The 2012 European Race to Dubai Tour will take the unprecedented step of commencing the new season with five events in succession in South Africa.

As well, next year’s season will kick start sooner than it ever has in the past with the co-sanctioned Alfred Dunhill Championship to be played from November 17th to 20th at the Leopard Creek Club at Malelane.

In that same week there will be a second Race to Dubai event with the inaugural co-sanctioned Iskandar Johor Open in Johor and triple Major Champion Padraig Harrington has confirmed he will defend in what still is his last victory anywhere.

The Serengeti Golf and Wildlife Estates course to debut on the Southern Africa and European Tour's later this year with the staging of the pretigious South African Open.

The co-sanctioned South African Open will then be staged the following week from November 24th to 27th at the spectacular Serengeti Golf and Wildlife Estate course at Gauteng.   The Jack Nicklaus designed Masai Mara course was opened in June 2009 and it’s the first time a major event will be held on the course.

The New Year proper will commence with the Africa Open from January 5th to 9th and again at the East London Club at Eastern Cape.

The Joburg Open will be staged a week later at the Royal Johannesburg and Kensington Golf Club in Johannesburg.

And making-up the five event ‘South Africa Swing’ will be the Volvo Champions event that is switching to South Africa due to continuing civil unrest in Bahrain.

England’s Paul Casey captured the inaugural tournament earlier this year and shortly before unrest caused the abandonment of the season-starting Bahrain F1 Grand Prix.

Volvo Champions organisers were in South Africa last week agreeing on a location with the famed Fancourt course to be likely venue for the event taking place from January 19th to 22nd.

The Race to Dubai will then head to the Middle East for the staging of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, Commerical Bank Qatar Masters and the Omega Dubai Desert Classic.

The 2012 European Race to Dubai schedule of events (up to the 2012 Masters), that all count towards qualifying for the 2012 Ryder Cup, is as follows:

2011

November 17 – 20      Alfred Dunhill Championship, Leopard Creek CC, Malelane, South Africa.

November 17 – 20      Iskander Johor Open, Horizon Hills GCC, Johor, Bahru.

November 24 – 27      South African Open Championship, Masai Mara course, Serengeti Golf and Wildlife Estate course, Gauteny, South Africa.

2012

January 5- 8                Africa Open, East London GC, East London, Eastern Cape, South Afrcia

January 12 – 15           Joburg Open, Royal Johannesburg & Kensington GC, Johannesburg

January 19 – 22           Volvo Champions (Venue TBC)

January 26 – 29           Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, Abu Dhabi GC, Abu Dhabi UAE

February 2 – 5             Commercial Bank Qatar Masters, Doha GC, Qatar

February 9 – 12           Omega Dubai Desert Classic, Emirates GC, Dubai, UAE

February 16 – 19         Avantha Masters, India  (Venue TBC).

February 22 – 26        WGC – Accenture Match-Play Championship, Dove Mountain, Marina, Arizona  USA

March  8 – 11               WGC – Cadillac Championship, Doral Golf Resort & Spa, Doral, Florida, USA

March 15 – 18              Andalucian Open, Spain  (Venue TBC)

March 22 – 25             Hassan 11 Trophy,  Golf du Palais Royal Agadir, Morocco’

March 29 – April 1      Sicilian Open, Sicily, Italy  (Venue TBC)

April 5 – 8                     Masters, Augusta, Georgia, USA