Dubai: The announcement of a new season opening "Tournament of Champions" for the European Golf Tour, to be played in Bahrain, was today welcomed by Shaikh Mohammad Bin Eisa Al Khalifa, Chief Executive of the Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB).
The new tournament was unveiled by the European Tour and sponsor Volvo.
The inaugural event will take place from January 27 to 30, 2011 at the Royal Golf Club, Bahrain, with total prize money of 820,000 Bahraini dinars (Dh7.95 million).
Players will compete on the Montgomerie Course, which re-opened in 2009 following extensive re-development under the eye of eight-time European Tour Order of Merit winner, Colin Montgomerie.
Welcoming the event, Shaikh Mohammad said: "This is very big news for us. Bahrain has long been known as a business friendly location and gateway for international business looking to access wider markets across the Middle East. However, golf is a very established and important business tool that we have yet to exploit. We have worked hard to bring this event to Bahrain and are very happy that Volvo, IMG and the European Tour have chosen us as host.
"Golf has a very strong global presence and we believe it will bring great benefits to Bahrain.
"We very much look forward to welcoming the players and guests to Bahrain and think this will be a very popular event.
"We have made great strides to raise the profile of Bahrain on the international stage in recent years, starting with the Bahrain Formula One Grand Prix, the first F1 event in the Middle East. Hosting the curtain raiser for the European Golf Tour will only help us raise our profile further."
Unique qualification
The Volvo "Tournament of Champions" will see European Tour tournament winners compete together with leading amateurs on one day of the Tournament.
Its unique qualification criteria will mean only winners of previous European Tour tournaments will be eligible to play.
To celebrate the first Tournament, the 2011 event will be widened to a full field of up to 126 players, bringing together both current and past European Tour winners, including champions of past major events.
From 2012, the tournament will revert to a streamlined "European Tour Tournament of Champions" anticipated to only include winners of the previous season's tournaments.
In 2012 and 2013, the event will be moved to early January, ensuring the tournament becomes the first full counting event of the International European Tour Schedule.
Best players
Amateurs will be selected from the best players who qualify through the Volvo Masters Amateur Tour, a global golf series that covers 25 countries and hundreds of qualifying tournaments culminating in the "season ending" Volvo Masters Amateur World Final which will be held in Bahrain as part of the Volvo "Tournament of Champions".
The 2010 European Ryder Cup Captain, Colin Montgomerie, added: "It is very exciting for the Royal Golf Club to have been selected to host a full European Tour event and I will feel very proud when Europe's best players go head to head over The Montgomerie Course, Bahrain.
"With European Golf Design and the vision of the Royal Golf Club, I think we have created a really superb Championship course and we are looking forward to welcoming the Championship in January."
