SEOUL– The men’s top European golf tour announced Wednesday it will host a tournament in South Korea in April 2023.
The DP World Tour, formerly called the European Tour, said it will mark its return to South Korea for the first time since 2013 with the inaugural Korea Championship. It will be co-sanctioned by the DP World Tour and the Korea Professional Golfers’ Association (KPGA), and will be played at Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea in Incheon, some 30 kilometers west of Seoul. The DP World Tour had earlier announced the Korean event will run from April 27 to 30, and further details of the US$2 million tournament will be unveiled later.
The DP World Tour previously staged the Ballantine’s Championship in South Korea from 2008 to 2013.
Also on Wednesday, the DP World Tour and the U.S.-based PGA Tour jointly announced an expansion to their partnership with the KPGA.
The winner of the Genesis Point Award on the KPGA’s Korean Tour will earn membership to the DP World Tour for the following season, beginning in 2023. Kim Yeong-su has grabbed his European tour membership by winning the points race this year. He has also earned a spot at the Genesis Scottish Open, co-sanctioned by the DP World Tour and the PGA Tour.
In addition, high finishers in the Genesis Point standings will earn exemptions into various stages of the DP World Tour Qualifying School, scheduled to take place later in 2023.
“The KPGA has a strong history of producing exceptional talent and we are delighted to confirm these formal pathways, giving players clearly defined routes to showcase their skills on the DP World Tour and PGA Tour,” DP World Tour CEO Keith Pelley said. “Combined with our tournament in Korea next April, we look forward to working closely with the KPGA and the PGA Tour to inspire, and to enable, future generations of Korean players to reach the very top of the men’s professional game.”
Source: Yonhap News Agency