The European Tour has reached an agreement to add an unofficial event at Lake Malaren in Shanghai to the official 2012 schedule.
Played as the unofficial Shanghai Masters last fall, BMW will become title sponsor of the renamed BMW Masters. Lake Malaren Golf Club will host the tournament from Oct. 25-28 and feature a purse of $7 million.
Rory McIlroy won the inaugural event, defeating Anthony Kim in a playoff. Despite earning no points toward the Official World Golf Ranking for the win, McIlroy earned $2 million for first place - the richest in the sport.
A year ago, McIlroy topped a field of 30 players. This fall, the official event will feature a 78-player field headlined by the current world No. 1.
The 2012 European Tour schedule will now have 47 events, with the BMW PGA Championship and BMW International Open as the other events to bear the name of the German automaker.