The European Tour has announced its full 2020 schedule with the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open finally confirmed for a May 28-31 slot next year.
The Tour is yet to confirm a venue, with Mount Juliet largely speculated to be the host club for next year’s tournament, but a new May date should see world number two, Rory McIlroy hold firm on his promise to compete at the 2020 renewal.
“I don’t think I’ll miss The Irish Open for two years in a row,” McIlroy said last month.
“I saw that the dates changed to the end of May it looks like, and if that’s the case, I will definitely make the trip. I will definitely make the trip back over for that event.”
The scheduling means next year’s Irish Open will clash with the PGA Tour’s Rocket Mortgage Classic but the weight of a Rolex Series event, coupled with Jon Rahm having already confirmed he’ll be back to defend his title, along with McIlroy in the field, should mean that the week of May 28 on the global golfing calendar is one of great appeal to the stars of the world game.
As for the full schedule announced for 2020, it features a minimum of 46 Race to Dubai events in 29 different countries, including eight Rolex Series events.
The Rolex Series returns for its fourth consecutive year, beginning with the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship Presented by EGA (January 16-19) followed by Ireland’s National Open (May 28-31), and the Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open (July 9-12), before the BMW PGA Championship (September 10-13) and the Italian Open (October 8-11) take place a fortnight either side of The Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits.
The season then concludes with three consecutive Rolex Series events; the Turkish Airlines Open (November 5-8), the Nedbank Golf Challenge Hosted by Gary Player (November 12-15) and the season-finale, the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai (November 19-22) where the 2020 Race to Dubai champion will be crowned.
There are several date changes elsewhere on the 2020 schedule including the Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucía Masters hosted by the Sergio Garcia Foundation, which moves to April 30-May 3. The tournament at Real Club Valderrama, host venue of The 1997 Ryder Cup, launches phase two of the qualification campaign for Europe’s 2020 Ryder Cup Team, with points earned in Spain and at subsequent counting events through to the end of the BMW PGA Championship multiplied by 1.5.
Other dates changes include the Trophée Hassan II and Scandinavian Invitation, both of which move to the start of June, taking place from June 4-7 and June 11-14 respectively. The Open de France moves back to its previous date of July 2-5, while the Betfred British Masters takes place from July 30-August 2, with Lee Westwood returning as host at Close House Golf Club.
The Betfred British Masters will be immediately followed by a new event in the UK from August 6-9 which is set to be announced later this year.
In addition to the Race to Dubai events, GolfSixes Cascais (May 9-10) returns for the fourth consecutive year and the Olympic Games men’s golf competition takes place in Tokyo from July 30- August 2, before Team Europe travels to Whistling Straits, in Wisconsin, to defend The Ryder Cup from September 25-27.
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