DP World Tour: Key dates, history, players & more

The DP World Tour, formerly known as the European Tour, is one of the best golfing circuits on Earth.

It has a proud history, typically used as a starting point in the careers of budding young non-American professionals, with the most successful players moving on to the PGA Tour.

The DP World Tour has a core of players from Europe, but has become increasingly diverse. The Asian Tour and the Japan Tour obviously cater for many Asian stars, but that continent is also well represented on the DP World Tour.

The Sunshine Tour (South Africa) and the Australasian Tour (Australia and its surrounds) are considered lesser tours to the DP World Tour, so South Africans and Australians are always keen to find a way on to the DP World Tour. A new 44-event DP World Tour season has been announced.

What	DP World Tour
Where	Various locations in Australasia, Africa, Asia, America and Europe
When	From 23rd November 2023 - 17th November 2024
How to watch	Sky Sports Golf and bet365’s Live Golf Tracker

DP World Tour dates

The new DP World Tour season starts with a double-header – the Australian PGA Championship from Brisbane and the Joburg Open from South Africa. Former Open champion, Cameron Smith, headlined the Aussie PGA, while local lads Dean Burmester, Christiaan Bezuidenhout and Thriston Lawrence were among those teeing up in Johannesburg.

The DP World Tour has a recess around Christmas. The final event before Christmas is the Mauritius Open, which ends on 17th December, then the circuit resumes on 11th January with the Dubai Invitational.

From there, DP World Tour action is pretty relentless, with the season culminating in the DP World Tour Championship at the Earth Course, Dubai, in the middle of November.

The full tournament listings for the year ahead can be found here.

DP World Tour locations

The DP World Tour travels around Australasia, Africa, Asia, America and Europe. Australasia, Africa (more specifically, South Africa) have been established DP World Tour locations for a long time, then Asia slowly but surely became a key component in the DP World Tour schedule.

America is the most recent addition to the regulation DP World Tour schedule. Of course, Stateside events have been part of the DP World Tour since its creation, with the Masters, the US Open and the US PGA Championship.

Those three Majors have always involved DP World Tour players – and more recently World Golf Championship events took place in America as tournaments co-sanctioned between the DP World Tour and the PGA Tour.

Last season, though, for the first time, two extra PGA Tour events became part of the DP World Tour as well – the Barbasol Championship and the Barracuda Championship. More co-sanctioned events like this are on the cards for 2024.

DP World Tour key events

The Majors are the most important tournaments on the DP World Tour calendar. The Masters starts in Georgia on 6th April, with the US PGA Championship following on 18th May, the US Open on 15th June, then the Open Championship on 20th July.

The World Golf Championships no longer exist, so the Rolex Series events have become the most prestigious non-Major gatherings on the DP World Tour schedule. The Rolex events have enhanced prize money.

The Abu Dhabi Championship on 19th January is the first of them, followed by the Dubai Desert Classic (26th January), the Scottish Open (13th July), the BMW PGA Championship (14th September) and the DP World Tour Championship (16th November).

DP World Tour history

The European Tour was formed in 1972, becoming the DP World Tour in 2021. In November, 2020, the DP World Tour formed a “strategic alliance” with the PGA Tour. As well as the co-sanctioned events between the DP World Tour and the PGA Tour, the top ten players on the DP World Tour end-of-season rankings qualify for PGA Tour cards.

Colin Montgomerie is the most prolific winner of season-long battles in Europe. Montgomerie won the European Tour Order of Merit – what later became the Race to Dubai – eight times. Rory McIlroy has won the Race to Dubai five times, so is catching up with Monty.

DP World Tour prize money

Prize money has increased rapidly on the DP World Tour in recent years. The prize funds for the five Rolex Series events in 2024 will be $9m for the Abu Dhabi Championship, the Dubai Desert Classic, the Scottish Open and the BMW PGA Championship, and $10.5m for the DP World Tour Championship.

DP World Tour players

McIlroy will start 2024 as favourite to win the Race to Dubai again. The Northern Irishman has ended up atop of the European rankings in 2012, 2014, 2015, 2022 and 2023.