The Celtic Manor Wales Open – played for the first time over the new Twenty Ten course, venue for The 2010 Ryder Cup – is one of the many highlights of The 2008 European Tour International Schedule which is announced in full today.
The ninth staging of the tournament at The Celtic Manor Resort, Newport, South Wales, from May 29 – June 1, 2008 – one of a minimum of 50 Order of Merit tournaments in the 2008 season – will feature a record prize fund of £1.8 million as well as a chance for everyone to view the next home venue for the biennial contest against the United States
Mention of The Ryder Cup is appropriate for the 37th staging of the match, at Valhalla Golf Club, Louisville, Kentucky, USA, will once again focus the attention of the entire world of golf from September 19-21, 2008.
Of course, before then, each tournament will feature the additional lure of valuable qualification points as every European player attempts to book himself a berth in Nick Faldo’s Team with this year, for the first time, the final qualifying event being the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles, staged at The Gleneagles Hotel, Perthshire, Scotland, from August 28-31, 2008.
The enduring strength and durability of The European Tour is emphasised by the fact there are a minimum of 48 tournaments on the 2008 schedule which were played in 2007, with several featuring continued commitments from sponsors such as BMW through to 2010 and Barclays through to 2012. Also returning to the schedule is the Omega Mission Hills World Cup which will again be played at Mission Hills Golf Club, China, from November 27-30, 2008.
While most tournaments retain the same week they had in 2007, the Singapore Masters and the Maybank Malaysian Open have swapped dates; the former now taking place at Laguna National Golf Club, Singapore, from February 14-17, 2008, while the latter is staged at a venue to be confirmed from March 6-9, 2008. Also moving is the Open de Andalucia which in 2008 moves from its traditional May slot to March 27-30, 2008.
In addition to the many returning tournaments, The 2008 European Tour International Schedule also features two new events in countries not previously visited.
The first is the EMAAR-MGF Indian Masters which will be played at the Delhi Golf Club, Delhi, India, from February 7-10, 2008, while five weeks later The European Tour undertakes its first venture into Korea with the playing of the Ballantine’s Championship at Pinx Golf Club, Jeju Island, Korea, from March 13-16, 2008.
The EMAAR-MGF Indian Masters is, however, not the only visit The European Tour will make to India in 2008, the second coming four weeks later when the Johnnie Walker Classic is staged at the DLF Golf and Country Club, New Delhi, India, from February 28 – March 2, 2008.
Bringing the 2008 season to an exciting climax from October 30 – November 2 will be the 21st edition of the Volvo Masters at Club de Golf Valderrama, where The European Tour Order of Merit race for 2007 is set to reach a absorbing finale between several of Europe’s leading players in three weeks time.
THE 2008 EUROPEAN TOUR INTERNATIONAL SCHEDULE
2007
Nov 8-11 HSBC Champions Sheshan International GC, Shanghai, China
15-18 UBS Hong Kong Open Hong Kong GC, Fanling, Hong Kong
22-25 MasterCard Masters Huntingdale GC, Melbourne, Australia
29-Dec 2 Michael Hill New Zealand Open The Hills GC, Queenstown, New Zealand
Dec 6-9 Alfred Dunhill Championship Leopard Creek, Mpumalanga, South Africa
13-16 South African Airways Open Pearl Valley Golf Estates, Paarl, Western Cape, South Africa
2008
Jan 17-20 Abu Dhabi Golf Championship Abu Dhabi Golf Club, Abu Dhabi
24-27 The Commercialbank Qatar Masters Doha GC, Qatar
31-Feb 3 Dubai Desert Classic Emirates GC, Dubai
Feb 7-10 EMAAR-MGF Indian Masters Delhi GC, Delhi, India
14-17 Singapore Masters Laguna National GC, Singapore
20-24 WGC - Accenture Match Play The Gallery GC, Tucson, Arizona, USA
21-24 Astro Indonesia Open TBA
28-Mar 2 Johnnie Walker Classic DLF Golf & Country Club, New Delhi, India
Mar 6-9 Maybank Malaysian Open TBA
13-16 Ballantine's Championship Pinx GC, Jeju Island, Korea
20-23 WGC – CA CHAMPIONSHIP Doral Golf Resort & Spa, Doral, Florida, USA
20-23 Madeira Islands Open Santo da Serra, Madeira, Portugal
27-30 Open de Andalucia TBA
Apr 3-6 Estoril Open de Portugal Oitavos Dunes, Estoril, Portugal
10-13 MASTERS TOURNAMENT Augusta National, Georgia, USA
17-20 Volvo China Open Beijing CBD International GC, Beijing, China
24-27 BMW Asian Open Tomson Shanghai Pudong GC, Shanghai, China
May 1-4 Open de España Real Club de Golf de Sevilla, Seville, Spain
8-11 Italian Open Castello di Tolcinasco G&CC, Milan, Italy
15-18 Irish Open Adare Manor Hotel & Golf Resort, Co. Limerick, Ireland
22-25 BMW PGA CHAMPIONSHIP Wentworth Club, Surrey, England
29-Jun 1 The Celtic Manor Wales Open The Celtic Manor Resort, Newport, South Wales
Jun 5-8 BA-CA Golf Open, presented by Telekom Austria Fontana GC, Vienna, Austria
12-15 US OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP Torrey Pines GC, La Jolla, California, USA
12-15 Open de Saint Omer Aa Saint Omer GC, Lumbres, France
19-22 BMW International Open Golfclub München Eichenried, Germany
26-29 Open de France ALSTOM Le Golf National, Paris, France
Jul 3-6 European Open TBA
10-13 The Barclays Scottish Open Loch Lomond, Glasgow, Scotland
17-20 137TH OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP Royal Birkdale GC, Southport, England
24-27 The Deutsche Bank Players’ Championship of Europe Gut Kaden, Hamburg, Germany
31-Aug 3 WGC – Bridgestone Invitational Firestone CC, Akron, Ohio, USA
Aug 7-10 US PGA CHAMPIONSHIP Oakland Hills GC, Bloomfield Township, Michigan, USA
14-17 Scandinavian Masters Arlandastad GC, Stockholm, Sweden
21-24 The KLM Open Kennemer G&CC, Zandvoort, The Netherlands
28-31 Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles The Gleneagles Hotel, Perthshire, Scotland
Sept 4-7 Omega European Masters Crans-sur-Sierre, Crans Montana, Switzerland
11-14 Mercedes-Benz Championship Gut Lärchenhof, Cologne, Germany
19-21 Ryder Cup Valhalla GC, Louisville, Kentucky, USA
25-28 The Quinn Direct British Masters The Belfry, Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands
Oct 2-5 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship Old Course, St Andrews, Carnoustie and Kingsbarns, Scotland
9-12 World Match Play Championship Wentworth Club, Surrey, England
16-19 Portugal Masters Oceânico Victoria Golf Club, Vilamoura, Portugal
23-26 Mallorca Masters Pula GC, Majorca, Spain
30-Nov 2 Volvo Masters Club de Golf Valderrama, Sotogrande, Spain
Nov 27-30 *Omega Mission Hills World Cup Mission Hills GC, China
* Denotes Approved Special Event
For further information, contact:
Communications Division
The European Tour
Tel: +44 (0) 1344 840400 Fax: +44 (0) 1344 840444
Email: media@europeantour.com
Roddy Williams
Senior Press Officer and Website Editor
Tel: +44 1344 840400
Mobile: +44 7899 940029
