European Tour Unveils ‘The Final Series’ Plans to Rival FedEx Cup

The European Tour’s International Schedule for 2013 sees the formation of a new end-of-season series, covering the final four tournaments of the calendar.

Although ‘The Final Series’ will not be a copy of the ‘FedEx Cup Play-Offs’ introduced in 2007 by America’s PGA Tour, it is intended to create some extra interest during the closing weeks of the season.

The four tournaments are BMW Masters, HSBC Champions, Turkish Open and DP World Tour Championship.

The first two are in China, while the third is a brand new event at The Montgomerie Maxx Royal course at Antalya.

According to the Tour’s website: “Any Tour member participating in the first three tournaments of ‘The Final Series’ will receive a 20 per-cent bonus on The Race to Dubai points earned from those three events.

“And any European Tour Member hoping to qualify for the World Tour Championship in Dubai will have to participate in two of the three tournaments preceding the season finale.”

George O’Grady, chief executive of Tour, said: “The introduction of ‘The Final Series’ and the associated changes to the structure are being made to bring even more drama and excitement to the conclusion of our season, and to further enhance The Race to Dubai.

“We felt there had to be an additional level of commitment from the Membership to these important tournaments, hence the new regulation.

“The response from our leading players to this change has been extremely encouraging, and we take confidence from their support as we look to continue the positive evolution of The European Tour in an extremely challenging economic climate.”