The 2020 Race To Dubai is behind us with Lee Westwood prevailing as the No. 1 player in Europe, winning the season-long competition.
The European Tour unveiled its 2021 schedule this week with 42 events.
That sounds like good news and it is but the bad news is that those big, fat juicy Rolex events that dangle big prize money that attracts PGA Tour stars, have been reduced from seven to four.
The Tour will reconvene to start 2021 on January 21 in Abu Dhabi for the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship. It’s a big one with an $8 million purse.
Good thing about the European Tour is that it doesn’t have that crazy “cross-over” season that the PGA Tour conducts in the fall. Calendar year is the calendar year and all the events are played in the same year.
Here’s part of the European Tour’s statement:
The European Tour today announces its 2021 schedule which will feature a minimum of 42 tournaments in 24 countries, as golf’s global Tour resumes a full international program.
Running from January to November, the schedule also features 18 returning tournaments which were either postponed or cancelled in 2020 due to the Coronavirus pandemic.
The 2021 season is headlined by a refined Rolex Series which now features the European Tour’s four premium events spread across key points in the global golfing calendar, each one enhanced by a prize fund increase, elevated Race to Dubai points and enriched media, content and broadcast coverage.
The prize fund for the fourth and final Rolex Series event of the season – the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai – also increases by US$1 million to US$9 million. The European Tour season-ending finale will also continue to feature the largest winner’s check in the world of golf – $3million – with, additionally, 12,000 Race to Dubai points available, some 2,000 points above those on offer at the four Major Championships.
So there you have it. Plenty of events but don’t look for the big stars to go running across the Atlantic too often. Overall, the big money just isn’t there.
Tommy Fleetwood Will Play TaylorMade Equipment; Rahm Heading To Callaway?:
England’s Tommy Fleetwood was among the biggest names in equipment free agents as 2020 draws to an end.
Tommy is no longer a free agent.
Fleetwood will start the 2021 season as a member of the TaylorMade staff joining the likes of Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, Collin Morikawa and world’s No. 1 Dustin Johnson.
Jon Rahm was not in the photo, lending credence to the rumor that he has signed on with Travis Matthew for his apparel and Callaway for his equipment in 2021.
Jason Day was not in the picture either. Day has been with TaylorMade since 2006. He was No. 1 in the world in 2015 but has fallen to No. 43 in the world, leading to speculation that TaylorMade might be cutting its ties to J-Day.
PGA Of America’s COO Arrested In Texas:
Apparently, the Chief Operating Officer for the PGA Of America has gotten himself in some hot water.
The PGA of America’s chief operating officer has been placed on administrative leave after he was arrested during the week of Thanksgiving for suspicion of assault.
Darrell Crall was arrested on Nov. 24, according to a report in the Denton (Texas) Record-Chronicle. Crall has been placed on administrative leave by the PGA Of America.
Crall is accused of assault, family violence, impeding breath or circulation, a third-degree felony alleging someone purposely prevented someone from breathing or prevented their blood circulation. Denton County records show Crall posted a $15,000 bond on Nov. 25.
According to the District Attorney’s Office in Denton, Crall has not been charged with a crime as the final police report has not yet been submitted.
Not a good look for the PGA Of America.
