Els prompts Tour review into Final Series

The European Tour has announced a comprehensive review into the Final Series after Ernie Els strongly criticised the demands on players.

Former British Open champion Els was annoyed at the regulation which requires players to compete in two of the first three events to be eligible for the season-ending DP World Tour Championship.

The South African did not fulfil that criteria — along with Sergio Garcia and Charl Schwartzel — and was therefore not in Dubai yesterday as European Tour chief executive George O’Grady admitted that the Tour had “underestimated” the amount of golf played by its star names.

“I think it’s fair to say we underestimated the amount of golf our leading members have played after the FedEx Cup, which has so much at stake, and after the Presidents Cup for our international players,” O’Grady said.

“We also underestimated how much they play on the OneAsia Tour, the Asia Tour, Japan and the PGA Tour before they came to our Final Series.

“The Final Series brought really good promoters and sponsors to the table and we will refine the details surrounding it to help its development.

“We have been talking to a lot of our players this week but talking during the heat of competition is not always the best time. So calmly we will reflect and, as and when we are ready, announce what these regulations will be.”

In response to his comments, eight-time European number one Colin Montgomerie urged the European Tour to “stand firm” over the regulation, but O’Grady added: “Ernie has been a tremendous supporter of the European Tour. He is almost above the rules and he did actually play two events, just one of them wasn’t ours. Colin Montgomerie is a great supporter of the Tour, that’s why we will look at these rules and decide calmly at the end of the season.”

European Tour 2014 schedule 2013

Nov 21-24: South African Open Championship Glendower GC, Gauteng, Johannesburg, SA.

Nov 28-Dec 1: Alfred Dunhill Championship Leopard Creek CC, Malelane, SA

Dec 5-8: Nedbank Golf Challenge Gary Player CC, Sun City, SA

Dec 5-8: Hong Kong Open Hong Kong GC, Fanling, Hong Kong

Dec 12-15: The Nelson Mandela Championship Mount Edgecombe CC, Durban, Kwa -Zulu Natal, SA

2014

Jan 9-12: Volvo Golf Champions Durban CC, Durban, SA

Jan 16-19: Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship Abu Dhabi GC, Abu Dhabi, UAE

Jan 22-25: Commercialbank Qatar Masters Doha GC, Doha, Qatar (Saturday finish)

Jan 30-Feb 2: Omega Dubai Desert Classic Emirates GC, Dubai, UAE

Feb 6-9: Joburg Open Royal Johannesburg & Kensington GC, Johannesburg, SA

Feb 13-16: Africa Open East London GC, East London, Eastern Cape, SA

Feb 19-23: WGC – Accenture Match Play Championship Ritz-Carlton GC, Dove Mountain, Marana, Arizona, USA

Feb 27-Mar 2: Tshwane Open Copperleaf Golf & Country Estate, Centurion, SA

Mar 6-9: WGC- Cadillac Championship Doral Golf Resort & Spa, Doral, Florida, USA

Mar 13-16: Trophee Hassan II Golf du Palais Royal, Agadir, Morocco

Mar 20-23: TBC

Mar 28-30: Eurasia Cup presented by DRB-HICOM Glenmarie G&CC, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Apr 3-6: TBC

Apr 10-13: Masters Tournament Augusta National, Georgia, USA

Apr 17-20: Maybank Malaysian Open Kuala Lumpur G&CC, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Apr 24-27: Volvo China Open Genzon GC, Shenzhen, China

May 1-4: The Championship Blackstone GC, Icheon, Seoul, South Korea

May 8-11: Madeira Islands Open Clube de Golf Santo da Serra, Santo Antonio da Serra, Madeira

May 15-18: Open de Espana TBC

May 22-25: BMW PGA Championship Wentworth Club, Surrey, England

May 29-June 1: Nordea Masters PGA Sweden National, Lake Course, Malmo, Sweden

June 5-8: Lyoness Open powered by Greenfinity Diamond CC, Atzenbrugg, near Vienna, Austria

June 12-15: US Open Championship Pinehurst Resort, Pinehurst, North Carolina, USA

June 12-15: Najeti Hotels et Golfs Open Aa St Omer GC, Lumbres, France

June 19-22: The Irish Open TBC

June 26-29: BMW International Open Golf Club Gut Larchenhof, Cologne, Germany

July 3-6: Alstom Open de France Le Golf National, Paris, France

July 10-13: Aberdeen Asset M’ment Scottish Open Royal Aberdeen, Aberdeen, Scotland

July 17-20: 143rd Open Championship Royal Liverpool GC, Hoylake, England

July 24-27: M2M Russian Open TBC

July 31-Aug 3: WGC – Bridgestone Invitational Firestone GC, Akron, Ohio, USA

Aug 7-10: US PGA Championship Valhalla GC, Louisville, Kentucky, USA

Aug 14-17: Made In Denmark Himmerland Golf & Spa Resort, Denmark

Aug 21-24: D+D Real Czech Masters Albatross Golf Resort, Prague, Czech Republic

Aug 28-31: Italian Open Circolo Golf Torino – La Mandria, Fiano, Torino, Italy

Sept 4-7: Omega European Masters Crans-sur-Sierre GC, Crans Montana, Switzerland

Sept 11-14: KLM Open Kennemer G&CC, Zandvoort, The Netherlands

Sept 18-21: ISPS Handa Wales Open The Celtic Manor Resort, City of Newport, South Wales

Sept 26-28: The 2014 Ryder Cup Gleneagles, Scotland

Oct 2-5: Alfred Dunhill Links Championship Old Course St Andrews, Carnoustie and Kingsbarns, Scotland

Oct 9-12: Portugal Masters Oceanico Victoria GC, Vilamoura, Portugal

Oct 16-19: Volvo World Match Play Championship TBC

Oct 23-26: Perth International TBC

Oct 30-2: Nov BMW Masters Lake Malaren GC, Shanghai, China

Nov 6-9: WGC – HSBC Champions Sheshan International GC, Shanghai, China

Nov 13-16: Turkish Airlines Open The Montgomerie Maxx Royal, Antalya, Turkey

Nov 20-23: DP World Tour Championship, Dubai Jumeirah Golf Estates, Dubai, UAE