History of European Tour's Race To Dubai
The Race To Dubai is the European Tour golf seasonal championship rankings, replacing the Order Of Merit (1971-2008), with a bonus pool of $7.5 million (originally $10 million) distributed among the top 15 players at the end of the season, with the winner taking $1.5 million (originally $2 million). The new name reflected the addition of a new season ending tournament, the DP World Tour Championship, held at the end of November in Dubai. The tournament also had a $7.5 million prize fund (originally $10 million), and was contested by the leading 60 players in the race following the season's penultimate event, the Hong Kong Open (the Nedbank Golf Challenge since 2018). The winner of the Race To Dubai also receives a ten-year European Tour exemption, while the winner of the DP World Tour Championship tournament receives a five-year European Tour exemption. The reduction in prize money, announced in September 2009, was due to the global economic downturn. In 2012, the bonus pool was reduced to $3.75 million with the winner getting $1.0 million and only the top 10 golfers getting a bonus. The bonus pool was increased to $5.0 million in 2014 with the top 15 players earning part of the pool. In 2019 further changes were made, in 2018 the top 10 finishers on the Race to Dubai shared the bonus pool of $5m, but as of 2019 that sum will be split between only the leading five finishers. Whoever tops the standings received an additional $2m compared with the $1.25m won by Molinari in 2018. In addition, the DP World Tour Championship was cut to the top 50 golfers on the Race to Dubai list, the prize pool was kept at $8m but the winner's share was increased to $3m. This was designed to increase interest and player participation in the event.
- Rolex Series
For the 2017 season, the European Tour launched the Rolex Series, a series of events with higher prize funds than regular tour events. The series began with eight events, each with a minimum prize fund of US$7 million. The initial Rolex Series events were:
- BMW PGA Championship
- Open de France
- Irish Open
- Scottish Open
- Italian Open
The three limited-field no-cut events at the end of the season, which had previously been collectively known as the Final Series:
- Turkish Airlines Open
- Nedbank Golf Challenge
- DP World Tour Championship, Dubai
From the 2019 season onwards, the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship became a designated Rolex Series event and the Open de France was relegated to a regular tour event.
In 2020, the season was severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic; as a result, the Turkish Airlines Open and the Nedbank Golf Challenge were cancelled, and the Irish and Italian Opens were downgraded to regular events.
- Race To Dubai points distribution
The Race to Dubai (from 2009 until 2018) is calculated in euro, although many of the events have prize funds which are fixed in other currencies, mainly pounds sterling or U.S. dollars. In these instances, the amounts are converted into euro at the exchange rate for the week that the tournament is played.
- Race To Dubai points distribution (since 2019)
a. Regular: 2,000 and 2,750 points (4,250 points for Dubai Desert Classic and Saudi International)
b. Rolex Series: 7,000 points (9,000 points for Turkish Airlines Open and Nedbank Golf Challenge; 12,000 points for DP World Tour Championship, Dubai)
c. World Golf Championships: 9,000 points
d. Major championships (The Masters Tournament, U.S. Open, U.S. PGA Championship and The Open Championship/British Open) : 10,000 points
- Race To Dubai bonus pool (based on the final standings after the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai; only achieved by the top five players in the standings)
a. Winner: US$2,000,000
b. 2nd place: US$1,200,000
c. 3rd place: US$750,000
d. 4th place: US$625,000
e. 5th place: US$500,000
- Race To Dubai Champions
1. Lee Westwood (ENG) (2009, 2020)
2. Martin Kaymer (GER) (2010)
3. Luke Donald (ENG) (2011)
4. Rory McIlroy (NIR) (2012, 2014, 2015)
5. Henrik Stenson (SWE) (2013, 2016)
6. Tommy Fleetwood (ENG) (2017)
7. Francesco Molinari (ITA) (2018)
8. Jon Rahm (ESP) (2019)
- Race To Dubai champions by nationality
1. England: 3 (Lee Westwood, Luke Donald, Tommy Fleetwood)
2. Germany: 1 (Martin Kaymer)
3. Northern Ireland: 1 (Rory McIlroy)
4. Sweden: 1 (Henrik Stenson)
5. Italy: 1 (Francesco Molinari)
6. Spain: 1 (Jon Rahm)
Who will the Race To Dubai in 2021?
Follow European Tour on social media:
- Twitter: @EuropeanTour
- Instagram: @EuropeanTour
European Tour's official sponsors:
- Official timekeeper: Rolex
- Official car and transportation: BMW
- Official golf equipment: Callaway Golf Company
- Official airline: Emirates
- Official logistics partner: DP World
- Official insurance partner: Workday
