2017-2018 European Tour Schedule...

Here's the new ET schedule for next year as announced so far... I'll put together the multi-Tour schedule graphic again in the next few days... but for now... something to chew on...

2017-2018 European Tour Schedule Announced...

Highlights include a new Middle East event added (Oman) but the M.E. events split into two groups of 2 with two weeks in between them.  

Two other events added: Phillipines Golf Classic and Belgian Knockout (sounds like an unofficial event maybe?).

Also the return of the EurAsia Cup and a new European Team Championship (not sure what all that is or if its official)

While the press release mentions the 4 new events, it fails to mention the 5 Missing events from last year's schedule. The Alfred Dunhill Championship (South Africa), Shenzhen International (China), Rocco Forte Open (Portugal), Saltire Energy Paul Lawrie Match Play & the Fiji International.  So at least at this time, the ET schedule appears to be NET minus 1-3 events for 2017-18 depending on the "official" status of the Belgian Knockout and the new Euro Team Championship


There's the text recap from the European Tour:
http://www.europeantour.com/europeantour/news/newsid=332767.html

Here's the schedule itself...
http://www.europeantour.com/europeantour/tournament/Season=2018/index_full.html

The Belgium event is a Thomas Pieters initiative if the hype all over Twitter last week is anything to go by. Seemed to be an attempt at a Amateur Championship-style format as I recall, 2 rounds of stroke play followed by a cut and match play, but shorter matches, 9 or even maybe 6 holes. Think it's intended to be official, a slightly less daft version of the Aussie sixes thing.

No idea on the others. Surprised the Dunhill is missing, the Sunshine Tour are usually protective of their sponsors and that's been co-sanctioned for ever. I rather fear the flash-in-the-pan Lawrie match play is a taste of things to come when it comes to individual players pushing their tournaments though.

Ned, I don't know what to think of the missing Dunhill or new Belgium format and Euro team event. I don't know if OWGR will rate either of those last two,... and I would have to wonder how a Euro Team championship could be official event it it it excludes it's non-Euro members.

I get a sense some of this is Pelley doing his "We'll tell you what it is later when we figure out what it is" thing... But I don't know. His job is to get events on the schedule dammit... so at least it looks like he's doing that.

Ned... One other thought is the Dunhill might show up in December, but in the following years schedule... so I don't know if the event is gone or what...

Last season, the Sunshine Tour changed its "Flagship" tournament from the S.A. Open to the Dunhill Championship.

Now the Dunhill Championship is not even part of the EuroTour Schedule.