At its recent meeting at The 146th Open Championship, the Governing Board of the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) approved the inclusion of the Sunshine Tour Big Easy Tour (BET) into the OWGR System.

Following the recent announcement that from 2018, the Sunshine Big Easy Tour tournaments will be scheduled over a minimum of 54 holes with a 36-hole cut, the BET now fulfils the requirements for inclusion in the OWGR.

The BET forms an integral part of the world’s professional golf structure, providing a pathway to the Sunshine Tour where the leading five players from the final Order of Merit are awarded Sunshine Tour exemption status for the following season. Additionally, the leading 5 to 30 players from the final BET Order of Merit are given exemptions into the Sunshine Tour’s final stage of Qualifying School.

The Sunshine Big Easy Tour will be introduced to the OWGR System at minimum points levels of 3 first place points for 54 hole tournaments and 5 first place points for 72 hole tournaments, effective OWGR Week 1 - week ending January 7th 2018.

The Governing Board also announced that the Asian Tour’s Indonesian Masters is to acquire OWGR Flagship Tournament status in place of the Thailand Golf Championship, effective immediately. The winner will receive a minimum of 20 first place points.

For more information on the Sunshine Big Easy Tour visit - http://bigeasytour.co.za/