Shanghai start for European Tour

Next season’s European tour will again open with the HSBC Champions tournament at the Sheshan International course outside Shanghai.

The event is the one in which David Howell achieved the best win of his career last November, beating Tiger Woods head-to-head on the final day.

A week later, on November 16-19, Fanling once more hosts the Hong Kong Open, where Colin Montgomerie achieved his 30th European tour title at the end of last year.

The tour then heads further south for the New Zealand Open at Gulf Harbour on November 23-26 and then the MasterCard Masters in Melbourne, Australia, before crossing to South Africa for the dunhill championship at Leopard Creek on December 7-10 and the South African Airways Open in Port Elizabeth.