New DPWT schedule will force fascinating Ryder Cup decision

The DP World Tour released its 2027 schedule on Wednesday — and it featured a few notable changes.

There are some big-time additions. The Singapore Open (in April, now presented by Deutsche Bank) and the Hong Kong Open (in October) will be co-sanctioned with the Asian Tour. LIV Golf had played events in both places several times in recent years; their realignment with the DP World Tour is a story in and of itself.

The Open de Portugal (in May) also returns to the schedule for the first time since 2020 and adds to the DP World Tour’s roster of historic national opens. Those national opens have been a major focus of the tour as it seeks to double down on the significance and meaning of its global calendar. (The DPWT has been referring to itself as “Golf’s Global Tour,” including in this new schedule release.)

There also may be some events disappearing from the schedule. There’s a “TBC” as part of the Asian Swing in March, and the Hero Indian Open is no longer on the schedule. There’s also a “TBC” in August, where the Danish Golf Championship has vanished. There’s a final “TBC” in late October, just before the postseason — a spot that had been filled by the Genesis Championship in South Korea. The Austrian Alpine Open and the Nexo Championship (in Scotland) are also missing from the calendar.

You can read more about those changes here. I’m particularly intrigued, though, by two scheduling specifics.

First is the Irish Open, which is moving from its current spot in September back to the first week of July. That means it will kick off a formidable trio of tournaments: the Irish Open, then the Scottish Open, then the Open Championship.

Fans of links golf have been clamoring for this exact change. There’s a romance to the PGA Tour’s overseas swing, after all; seeing pros chase daylight at North Berwick often serves as a remember to both them and us that they do in fact love this sport. And while it’s worth noting that the 2027 Irish Open won’t be played on a links course — it’s held at the parkland K Club in Co. Kildare — the atmosphere will still contribute to the weekslong build-up to the Open.

Still, unlike the Scottish Open, the Irish is not co-sanctioned with the PGA Tour, so it will be interesting to see how players structure their schedules — most notably the past two Irish Open champs, Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry. Playing everything would mean going U.S. Open-Travelers Championship-Irish Open-Scottish Open-Open Championship, an exhausting, though exhilarating five-week jaunt. My prediction? We won’t see McIlroy at TPC River Highlands for that Signature Event, and we may not see Lowry, either. (We definitely won’t see either at the John Deere Classic, which runs opposite the Irish.)

I’ll also be interested to see if any big-time pros opt to play the Irish Open but skip the Scottish; some guys prefer to have a restful week off heading into a major championship. Something to monitor.

The second spot that has my attention is the schedule around the Ryder Cup. The PGA Tour’s season finale, the Tour Championship, runs Aug. 26-29. There are no PGA Tour events in the two weeks that follow, but there are two DP World Tour events, the Omega European Masters (in Switzerland) and the FedEx Open de France.

Will we see Team Europe convene in the Swiss Alps two weeks ahead of the Ryder Cup for team bonding, fondue and milk chocolate? Will the American side take those two weeks as the appropriate rest before heading to Adare Manor? It’ll be a fascinating dynamic for the captains to work through.

Then there’s the week that follows the Ryder Cup: the BMW PGA Championship, one of the DP World Tour’s flagship events, which will happen just a short flight away from the Ryder Cup at Wentworth in England. I’d expect just about the entire European team will be playing. The question is whether they’ll be coming off a team victory when they do — and how many Americans stay across the pond to play too.

What does any and all of this mean for the future of the DP World Tour? It’s all too murky to say. The timing of the schedule release is particularly interesting in the context of its surrounding tours. Earlier this week, the PGA Tour released its eligibility criteria for the all-new 2028 top-tier Championship Series; buried in that announcement was a giant “TBD” when it comes to the future of the Tour’s relationship and strategic alliance with the DPWT.

There’s also the matter of LIV’s future; the league is going through bankruptcy but is also expected to communicate something about its vision for 2027 to players this week. PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp made it clear he doesn’t plan to roll out the red carpet to LIV pros hoping to return; it’s unclear how much softer the landing will be on the DP World Tour.

So there’s plenty we know, but even more that we don’t. No need to get ahead of ourselves; enjoy this week’s DPWT offering, the BMW PGA Championship. We’ll get to next year when we get there.