If the last few years on the DP World Tour have told us anything, the circuit formerly known as the European Tour is now a much more global tour.
Like in 2024, the 2025 schedule emphasizes that notion, as almost every continent will host a tournament, with South America being the odd man out.
However, next year’s DP World Tour schedule includes multiple changes, including returns to Türkiye, Austria, and The K Club in Ireland, which hosted the 2006 Ryder Cup. The Nedbank Challenge in South Africa is back on the schedule, too—the Gary Player Country Club in Sun City will host. But with additions come subtractions. The Porsche European Open, won by ex-LIV golfer Laurie Canter this past June, will not be on the schedule. Neither will the Andalucia Masters, which Frenchman Julien Guerrier won in a nine-hole playoff in October.
That said, like in 2024, the DP World Tour has organized its schedule based on three distinct phases. Five ‘Global Swings’ will ensue while the bulk of the PGA Tour schedule in the United States takes place. The first such swing, the ‘Opening Swing,’ begins Nov. 21 in Brisbane with the BMW Australian PGA Championship. The ISPS Handa Australian Open then follows the week after that. Three events, including two in South Africa, wrap up this initial swing before the calendar officially flips to 2025.
The ‘International Swing’ begins in January in the Middle East and is highlighted by the Hero Dubai Desert Classic. Rory McIlroy will start his season by returning to Dubai to defend his title from a year ago. This part of the schedule will feature events in Bahrain, Kenya, and South Africa and conclude on Mar. 9.
The ‘Asian Swing’ follows, starting with the Porsche Singapore Classic. The Hero Indian Open and the Volvo China Open then bookend The Masters in April. Another event in Asia is slated for Apr. 24-27 but has yet to be confirmed. Whatever event that may be will conclude this third portion of the schedule.
The fourth swing, the ‘European Swing,’ features plenty of familiar stops in Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany. But it kicks off with a return to Antalya, Türkiye, where the DP World Tour’s best will compete at the Regnum Carya Golf & Spa Resort along the Mediterranean Coast. Two other significant changes within this swing include the return of the Austrian Open, which will be held at the Jack Nicklaus-designed Gut Altentann Golf Club in Salzburg. This course hosted the Austrian Open from 1990 to 1992, with Bernhard Langer defeating Lanny Wadkins in a playoff in 1990. The other new development involves the Italian Open, which will move from the Marco Simone Golf Club in Rome to the Argentario Golf Club outside Tuscany.
The Genesis Scottish Open will kick off the final ‘Closing Swing,’ the first of three co-sanctioned events on the PGA Tour. The ISCO Championship in Louisville, Kentucky, takes place the same week, while the Barracuda Championship along Lake Tahoe will once again transpire alongside golf’s oldest major. Following The Open at Royal Portrush, the DP World Tour will go on a three-week-long hiatus and then stage two events in the Czech Republic and Denmark.
The meat of the DP World Tour calendar arrives at the end of August as the PGA Tour wraps up its FedEx Cup Playoffs. This is not a coincidence but a strategic ploy from DP World Tour brass. Their goal is to try and lure its top talent back to Europe for its ‘Back 9,’ the stretch of nine tournaments that include some of its most lucrative events.
The ‘Back 9’ begins with the Betfred British Masters at The Belfy, hosted by Sir Nick Faldo from Aug. 21-24. The Omega European Masters, played annually on one of the most picturesque courses in the world at Crans-sur-Sierre in Crans Montana, Switzerland, follows after that.
The Amegen Irish Open returns to the K Club before the BMW PGA Championship, the flagship event of the DP World Tour, at Wentworth in England. Then, the week before the Ryder Cup, the FedEx French Open will take place, but Le Golf National will not host. Instead, another Paris-area course, Golf de Saint-Nom-La-Bretèche, will welcome the DP World Tour for the first time since 1982, when Seve Ballesteros emerged victorious.
Four more events follow after the Ryder Cup, including the renowned Alfred Dunhill Links Championship at St. Andrews. The Spanish Open also returns to the Club de Campo Villa de Madrid, and the Genesis Championship will be held again in South Korea to close out the ‘Back 9.’ But the DP World Tour has left a weekend open—Oct. 16-19—for an event to be announced. Last year, the Andalucia Masters took place then. Whether or not this event in Southern Spain returns to this slot remains to be seen.
The final two DP World Tour season events will again take place in the Middle East in November. The top 70 players in the Race to Dubai standings will qualify for the Abu Dhabi Championship, the first DP World Tour Playoff event. From there, the top 50 advance to Dubai for the DP World Tour Championship from Nov. 13-16, 2025.
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.
