European Tour expansion: East meets West

1972 : The European Tour is founded, the total prize fund of all tournaments is £250,000.

In 2007, the Tour's international schedule consists of 49 tournaments in 26 countries with total prize money of €122,117,096 (£81,806,797).

1982 : The Tunisian Open at El Kantaoui is the first time the European Tour moves outside of the borders of Europe.

1989 : Sam Torrance wins the first ever Dubai Desert Classic, held at the Emirates Club.

1992 The first Johnnie Walker Asian Classic, Bangkok

1997 : Valderrama in Spain is the first course in continental Europe to host the Ryder Cup

1998 The first Qatar Masters was won by Andrew Coltart

2002 : Jose Maria Olazabal wins first ever co-sanctioned Hong Kong Open

2005 : New Zealand Open is added to the European Tour event itinerary

2008 : The first ever Indian Masters, at the New Delhi Golf Club. The prize fund is the largest of any sporting event ever held in India. It is wholly controlled by the European Tour, creating a rift with the Asian Tour and the Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI).

© 2007 The Irish Times

This article appears in the print edition of the Irish Times