If anyone out there has $200 million burning a hole in their pocket, just know that we never really liked the name “The Fried Egg” in the first place.

Touché

The European Tour is no more… kind of. Early Tuesday morning, the European Tour and DP World announced that the tour will be rebranded as the DP World Tour starting with the 2022 season. The 10-year agreement includes an expansion of the Rolex Series (the tour’s set of premiere events) and an increase in annual prize money to over $200 million. A 2022 schedule was released as well.

In early 2020, reports of the European Tour’s financial struggles began to emerge. The pandemic shutdown hit the tour hard, and total prize money outside of the majors and the WGCs fell from $130 million in 2019 to $70 million in 2020. Meanwhile, rumblings of well-financed competing golf leagues bubbled up, making the European Tour appear even more vulnerable.

Since then, the tour has made various moves to protect itself. First came the “strategic alliance” with the PGA Tour, and now this partnership with Dubai-based DP World. Clearly, the European Tour is looking for ways to deter its members from jumping ship to the next big thing, whether that’s a Saudi-backed series on the Asian Tour or a new independent global tour. The DP World partnership is certainly an ambitious step in that direction. In 2022, the purses for all European Tour events outside of the majors and WGCs will add up to a record $140 million.

No doubt the European Tour DP World Tour has strengthened its financial position since the dark times last year. Now comes the hard part.

Starting Times

Tony Finau, Brooks Koepka, Sam Burns, and Scottie Scheffler headline the field at the Hewlett Packard Enterprise Houston Open.

The battle for the No. 1 spot in the Rolex Rankings continues at the Pelican Women’s Championship on the LPGA Tour. (For many players, 2022 LPGA Tour status is also on the line this week. More on that in Friday’s newsletter.)

Ryder Cuppers Paul Casey, Tommy Fleetwood, and Bernd Wiesberger are among the notables at the European Tour’s AVIV Dubai Championship.

Quick Hooks

Zack Fischer birdied the 72nd hole in the Final Stage of Korn Ferry Tour Q-School to earn fully exempt status for 2022. Luis Gagne, Garett Reband, Will Gordon, Steven Fisk, and Kyle Westmoreland also earned guaranteed starts. Those who fell short may filter into KFT fields next spring and can improve their status with high finishes.

A new PGA Tour event is set for 2022: the Mexico Open will take place at Vidanta Vallarta from April 25 to May 1, with Grupo Salinas as the official partner.

Austin Ernst won a two-year lease on a Lamborghini for making a hole-in-one at the LPGA Pelican Women’s Championship pro-am.

The Latest from The Fried Egg

Paulie’s Picks: Hewlett Packard Enterprise Houston Open – PGA Tour + municipal golf course + Tom Doak = fantasy golf confusion. Don’t worry, Paulie has you covered.

The Fried Egg Podcast: Trevor Immelman – The 2008 Masters champion and 2022 International team captain for the Presidents Cup joins Andy for a wide-ranging discussion. Listen on iTunes, Stitcher, and Spotify.

The Shotgun Start – Persevering through bad wifi, Andy and Brendan discuss what’s happening on the PGA, LPGA, and European—ahem, DP World tours. Listen on iTunes, Stitcher, and Spotify.

Pro Shop

With Thanksgiving just two weeks away, we’re starting to think golf towels might make a decent bib. Our classic TFE logo towel and Alternate Logo Towel should do the trick!