Golf: European Tour changes Final Series, membership rules
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DUBAI (AFP) - The European Tour has announced new membership regulations and a revamped Final Series for its new season.
A player will have to play just five tournaments during the season to remain a member of the European Tour, against 13 that is the current mandatory requirement.
And the Final Series, which was introduced in 2013 and comprised four tournaments, will become a three-event series in the 2016 Race to Dubai.
The WGC-HSBC Champions tournament in Shanghai will no longer be a part of the Final Series, while the BMW Masters, also held in Shanghai, is no longer part of the European Tour schedule.
The new Final Series will be the US$7 million (S$9.97 million) Turkish Airlines Open (Nov 3-6, 2016), the US$7 million NedBank Challenge (Nov 10-13) in South Africa and the US$8 million DP World Tour Championship in Dubai (Nov 17-20).
The new schedule will feature 45 tournaments in 25 different countries, including three special events - the EurAsia Cup (Jan 14-17), the Olympic Games (Aug 11-14) and the Ryder Cup (Sept 30-Oct 2).
