New look DP World Tour to conclude with playoff double header in 2024

The 2024 DP World Tour season will conclude at the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai.

The DP World Tour is set for a major overhaul next year with five global swings, a playoff double header, and two new bonus pools.

The bumper schedule will be made up of 44 events in 24 countries across five continents. Members of the DP World Tour will also compete for a record prize fund of $148.5 million (not including the four major championships), plus a Race to Dubai bonus pool of £6 million.

There will still be five lucrative Rolex Series events to attract stars from the PGA Tour, but the Race to Dubai will now conclude with a playoff double header in the United Arab Emirates. Here’s a full breakdown of the changes and the key dates for your diary…

The off-season lasts less than a week

The 2023/24 season begins at the Australian PGA Championship, four days after the DP World Tour Championship wraps up on November 19 in Dubai.

The new schedule also includes two new events, the Dubai Invitational and the Bahrain Championship, with the ISPS Handa World Invitational making way as a result. We also understand the tri-sanctioned event in Northern Ireland will be erased from the LET and Challenge Tour schedules moving forward.

There is better news for the China Open, which will return to the calendar for the first time since 2019, while The Nedbank Challenge, hosted by Gary Player, has been moved to December 2024 as one of the opening events of the 2025 season.

For the first time ever, a playoff series will be used to crown the Race to Dubai champion.

The Abu Dhabi Championship is moving from its traditional January slot to the penultimate event in November, featuring the leading 70 players from the Race to Dubai rankings.

The top 50 players will then advance to the season-ending DP World Tour Championship in Dubai. As is the case this season, the top 10 from the 2024 Race to Dubai Rankings (not otherwise exempt) will earn PGA Tour cards for the 2025 season.

Five ‘global swings’ will take place over the first eight months of the season

These five stages will be known as The Opening Swing, The International Swing, The Asian Swing, The European Swing and The Closing Swing.

Each swing will have its own individual rankings and champion, who will each earn $200,000 from an overall $1 million bonus pool. 

The champions of each Swing will then qualify for each of the ‘Back Nine’ events. After the conclusion of the Danish Golf Championship, a further $1 million bonus pool will be shared among the leading 10 players on the Race to Dubai (who have played a minimum of eight regular Global Swing events outside the majors and Scottish Open).

The Rolex Series remains unchanged

January’s Dubai Desert Classic is the first of five Rolex Series events, which will once again pay out the biggest purses outside the four major championships.

The others include the Scottish Open in July, September’s BMW PGA Championship, and the Abu Dhabi Championship and DP World Tour Championship in November.

Three UK events will take place over a five-week stretch

The British Masters will return to the Belfry at the end of August and kickstart a new ‘Back Nine’ series, featuring the Irish Open (September 12-15), BMW PGA Championship (September 19-22) and Dunhill Links Championship (September 26-29).

The top 15 members on the FedEx Cup will be eligible to play in these events and qualify for the playoffs. The top 110 players on the Race to Dubai Rankings at the conclusion of this series in October will earn their DP World Tour cards for 2025.

DP WORLD TOUR 2023/24 SCHEDULE

OPENING SWING

November 23-26 Fortinet Australian PGA Championship (Royal Queensland GC, Brisbane, Australia)
November 23-26 ​Joburg Open (Houghton GC, Johannesburg, South Africa)
November 30-December 3 ISPS Handa Australian Open (The Australian GC & The Lakes GC, Sydney, Australia)
November 30-December 3 Investec South African Open Championship (Blair Atholl Golf & Equestrian Estate, Lanseria, Johannesburg, South Africa)
December 7-10 Alfred Dunhill Championship (Leopard Creek CC, Malelane, South Africa)
December 14-17 AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open (Heritage La Réserve GC, Heritage Bel Ombre, Mauritius)

INTERNATIONAL SWING

January 11-14 Dubai Invitational (Dubai Creek Resort, Dubai, UAE)
January 18-21 Hero Dubai Desert Classic (Emirates GC, Dubai, UAE)
January 25-28 Ras Al Khaimah Championship (Al Hamra GC, Ras Al Khaimah, UAE)
February 1-4 Bahrain Championship (Royal GC, Kingdom of Bahrain)
February 22-25 Magical Kenya Open (Muthaiga GC, Nairobi, Kenya)
February 29-March 3 SDC Championship (TBC, South Africa)
March 7-10 Jonsson Workwear Open (TBC, South Africa)

ASIAN SWING

March 21-24 Singapore Classic (Laguna National Golf Resort Club, Singapore)
March 28-31 Asian Event TBA (TBC)
April 11-14 The Masters (Augusta National GC, Georgia, USA)
April 18-21 Korea Championship (Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea, Incheon, South Korea)
April 25-28 ISPS HANDA Championship (Taiheiyo Club – Gotemba Course, Gotemba City, Japan)
May 2-5 Volvo China Open (Hidden Grace GC, Shenzhen, China)
May 16-19 PGA Championship (Valhalla GC, Kentucky, USA)

EUROPEAN SWING

May 23-26 Soudal Open (Rinkven International GC, Antwerp, Belgium)
May 30-June 2 European Open (Green Eagle Golf Courses, Hamburg, Germany)
June 6-9 Volvo Car Scandinavian Mixed (TBC, Sweden)
June 13-16 US Open (Pinehurst Resort & CC, North Carolina, USA)
June 20-23 KLM Open (The International, Amsterdam, The Netherlands)
June 27-30 Italian Open (TBC, Italy)
July 4-7 BMW International Open (Golfclub München Eichenried, Munich, Germany)

CLOSING SWING

July 11-14 Genesis Scottish Open (The Renaissance Club, North Berwick, Scotland)
July 11-14 Event TBA (TBC, USA)
July 18-21 The Open (Royal Troon GC, Ayrshire, Scotland)
July 18-21 Barracuda Championship (Tahoe Mt. Club, California, USA)
August 1-4 Olympic Men’s Golf Competition (Le Golf National, Paris, France)
August 15-18 D+D Real Czech Masters (Albatross Golf Resort, Prague, Czech Republic)
August 22-25 Danish Golf Championship (Lübker Golf Resort, Aarhus, Denmark)

THE BACK 9

August 29-September 1 Betfred British Masters hosted by Sir Nick Faldo (The Belfry, Sutton Coldfield, England)
September 5-8 Omega European Masters (Crans-sur-Sierre GC, Crans Montana, Switzerland)
September 12-15 Horizon Irish Open (Royal County Down GC, Co Down, Northern Ireland)
September 19-22 BMW PGA Championship (Wentworth Club, Surrey, England)
September 26-29 Open de España (Club de Campo Villa de Madrid, Madrid, Spain)
October 3-6 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship (Old Course St Andrews, Carnoustie & Kingsbarns, Scotland)
October 10-13 Open de France (Le Golf National, Paris, France)
October 17-20 Andalucia Masters (Real Club de Golf Sotogrande, Andalucia, Spain)
October 24-27 Event TBA (TBC)

DP WORLD TOUR PLAY-OFFS

November 7-10 Abu Dhabi Championship (Yas Links, Abu Dhabi, UAE)
November 14-17 DP World Tour Championship (Jumeirah Golf Estates, Earth Course, Dubai, UAE)

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About the author

Michael Catling
Today’s Golfer Features Editor

Michael Catling is Today’s Golfer‘s Features Editor and an award-winning journalist who specializes in golf’s Majors and Tours, including DP World, PGA, LPGA, and LIV.

Michael joined Today’s Golfer in 2016 and has traveled the world to attend the game’s biggest events and secure exclusive interviews with dozens of Major champions, including Jack Nicklaus, Jordan Spieth, Tom Watson, Greg Norman, Gary Player, and Justin Thomas.

A former member of Ufford Park and Burghley Park, Michael has been playing golf since he was 11 and currently plays off a handicap of 10.

Away from golf he’s a keen amateur chef and has his own healthy recipes website. He also loves playing squash, going to the gym, and following Chelsea FC.

Michael uses a Ping G driver, Ping G 3-wood, Ping G Crossover 3-iron, Ping G Series irons (4-PW), Ping Glide wedges (52º, 56º, 60º), TaylorMade MySpider Tour Putter, and Srixon AD333 golf ball.

Get in touch with Michael via email and follow him on Twitter.