The 2009 European Tour International Schedule will herald an exciting new era in the game with the introduction of The Race To Dubai and, in recognition of this significant development, The European Tour today unveil the restyled branding which will reflect that evolution.

Through discussions with the players and with Leisurecorp, with whom we are partners in The Race to Dubai and The Dubai World Championship, we confirmed the importance of linking the past with the future. With golf this is especially valid because of the tradition of the game and its continuing global growth with which The European Tour is delighted to be associated.

Harry Vardon is an iconic figure whom many identify as the first touring professional and the world skyline provides an invocative image of the stage on which the players of The European Tour now compete. In bringing them together in the new branding we respect tradition and recognise the future.

Vardon’s vision in 1912 is interesting in that after his travels to the Continent and to the United States he “found evidence of great enthusiasm for the game in other parts of the world.” Vardon wrote of receiving invitations to Australia, India, South Africa and other countries and, although deeming to be “so very many driver shots away that I have hesitated to leave my native teeing-ground,” he pointed out that “Golf is now the game of all nations as it deserves to be.”

The new European Tour identity will be officially introduced at the start of The 2009 European Tour International Schedule in November when The Race to Dubai – a US$10,000,000 season-long competition for the world’s leading golfers - will culminate in the Number 1 to 60 players qualifying for the US$10,000,000 Dubai World Championship.

The Dubai World Championship will be played on the Earth Course at Jumeirah Golf Estates in Dubai, UAE, from November 19-22, 2009, at which time a player could face the prospect of standing over a putt for US$3,666,660 to capture the title, Number One position in The Race to Dubai and The Harry Vardon Trophy.