A new deal struck between the tour and Dubai-based developer Leisurecorp will be announced this week, according to UK newspaper the Guardian.
It was feared that the Dubai company was about to withdraw its support of the European Tour altogether after months of negotiations. Under an original agreement, Leisurecorp agreed to sponsor the Tour for five years, with an option to extend for another five years.
The new deal means the season-ending Dubai World Championship will carry a $7.5 million prize fund, down from $10 million, and the season-long points event Race to Dubai will be worth a similar amount.
“On paper, this new deal doesn't look like good news but when you think that the whole house of cards might have fallen – and many of us did – it is a bit of a triumph,'” one source close to the new arrangement told the Guardian. “Let's face it, the top players are hardly going to end up in the poorhouse. They have all been told about it and have accepted what is happening.”
Dubai has suffered a severe financial downturn over the past two years, with property prices collapsing. Leisurecorp, which struck the deal with the Tour, was taken over by another government-owned company, Nakheel, who asked Leisurecorp's creditors to accept a reduction in the money they were owed, up to 50 per cent in some cases.
