec 9-12 Alfred Dunhill Championship Leopard Creek CC, Malelane, South Africa
16-19 South African Open Championship Durban Country Club, Durban, South Africa
2011
Jan 6-9 Africa Open East London GC, East London, Eastern Cape, South Africa
13-16 Joburg Open Royal Johannesburg & Kensington GC, Johannesburg, South Africa
20-23 Abu Dhabi Golf Championship Abu Dhabi Golf Club, Abu Dhabi, UAE
27-30 Volvo Tournament of Champions The Royal Golf Club, Kingdom of Bahrain
Feb 3-6 Commercialbank Qatar Masters Doha Golf Club, Doha, Qatar
presented by Dolphin Energy
10-13 Omega Dubai Desert Classic Emirates GC, Dubai, UAE
17-20 Avantha Masters TBA
23-27 WGC - Accenture Match Play Championship Ritz-Carlton GC, Dove Mountain - Marana, Arizona, USA