PGA EuroPro Tour included in Official World Golf Rankings

Winners on the HotelPlanner.com PGA EuroPro Tour are to earn points towards the Official World Golf Ranking starting from this week’s Wealth Design Invitational.

The PGA EuroPro Tour, along with the other three third-tier satellite tours in Europe, will enter the OWGR system from this week, with a minimum level of four points awarded to first place in a 54-hole event.

The winner of the Wealth Design Invitational, to be staged at Hawkstone Park Golf Club this week, will be the first EuroPro champion to earn Official World Golf Ranking points. Players finishing in the top four will all earn points.

The winner of the Clipper Logistics Players Championship at Moor Allerton Golf Club in August, the first 72-hole event to be played on a European Tour third-tier satellite, will earn six OWGR points with the top six golfers all earning OWGR points.

Daniel Godding, director of operations at the HotelPlanner.com PGA EuroPro Tour, said: “This is very exciting news. It is something that has been in the pipeline for some time now and it is great news that the governing body of OWGR have approved our inclusion in the points system.

“As noted by the board, the tour forms an integral part of the European professional golf structure and I am thrilled that the standard of play on this tour has been recognised by OWGR by way of inclusion in the system.”

OWGR Points Breakdown for HotelPlanner.com PGA EuroPro Tour events:

Official Events from the leading professional tours from around the world are eligible for Ranking Points which are awarded according to the tournaments strength of field and the players finishing position.

The World Ranking Points for each player are accumulated over a two year “rolling” period with the points awarded for each event maintained for a 13-week period to place additional emphasis on recent performances.

Ranking points are then reduced in equal decrements for the remaining 91 weeks of the two year Ranking period. Each player is then ranked according to his average points per tournament, which is determined by dividing his total number of points by the tournaments he has played over that two-year period.

There is a minimum divisor of 40 tournaments over the two year ranking period and a maximum divisor of a player’s last 52 events.

Rory McIlroy is currently the world ranked No.1 golfer, with Jordan Spieth ranked second and Bubba Watson third.

The PGA EuroPro Tour is Europe’s leading development tour, and the European Tour’s satellite in the UK and Ireland.

Offering direct access to the Challenge Tour through the final Order of Merit, PGA EuroPro Tour players will compete for over £800,000 of prize money in 2015, with the top five golfers at the end of the season awarded a category on the 2016 Challenge Tour.

Providing vital experience of life on tour, players will compete in 15 main events at some of the UK and Ireland’s premier golfing venues, including Celtic Manor, Prince’s, Chart Hills and The Carrick on Loch Lomond.

The season concludes with the Tour’s top 60 players contending the Tour Championship. Players qualify to play on the HotelPlanner.com PGA EuroPro Tour either through a two-stage Qualifying School in the spring, or thanks to their 2014 achievements.

The HotelPlanner.com PGA EuroPro Tour provides Europe’s best up-and-coming golfers the chance to gain necessary experience of life on tour, and in particular in front of the TV cameras.

A two-hour highlights package from each event is broadcast on Sky Sports, and on networks around the world including Fox International across Asia, Fox Sports Australia, Fox Sports in Turkey, Greece, Malta and Cyprus and StarHub in Singapore. In addition, every event is available to watch on demand in high definition online.

The HotelPlanner.com PGA EuroPro Tour has played a pivotal part in the early careers of some of the biggest names in golf including major winners and Ryder Cup stars.