The PGA Tour Champions has entered a five-year agreement to add a new tournament in Morocco beginning in 2020, marking the first time a PGA Tour circuit will hold a sanctioned stroke-play event in Africa.
The inaugural Morocco Champions will debut Jan. 30-Feb. 1 next year at Samanah Golf Club in Marrakesh. The event, which will feature a Saturday finish, will include 66 players vying for a $2 million purse. The announcement continues a global expansion trend for the over-50 circuit, which added its first event in Japan in 2017.
“As we enter 2020, the globalization of golf is at an all-time high and it’s important for us to look at opportunities to bring these legends of the game to fans around the world,” said PGA Tour Champions president Miller Brady. “The Morocco Champions will allow us to do just that, and we’re eager to build a tremendous debut tournament.”
Morocco currently hosts the Trophee Hassan II each year on the European Tour as well as an event on the Ladies’ European Tour. The only other PGA Tour-sanctioned events held in Africa were both team events in South Africa, the 1996 World Cup and the 2003 Presidents Cup.