The next Andalucía Valderrama Masters will be played in June and not in October, as had been the case until now. This is reflected in the calendar of the European Tour that has just been officially published. This is one of the new features of the 2018-19 season, in which several major tournaments vary dates in response to some changes made to key tournaments in the United States.
The calendar will once again include 47 events, starting with the Hong Kong Open on November 22 and concluding with the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai a year later. But the change of dates of the US PGA Chamionship from August to May caused a ripple effect that had impacts across the Atlantic.
The US PGA now has a place that was usually occupied by the BMW PGA Championship, the flagship tournament of the European Tour, which has now moved to September 19, after the end of the PGA Tour season, and highlights a powerful end-of-season closing in Europe that also includes the national Opens of Spain, France and Italy. Specifically, the Spanish Open is scheduled for October 3, but the venue has not yet been set.
The French Open has been replaced by the HSBC Abu Dhabi Championship in January, which will see its prize money rise from $3 million to $7 million.
Other Rolex Series tournaments include the Irish Open at Lahinch and the Scottish Open at the Renaissance Club, both scheduled to take place prior to The Open in July. The Italian Open moves to mid-October, while the final three post-season events remain the same: the Turkish Airlines Open and the Nedbank Golf Challenge, followed by the season finale in Dubai.
New on the calendar are tournaments in Saudi Arabia in early February and in Kenya, scheduled for mid-March.
Leave a Reply