Golf - Race To Dubai: Details of the 2009 European Tour schedule, otherwise known as the lucrative Race to Dubai, were announced today and although the Irish Open holds its traditional May slot some doubts still remain over the national championship.

The inaugural Race to Dubai sets-off from the Sheshan International Golf Club in Shanghai where the HSBC Champions event will take place on November 6th. From there the gravy train will span vast expanses of the globe - stopping off at 26 different destinations - before a select few battle it out for a honey pot of cash (€14.5million) at The Dubai World Championship in Jumeirah Golf Estates from November, 19-22, 2009.

The top 60 in the Race to Dubai will qualify for the Dubai World Championship, which has a prize fund of €7.3million and a first prize of €1.1million. A bonus pool of €7.3million will also be shared by the top 15 players in the Race to Dubai after the tournament, with the race winner taking away another €1.5million.

Leisurecorp are the Dubai World Company behind the Race to Dubai initiative. The group also bought Turnberry in Scotland where the 138th British Open will be played next year.

This is the 38th European Tour schedule and is surely the most expansive with a record number of 53 tournaments. Quite a feat given there were only 52 weeks on the calendar at the last time of checking. Every year the new schedule appears to have an earlier start date and the way things are going the new season will have started before the old one finishes.

From 2010, the tour will revert to a calendar-year programme starting with the South African Open at Pearl Valley in January and concluding with the Dubai World Championship in November.

As it stands the season-ending Volvo Masters takes place at Valderrama from October 30th to November 2nd and before drawing breath the 2009 Race to Dubai kicks-off the following week in Shanghai - and it's still 2008.

There are five "new" tournaments - the Czech Golf Open, The English Open, the Canal + Open, the Volvo World Match Play Championship and the Dubai World Championship.

"We are excited about the start of The Race to Dubai and the superb quality of the field for the HSBC Champions in Shanghai, with five of the top seven currently active players in the world all entered, provides ample evidence of the high drama and great theatre that lies ahead," said George O'Grady, European Tour chief executive.

"The Race to Dubai will bring a new dimension to The European Tour and the partnership with Leisurecorp is central to our plans for the future…The 2009 schedule confirms how The European Tour has become ever-more global in its outlook with 26 destinations now featured with the Czech Golf Open returning for the first time in 12 years."

Closer inspection of the schedule reveals the Irish Open still holds its May 14-17 slot, one week before the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth. However, concerns are raised by the letters TBA (to be arranged) beside it in the venue column.

The Irish Open has been played at Adare Manor in Limerick with great success, albeit at a cost, for the last two years and is due to host the national championship for a third and final time in 2009.

Just when the Irish Open appeared to be dying on its feet, with falling spectator numbers, bad luck with the weather and a general malaise for tournament golf in this country, Adare Manor came to the rescue.

Specifically, Adare's owner Tom Kane came to the rescue by hatching a plan to run the event at his estate without a title sponsor. Even though in 2007 Kane and the Irish Open got the best result possible with Pádraig Harrington bridging the 25-year gap to the last Irish winner, it was came at a price.

The estimated cost of staging the event has risen to €4.8million but an event without a title sponsor has meant Kane picking up the shortfall, which is thought to be in the region of €3million over the last two years. That apparently is no longer sustainable.

"I have done my bit and it's now time for other people to come to the party," Kane said in yesterday's Sunday Independent.

The fact is the Irish Open has been on the wane for many years. Firstly it lost out when it became over-shadowed by the more lucrative European Open at the K-Club. The Dr Michael Smurfit backed event was tied in as part of the deal to bring the Ryder Cup to the K-Club in 2006 and bigger prize funds invariably attracted better fields.

The Irish Open has also struggled to find stability and a suitable slot on the schedule since Murphys ended their sponsorship after the 2002 event at Fota Island.

Gone are the heady days of the 70s and 80s when the Irish Open was backed by Carrolls and played on some of the best links courses in the world, let alone Ireland. Although there were attempts to return to links golf with the Irish Open played at Ballybunion, Co Louth and Portmarnock in the last decade, perhaps this concept of links golf should be explored further for it is the best asset Ireland has as a golfing destination.

Going forward Royal Portrush and Ballyliffin - both renowned links courses - tabled a joint proposal earlier this year in the hope of bringing the Irish Open to Northern Ireland for the first time since 1953 when it was staged at Belvoir Park in Belfast.

It remains to be seen how plans for next year's Irish Open will unfold but if there is to be a shot in the arm the Players Championship in the United States is rescheduled for the previous week and that could give Adare and Kane some much-needed breathing space to attract a top quality field.

The Race To Dubai - European Tour International Schedule 2008/09

2008                                                                                              

November 
6-9 HSBC Champions (Sheshan International GC, Shanghai, China)
20-23 UBS Hong Kong Open (Hong Kong GC, Fanling, Hong Kong)
27-30 Australian Masters (Huntingdale GC, Melbourne, Australia)

December     
11-14 Alfred Dunhill Championship (Leopard Creek, Mpumalanga, SA)
18-21 South African Open Championship (Pearl Valley Golf Estates, Paarl, Western Cape, South Africa)

2009                                                                                              

January     
8-11 Joburg Open (Royal Johannesburg & Kensington GC, Johannesburg,  South Africa)
15-18 Abu Dhabi Golf Championship (Abu Dhabi Golf Club, Abu Dhabi, UAE)
22-25 Commercialbank Qatar Masters presented by Dolphin Energy (Doha GC, Doha, Qatar)
29-Feb 1 Dubai Desert Classic (Emirates GC, Dubai, UAE)

February     
5-8 EMAAR-MGF Indian Masters   (Delhi GC, New Delhi, India)
12-15 Maybank Malaysian Open (TBA) 
19-22 Johnnie Walker Classic (The Vines Resort & Country Club, Perth, Western Australia)
25-1 Mar WGC - Accenture Match Play Championship (Ritz-Carlton GC,  Dove Mountain, Marana,  USA)
26-1 Mar Indonesia Open  (New Kuta GC, Bali, Indonesia)

March   
12-15 WGC - CA Championship (Doral Golf Resort & Spa, Doral, Florida, USA)
19-22 Madeira Islands Open BPI - Portugal (TBA)
26-29 Open de Andalucia  (TBA)

April    
2-5 Estoril Open de Portugal (Oitavos Dunes, Estoril, Portugal)
9-12 MASTERS TOURNAMENT (Augusta National, Georgia, USA)
16-19 Volvo China Open (Beijing CBD International GC, Beijing, China)
23-26 Ballantine's Championship (Pinx GC, Jeju Island, South Korea)
30-3 May Open de España (TBA)

May  
7-10 Italian Open (TBA)
14-17 The Irish Open (TBA)
21-24 BMW PGA CHAMPIONSHIP  (Wentworth Club, Surrey, England)
28-31 The European Open (TBA)

June  
4-7 The Celtic Manor Wales Open (The Celtic Manor Resort, Newport, South Wales)
11-14 Austrian Golf Open (Fontana GC, Vienna, Austria)
18-21 US OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP (Bethpage State Park (Black Course), Farmingdale, New York, USA)
18-21 SAINT-OMER OPEN presented by Neuflize OBC (Aa Saint Omer GC, Lumbres, France)
25-28 BMW International Open  (Golfclub München Eichenried, Munich, Germany)

July 
2-5 Open de France ALSTOM   (Le Golf National, Paris, France)
9-12 The Barclays Scottish Open (Loch Lomond GC, Glasgow, Scotland)
 16-19 THE 138th OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP (Ailsa Course, Turnberry, Ayrshire, Scotland)
23-26 SAS Masters (Barsebäck G&CC, Skåne, Sweden)
30-2 Aug Czech Golf Open (Prosper Golf Resort, eladná, Czech Republic)

August   
6-9 WGC - Bridgestone Invitational (Firestone CC, Akron, Ohio, USA)
13-16 US PGA CHAMPIONSHIP (Hazeltine National GC, Chaska, Minnesota, USA)
13-16 The English Open (St Mellion International Resort, Cornwall, England)
20-23 The KLM Open   (Kennemer G&CC, Zandvoort, The Netherlands)
27-30 Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles  (The Gleneagles Hotel, Perthshire, Scotland)

September   
3-6 Omega European Masters (Crans-sur-Sierre, Crans Montana, Switzerland)
10-13 Mercedes-Benz Championship  (Golf Club Gut Lärchenhof, Cologne, Germany)
17-20 British Masters (TBA)
24-27 Canal + Open (TBA)
24-27 Volvo World Match Play Championship (Finca Cortesin GC, Malaga, Spain)

October 
1-4 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship (Old Course, St Andrews, Carnoustie and Kingsbarns, Scotland)
8-11 Madrid Masters (Club de Campo Villa de Madrid, Madrid, Spain)
8-11 Seve Trophy (TBA)
15-18 Portugal Masters (Oceânico Victoria Golf Course, Vilamoura, Portugal)
22-25 CASTELLÓ MASTERS Costa Azahar (Club de Campo del Mediterráneo, Castellón, Valencia,  Spain)
29-1 Nov TBA TBA

November      
5-8 HSBC Champions (Sheshan International GC, Shanghai, China)
12-15 UBS Hong Kong Open (Hong Kong GC, Fanling, Hong Kong)
19-22 THE DUBAI WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP (Earth Course, Jumeirah Golf Estates, Dubai, UAE)
26-29 Omega Mission Hills World Cup (Mission Hills GC, China)