DP World Tour Releases 2024 Schedule With Major Changes Including Two-Event 'Playoff'
The DP World Tour schedule will see a shift of a long-running event in the Middle East from the winter to the fall, five “global swings,” an abundance of national opens in the fall called the “back nine” and a two-tournament “playoff” to end the Race to Dubai.
The tour will be 44 events across 24 countries beginning this fall, with the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship moving from its traditional time slot in January to November, where it will precede the season-ending DP World Tour Championship and be one of two playoff events for the top 70 players.
There will also not be an event in Europe until late May when the circuit visits Belgium for the Soudal Open.
The announcement was delayed due to the June disclosure that the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia had entered into a “framework agreement” that is an ongoing discussion to bring the parties together by the end of the year.
Meanwhile, the “strategic alliance” between the PGA Tour and DP World Tour continues with the end result of the top 10 players on the DP World Tour who are not otherwise exempt earning full status on the PGA Tour.
The five distinct swings throughout the year are the opening swing, the international swing, the Asian swing, the European swing and the closing swing.
There will again be five Rolex Series events, including the cosanctioned Genesis Scottish Open, played the week before the British Open, which next year is at Royal Troon in Scotland.
Each swing will offer a bonus of $200,000 to the leading points earner. They will also offer opportunities to qualify for the first three Rolex Series events—the Hero Dubai Desert Classic, the Scottish Open and the BMW PGA Championship, the tour’s flagship tournament.
A “back nine” phase includes national opens and historic tournaments, starting with the British Masters in late August and continuing through October. Those events will be open to the top 15 players who are not DP World Tour members among the top 70 on the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup points list.
The top 70 players will advance to the DP World Tour Playoffs with the Abu Dhabi event seeing the top 50 then advance to the season-ending Dubai tournament.
The season begins with two events the same week of Nov. 23–26: the Fortinet Australian PGA Championship and the Joburg Open. The ISPS Handa Australian Open is also part of the early schedule.