DUBAI, Nov 19: Dubai will host the world’s richest golf tournament beginning in 2009 with a prize fund of US$10 million. The Dubai World Championship, to be held at the Jumeirah Golf Estates from Nov 19 to 22, 2009, would initially run for five years with the option of extending it for another five years, the European Tour said Monday.

The championship also would include an annual US$10 million (euro6.8 million) bonus pool. The winner will receive US$1.66 million.

The Order of Merit will be renamed The Race to Dubai, with the player finishing No. 1 at the end of the season receiving US$2 million.

If a player wins both the Dubai World Championship and the overall season title, he will earn a total of US$3.66 million.

“The Race to Dubai will bring a new dimension to the European Tour, creating great drama and theater throughout the year as all the best players in the world are given the opportunity to compete in the world’s richest tournament,” European Tour chief executive George O’Grady said.

Currently, the US Tour’s Players Championship is the richest single event, offering prize money of US$9 million.

O’Grady denied the European Tour was trying to compete with the US PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup, and downplayed the fact that the top American players like Tiger Woods will have to play a minimum of 11 events to qualify for the Dubai World Championship.

“Our objective with this partnership is not Tiger Woods. Of course, if he wants to play, we already have a history of welcoming him with open arms. But for Dubai World Championship, he will have to fulfill the criteria of European Tour membership,” O’Grady said.

“We want to put up a credible alternative to the PGA Tour for those who do not want to take up residence in the US. This is in no way an attack on the PGA Tour,” he added.—AP