European Tour group partners with the NEXT Golf Tour Powered by Trackman
Trackman has reached a new agreement with the European Tour group that will see the Order of Merit winner on the NEXT Golf Tour receive invites to play in DP World Tour and Challenge Tour events in 2024.
The NEXT Golf Tour is a new professional golf tour for women and men played on Trackman simulators bringing all the skill and intensity of tournament competition to the great indoors. During the inaugural season, 994 players from 41 countries competed in six 18-hole stroke play tournaments and took home a combined $834,000 in prize money. Season Two, which will feature more events, larger purses and other enhancements, begins in November.
With this innovative agreement, the winner of the Order of Merit will earn the opportunity to test their skills in a real-world environment. The 2024 NEXT Golf Tour champion will receive invitations to three tournaments on the Challenge Tour and one tournament on the DP World Tour during the 2024 season. The details on which specific tournaments the winner will compete in will be announced in due course.
Speaking about the new partnership, Trackman Co-Founder and CEO Klaus Eldrup-Jørgensen said, “We created the NEXT Golf Tour to provide the many incredible players on tours around the world a new way to earn income and develop their brands as professional golfers. Season One was just the beginning, and we are excited to partner with the European Tour group to help a new generation of players chase their dreams in professional golf.”
Ben Cowen, Chief Tournament Business Officer at the European Tour group, added: “Both Trackman and the European Tour group share a vision — to attract new audiences to this great game, make it more accessible, and develop golf’s future stars. Thanks to the technological innovation of Trackman, virtual golf is now incredibly sophisticated and realistic. It is also a tool regularly used by Challenge Tour and DP World Tour players to hone their skills and equipment when they are away from the course. We look forward to seeing the Season Two winner teeing it up in 2024.”
EUROPEAN TOUR GROUP COMMUNICATIONS
Wentworth Drive | Virginia Water | Surrey | GU25 4LX | UNITED KINGDOM
Tel : +44 (0)1344 840400
Email : media@europeantourgroup.com
Twitter: @DPWorldTour
Facebook: DP World Tour
Web: www.dpworldtour.com
About Trackman
Proudly based in Vedbæk, Denmark, Trackman is the world’s leading developer of radar tracking technology for use in golf performance analysis. The iconic Trackman 4 launch monitor — aka “the little orange box” — is trusted by elite players, coaches, equipment manufacturers and club fitters to provide ultra-precise data on virtually every aspect of club motion and ball flight.
Trackman is the official provider of club and ball tracking and tracing data to the PGA TOUR for broadcast on TV and digital platforms. Trackman Range and Trackman Simulator solutions bring our tour-proven technology to the masses, featuring the best practice, virtual golf and entertainment software in the industry.
Learn more at NEXTGolfTour.com and Trackman.com.
About the European Tour group
The European Tour group is the overarching corporate brand which administers five competition brands: the DP World Tour, the Challenge Tour, the Legends Tour, the G4D Tour and, along with the PGA of America, is the Managing Partner of golf’s greatest team contest, the Ryder Cup.
Established in 1972, the European Tour group is committed to ‘Driving Golf Further’ through our guiding principles of being innovative, inclusive and global.
Innovative: We are driving innovation in golf through the creation of award-winning content, pioneering tournament formats and the use of the latest technology and inventive fan engagement. We are committed to attracting new audiences whilst respecting the tradition of our sport.
Inclusive: We are committed to include all who share a love for the game of golf. We are passionate about a closer collaboration with the women’s game, disability golf and promoting the many physical and mental health benefits of playing golf.
Global: Since 1972, players from 37 different countries have won tournaments on our main Tour, while our live broadcast reaches more than 490 million homes in more than 150 countries every week, generating in excess of 2,200 global broadcast hours for each event. We also enjoy the support of many of the world’s leading business brands with DP World, Rolex, BMW, Emirates, Fortinet and Hilton as Official Partners.
The European Tour group has Strategic Alliances with the PGA TOUR, the Sunshine Tour, and the ISPS Handa PGA Tour of Australasia, while we also drive positive community impact through our overarching CSR programme, Golf for Good.