Thursday’s announcement by the DP World Tour included a list of tournaments for the 2023 season. There will be a minimum 39 tournaments across 26 countries, and a total prize pool of $144.2 million.
DP World Tour players will be eligible for a $6 million bonus pool for the top eight players in the DP World Tour Rankings. The 2023 season will see the addition of an Earnings Assurance Program to DP World Tour members as part of the record prize fund. If they participate in 15 or more events, exempt players in categories 1-17 are guaranteed minimum earnings of $150,000. To fund long-haul travel, Qualifying School graduates, Challenge Tour graduates, and rookies can immediately take $20,000 This is a benefit to earnings.
The DP World Tour’s joint venture partnership with PGA Tour made it possible to record the prize fund, increase in bonus pool, and Earnings Assurance program. This was announced in June.
Keith Pelley, chief executive of DP World Tour, stated that “for us to be able offer our members record prizes funds and enhanced earning possibilities is huge, especially when global economies still feel the effects of pandemics and with the new challenge posed by rising inflation significantly putting pressure upon costs in all facets our business,”. “Our total prize fund for 2023 is $50 million higher than 2021. This also highlights the strength of our partnership and growth strategy with the PGA Tour.
“The new Earnings Assurance Program is one of the many benefits that we have been able introduce through this partnership. It is similar to the PGA Tour’s. It is an amazing achievement for professional golfers to just gain playing rights on the DP World Tour. This new initiative rewards and recognizes that accomplishment. While we won’t lose the power of meritocracy or the purity of a performance-based system, it now provides certainty of income for those who have reached the pinnacle in the professional game.
The purses for the first four Rolex Series events in 2023 were increased with the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship and Dubai Desert Classic, Genesis Scottish Open, and BMW PGA Championship moving from $8 million to $9 million in 2022, ahead of the season-ending DP World Tour Championship of $10 million.
The 2023 schedule also includes four new Asian tournaments, the Singapore Classic (February 9-12 and the Thailand Classic (February 16-19), which will be followed by the Tour’s first visit to Japan for ISPS Handa Championship (April 20-223), and then a return trip to Korea (April 27-30).
There are changes in Europe for many tournaments. The Horizon Irish Open moved to Sept. 7-10. The Italian Open will be held from May 4-7. Marco Simone Golf & Country Club will host the 2023 Ryder Cup starting Sept. 29 through Oct. 1.
A new three-week summer vacation has been added to the schedule after the 151st Open Championship, Barracuda Championship (both from July 20-22), which was introduced in response to player feedback. We will soon announce more details on the fall events.
The DP World Tour’s worldwide schedule starts on Nov. 24, 2022, with the Fortinet Australian PGA Championship at Brisbane and the Joburg Open South Africa. To see the complete schedule, Click here .
