Abu Dhabi Championship secures five-year extension on DP World Tour schedule

Golf’s DP World Tour, previously known as the European Tour, is set to continue featuring the Abu Dhabi Championship as it has successfully extended its partnership with the Abu Dhabi Sports Council, the governing body overseeing sporting events in the kingdom.

This renewed collaboration, which originally commenced in 2006, ensures that the Abu Dhabi Championship will remain a prominent fixture on the DP World Tour calendar until 2028.

The upcoming edition of the tournament, slated for Yas Island in 2024, will undergo a significant scheduling change, moving from its traditional January slot to November 7-10. This move is strategic, positioning the event as the inaugural tournament of the new season-ending DP World Tour play-offs. The competition will host the top 70 players on the tour’s Race to Dubai rankings, with the leading 50 players earning a qualification for the prestigious season-ending DP World Tour Championship in Dubai.

With its elevated status on the DP World Tour, the Abu Dhabi Championship is expected to offer higher ranking points and increased prize money, making it even more attractive to both players and fans.

The DP World Tour unveiled its revamped 2024 calendar in August, introducing new events set to take place in Dubai from January 11-14 and in Bahrain from February 1-4. In an exciting development, members will compete for a record overall prize fund of $148.5 million, a significant increase of approximately $4.3 million from the previous year, excluding major tournaments.

The 2024 calendar showcases what the tour describes as “three new and distinct phases” within the season-ending Race to Dubai: five ‘global swings’ running from November this year to August 2024, a ‘back 9’ segment occurring in September and October of next year, and two playoff events scheduled for the following November.

In total, a minimum of 44 DP World Tour events will be staged during the 2024 campaign, spanning 24 countries across five continents. This calendar release comes amid ongoing discussions regarding the merger, announced in June, between the DP World Tour, the PGA Tour of the United States and the Saudi-backed LIV Golf property.