As part of a new schedule that was announced Thursday, the European tour will offer $150,000 to players earnings and $1,500 to players if they miss it.
The tour stated that the prize money would not include the four majors or the World Golf Championship in Texas.
The four Rolex Series events, Abu Dhabi, Dubai and the Scottish Open, get $1 million increases to $9 Million, while the season-ending DP World Tour Championship has a $10,000,000 purse.
The tour also announced that $6 million would be distributed from a bonus pool to the top eight players on the DP World Tour rankings at years end.
These changes reflect the alliances Europe has with the PGA Tour, tours in South Africa and Australia, as well as new competition from Saudi-funded LIV golf.
The most significant feature is an Earnings-Assurance Program that provides $150,000 for full members and counts against tournament earnings. It is similar to the PGA Tours announcement for this season, but with a few modifications.
For rookies and players who have earned their Korn Ferry Tour card back, the U.S. Tour is offering $500,000 upfront. All other players will be paid the difference even if they don’t earn $500,000 during the season.
The European Tour offers $20,000 to rookies, Challenge Tour graduates, and those who have completed qualifying school. If they don’t earn $150,000 by the end of the season, the rest will be paid the difference.
Keith Pelley is the chief executive officer of the European tour. He stated, Its huge for us to be able offer our members record prize money and enhanced earning opportunities. This is especially true when global economies are still feeling a pandemics effects and with rising inflation significantly putting stress on all facets of our company.
He stated that the total prize fund is now worth $50 million more than it was two years ago.
The new season starts Nov. 24-27, one week after the current season finishes. There will be consecutive weeks of cosanctioned events in South Africa or Australia. The Australian PGA Championship will be held the same week of the Joburg Open. The Australian Open will be held the same week of the South African Open.
This will be the first time that the Australian Open has been co-sanctioned with Europe. The Australian PGA was previously on the European schedule between 2015 and 2019. Due to the pandemic, neither event has been held since 2019.
Tournaments in Singapore, Japan and Thailand are also new to the European tour, officially known as the DP World Tour due to its umbrella sponsorship.
The 39 tournaments are now in 26 countries across five continents.
The Hero Cup is the start of the new year. It was modeled after the Seve Trophy and gives European tour members a taster to the Ryder Cup format.
The Italian Open will be held May 4-7. It is significant because it takes place at Marco Simone outside Rome which hosts the Ryder Cup at end September. It is the same week of the Wells Fargo Championship, an elite event worth $20 million on the PGA Tour. This would make it difficult to play for Americans as well as Europeans based in the USA.
The schedule does not include a Spanish stop at Valderrama. This will likely be used by LIV Golf next season.
A three-week break is also available on the European tour after the British Open, which Pelley stated was desired by players.
The Omega European Masters in Switzerland will be the last stop for Ryder Cup qualifying. The players then have the Irish Open and BMW PGA Championship, followed by the French Open and the Ryder Cup.
