The DP World Tour, having concluded its Japan leg, now moves to China where the Volvo China Open will take place from May 2nd to 5th. At the Hidden Grace Golf Club in Shenzhen, eight Italian golfers will compete. Alongside Matteo Manassero and Guido Migliozzi, currently the highest-ranked Italians in the world rankings and both vying for Olympic qualification, will be Edoardo Molinari (the first vice-captain of Team Europe at the 2025 Ryder Cup in New York), Renato Paratore, Andrea Pavan, Francesco Laporta, Filippo Celli, and Lorenzo Scalise. With the exception of the latter three, the others will all be looking to redeem themselves after missing the cut at the ISPS Handa Championship.
DP, schedule
Now in its 29th edition, the event offers not only a prize purse of $2,250,000, with $382,500 going to the winner, but also crucial points for qualification for the Paris Olympics, with the qualification window closing on June 17th.
For the first time since 2019, the competition has been included in the schedule of the top European men’s circuit in collaboration with the China Tour.
A total of 156 players will compete. Defending champion Sarit Suwannarut of Thailand, a 26-year-old from Bangkok, who claimed victory in 2023, will be among them. There are many Chinese players who could aim for success on home soil, including Haotong Li, champion in 2016 and runner-up in 2021, who will play the first two rounds of the competition with Manassero and Swedish player Jesper Svensson. Additionally, Ashun Wu, winner in 2015, will be in contention. Seeking to spoil their celebration will be Frenchman Alexander Levy, the only player to have won the event twice, in 2014 and 2017 respectively, along with Englishman Jordan Smith, Northern Irishman Tom McKibbin, and German Yannik Paul.
The European Tour was initially established by the Professional Golfers’ Association, based in England, and its management responsibility was transferred to the independent organization PGA European Tour in 1984. While the majority of the tournaments on the three tours of the European Tour are held in Europe, in recent years, there has been a growing number of tournaments organized in other parts of the world.
The PGA European Tour is a player-controlled organization whose main purpose is to maximize the financial earnings of professional players participating in the tournaments. It is a limited liability company managed by professionals but controlled by players through a board consisting of 12 members elected from present and past players, and a committee overseeing tournaments of 14 active players. Since 2007, Neil Coles has been the chairman of the board, while Thomas Bjørn has served as the chairman of the committee.
Most tournaments are played in Western Europe, with the most lucrative ones being those held in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, France, and Spain. Only one tournament takes place in Eastern Europe beyond the former Iron Curtain, which is the Russian Open.
Additionally, the PGA European Tour also organizes the Ryder Cup in collaboration with the PGA of America.
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