Starting with the inaugural Qualifying School at Almenara Golf Club in the Spanish resort Sotogrande in the Cadiz province from February 13 to 16, the tour features a total of 21 tournaments, making maiden voyages to Spain, South Africa, Egypt and Kuwait.
The introduction of the Q-School will pave the way for the MENA Tour to become eligible for Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) status.
“We are delighted to announce a very strong schedule, which is almost double in size in comparison to last year when we had 11 events,” said Mohamed Juma Buamaim, chairman of the MENA Golf Tour.
“I am confident that we are headed for truly exciting times ahead. The journey that began in 2011 has picked up the momentum, which is a good sign, but we need more backing from the corporate world to put things on cruise control.”
The Sunshine Tour partnership will see its five top professionals on the Order of Merit earn full playing privileges on the South Africa-based tour.
Tour players, ranked between six and 15, will qualify for the final stage of the Sunshine Tour’s Qualifying School in a move aimed at creating meaningful playing opportunities for young players knocking on the door.
Three MENA tournaments — all to be played in Johannesburg in June —will be co-sanctioned by the Sunshine Tour. The field for each event will consist of 60 players from the MENA Tour and 60 more from the Sunshine and Big Easy Tours.
“We are delighted to forge this new mutually-beneficial partnership with the Sunshine Tour which marks a new dawn for players on the MENA Golf Tour,” said MENA Tour patron Darren Clarke, who is this year’s European Ryder Cup captain.
“A lot of fresh talent coming up through the ranks over the last few years, but the opportunities to play are limited. This exchange programme with the South African tour will provide another platform for young professionals to develop and showcase their skills on a global basis.”
Meanwhile, the top 60 players from the 54-hole Q-School in Spain will be eligible for Category-7 membership of the MENA Golf Tour for the 2016.
The leading 12 players will also share a prize fund of $13,000 with the winner walking away with a cheque for $3,000 while the top 15 will receive complimentary Mena Golf Tour membership for 2016.
Added incentives for MENA Golf Tour members include multiple European Tour starts, including the Omega Dubai Desert Classic, the Hassan II Trophy and the Maybank Championship Malaysia in addition to exemptions into the Final Stage of the Asian Tour Q-School for the leading three professionals.