The Alfred Dunhill Championship in Mpumalanga will make South African golf history when it tees off the lucrative Race to Dubai on the European Tour's 2010 schedule.

The second edition of the wealthiest Order of Merit race in world golf will begin on the fairways of Leopard Creek, ranked the number one golf course in South Africa, from December 10-13.

The Alfred Dunhill Championship is the first of four Sunshine Tour events co-sanctioned with The European Tour. It will be followed by the South African Open at Pearl Valley Golf Estates, Paarl, Western Cape, from December 17-20.

Then the Africa Open, which is co-sanctioned for the first time by The European Tour and the Sunshine Tour, will be played at the East London Golf Club from January 7-10 prior to the Joburg Open returning to Royal Johannesburg & Kensington Golf Club from January 14-17.

"Alfred Dunhill have enjoyed a long, strong relationship with The European Tour. The Alfred Dunhill Championship has, since its inception, become a favourite of our members. We are delighted that their tournament will launch The Race to Dubai on The 2010 European Tour International Schedule," said George O'Grady, Chief Executive of The European Tour.

"And, we are pleased to announce that there will be four rather than three tournaments co-sanctioned by The European Tour and the Sunshine Tour in South Africa next season. We welcome the Africa Open to our schedule and look forward to the third edition of the Joburg Open.

"The decision to launch The Race to Dubai for 2010 in South Africa with four tournaments necessitated that we start the season at the end of this year.

"This allows the traditional Middle East swing in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Qatar to continue the season in similar dates to those on the 2009 schedule.

"We did research the possibility of reverting to a calendar year schedule from 2010. We may look at this again in the future. At this time, however, our first priority is to preserve stability and success in turbulent times."

The inaugural Race to Dubai, a US$10,000,000 season-long competition for the world's leading golfers, culminates in the world's richest tournament, the Dubai World Championship, to be played on the Earth Course, designed by Greg Norman, on November 19-22 at Jumeirah Golf Estates in Dubai, UAE.

Sapa

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