DP World Tour returns to Singapore in 2023, first time in nine years

The DP World Tour will return to Singapore in 2023 for the first time in nine years, as the golf organisation beefs up its Asian footprint, it said Tuesday.

Players will tee off for the Singapore Classic at the Laguna National Golf Resort Club on Feb.9 next year.

The tour last stopped in the city-state in 2014 at the same course.

Previous winners of the tour’s Singapore events include Scottish legend Colin Montgomerie, China’s Zhang Lianwei and Liang Wenchong, and local star Mardan Mamat.

“Asia continues to be an important region for the DP World Tour and we look forward to announcing further exciting events there in due course,” European Tour group chief executive Keith Pelley said in a statement.

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Peter Kwee, Laguna National’s chairman, said: “We have a long history of hosting DP World Tour championship Golf... We’re excited to once more welcome many of the world’s best players to our Club.

“The Singapore Masters proved to be a resounding success with so many memorable highlights, including the victories of Colin Montgomerie and Nick Dougherty, the ground-breaking successes of China’s Zhang Lianwei and Liang Wenchong and our very own Mardan Mamat, whose triumph in 2006 remains one of the proudest moments in Singapore’s golfing history.

The DP World Tour was first held in Singapore for two editions of the Johnnie Walker classic.

“Now, we’re looking forward to building a new championship legacy with the Singapore Classic, which will showcase our fabulous Classic Course to a worldwide audience,” he added.

With prize money of $2 million, the tournament will be one of the region’s top sporting events, organisers said.

The DP World Tour was first held in Singapore for two editions of the Johnnie Walker classic, won by Nick Faldo in 1993 at the Singapore Island Golf Club and Ian Woosnam in 1996 at the Tanah Merah Country Club.

Another Major champion, Vijay Singh, won the Singapore Masters in 2001 at the Singapore Island Golf Club before the tournament moved to the Laguna National course for the next six years, where winners included Montgomerie in 2004 and local boy Mamat two years later.

Meanwhile, The DP World Tour returns to Germany this week as Golfclub Mnnchen Eichenried plays host to the 2022 BMW International Open, scheduled to be held from June 23 to 26.

Billy Horschel, already a two-time winner of BMW-sponsored golf tournaments, makes his debut in Munich, with recent first-time Tour champion Kalle Samooja and two-time event winner Thomas Bjorn also in the field.

The American, the highest-ranked player in this week’s field at 14th in the Official World Golf Ranking, won the PGA Tour’s BMW Championship, the third event of the 2014 FedEx Cup Playoffs on his way to winning the FedExCup that year.

He added to that with victory at the BMW PGA Championship, one of the DP World Tour’s Rolex Series events, last September to become only the second American after the legendary Arnold Palmer in 1975 to win the prestigious tournament held at Wentworth.

Horschel is already a winner in 2022 after he claimed the seventh PGA TOUR title of his career at the Memorial Tournament earlier in June.

Alongside the 35-year-old, four-time Major Champion Rory McIlroy is the only player to have won both the BMW Championship and BMW PGA Championship. Miguel Angel Jimenez won the BMW PGA Championship in 2008, four years after he won the BMW International Open and the BMW Asian Open, which was held for the last time in 2008.

The BMW International Open is the 21st event on the 2022 DP World Tour schedule, with valuable points on offer in the DP World Tour Rankings.

There are a total of 2,750 Race to Dubai points on offer to the field this week, with 460 awarded to the winner.

Belgium’s Thomas Pieters, who won the year’s opening Rolex Series event at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, is fifth in the standings and among the tournament favourites in Germany.

New Zealand’s Ryan Fox, another winner already this season at the Ras Al Khaimah Classic, is just behind the Ryder Cup player in sixth and will look to maintain his excellent run of performances, including runner-up finishes at both the Soudal Open and Dutch Open in May.