NORTH BERWICK, Scotland — The DP World Tour logo at the Genesis Scottish Open on July 11, 2023. | Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images
The DP World Tour announced its 2024 schedule Monday, including five new ‘swings.’ Forty-four events will be staged on five continents.
One week after the PGA Tour released its 2024 schedule, the DP World Tour unveiled theirs Monday.
Formerly known as the European Tour, the DP World Tour will stage 44 events in 24 countries across five continents in 2024.
Five different ‘swings’ also encompass the schedule, all of which occur before August 2024.
The final stretch of the season, dubbed the ‘Back 9’ by the DP World Tour, begins in September 2024, after the conclusion of the FedEx Cup Playoffs on the PGA Tour.
The ‘Back 9’ feature greater purses and increased Race to Dubai ranking points.
The first six DP World Tour events, including the Australian Open, comprise the ‘Opening Swing.’ These events begin Nov. 23 and run through Dec. 17, with the Afrasia Bank Mauritius Open concluding the first swing.
Events in South Africa and Australia will run concurrently over the first two weeks.
After the calendar flips to 2024, the DP World Tour heads to the Middle East.
The Hero Dubai Desert Classic, the first of five Rolex Series events, highlights the ‘International Swing’ in mid-January.
The Rolex Series events in 2024 are the Hero Dubai Desert Classic, the Genesis Scottish Open in July, the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth in September, and the final events of the DP World Tour schedule in November: the Abu Dhabi Championship and the season-ending DP World Tour Championship in Dubai.
DP World Tour
DP World Tour unveiled its 2024 schedule Monday, which includes five swings and three separate phases.
The ‘International Swing’ includes a trip to Bahrain for the Bahrain Championship, the first time the DP World Tour will stage an event there since 2011.
Once The Masters kicks off in April, the DP World Tour will be in the middle of its ‘Asian Swing,’ which features events in Singapore, Japan, South Korea, and China for the first time since 2019.
After the 2024 PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky, the tour begins its ‘European Swing,’ which will start in Belgium for the Soudal Open.
The European Open in Hamburg and the Volvo Car Scandanavian Mixed hosted by Annika Sorenstam in Sweden—one of the most unique events in professional golf—follow the Soudal Open.
These two events will be contested next June, in the weeks leading up to the U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2 in North Carolina.
Stops in the Netherlands, Italy, and Germany for the BMW International Open then follow the third major of the year.
Photo by Keyur Khamar/PGA TOUR via Getty Images
NORTH BERWICK, Scotland — Rory McIlroy smiles next to the trophy following his victory at the Genesis Scottish Open at The Renaissance Club on July 16, 2023.
The Genesis Scottish Open, held the week before The Open Championship in July, begins the ‘Closing Swing.’
The DP World Tour then takes two weeks off following the season’s final major for the 2024 Summer Olympics, which will be held in Paris.
Le Golf National, host of the 2018 Ryder Cup, will stage the Olympic competition.
The tour starts back up with the Czech Masters and the Danish Golf Championship, thus concluding the ‘Closing Swing’ at the end of August.
Then, the ‘Back 9’ begins.
The DP World Tour saved its most notable—and perhaps most recognizable—tournaments for the ‘Back 9.’
The tour did this by design: they want the best European players in the world to fly across the Atlantic following the Tour Championship, which concludes on Sept. 1, 2024.
Yet, the Betfred British Masters hosted by Sir Nick Faldo will run the same weekend as the Tour Championship. The Belfry in England hosts this prestigious event every year.
Despite the scheduling conflict, only 30 players will tee it up at the Tour Championship. So it is very likely that Faldo’s British Masters will feature a top-notch, world-class field.
The ‘Back 9’ then heads to Switzerland for the Omega European Masters in Switzerland Sept. 5-8.
The following week, the Irish Open will be held at one of the best golf courses in the world, Royal County Down Golf Club in Northern Ireland.
The focus of the golfing world will continue to be in the British Isles as the tour shifts to Wentworth for the BMW PGA Championship, scheduled for Sept. 19-22, 2024.
Photo by Warren Little/Getty Images
VIRGINIA WATER, England — Shane Lowry plays his second shot into the 18th green during Day Four of the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth Golf Club on September 11, 2022.
Five more events follow the DP World Tour’s flagship tournament at Wentworth: the Acciona Open de España presented by Madrid; the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship at St. Andrews—a fan favorite; the French Open; and the Andalucia Masters.
Another to-be-announced event will be held Oct. 24-27.
The DP World Tour season concludes with two playoff events, with only the top 70 players in the Race to Dubai standings advancing to the Abu Dhabi Championship Nov. 7-10.
From there, the top 50 finishers head to Dubai for the DP World Championship on Nov. 14-17, 2024.
Next year’s schedule for the DP World Tour is a great one. Some of the best players in the world will play all over the globe, genuinely encompassing the meaning of a world tour.
How the DP World Tour looks beyond 2024 remains to be seen, especially with its pending agreement with the PGA Tour and the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (PIF).
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko for more golf coverage. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough too.