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Chief executive Keith Pelley described it as "a critical
game-changer" after announcing that seven tournaments offering
minimum purses of $7 million would feature in the new series
next year.
It will begin with the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth in May
and continue in July with the Irish Open hosted by the Rory
Foundation and the Scottish Open.
The fourth event is the Italian Open in Rome in October before
the series, and the season, ends in November with the Turkish
Airlines Open, the Nedbank Challenge in South Africa and the DP
World Tour Championship in Dubai.
"The thing about it is all our resources are magnified and as a
result we believe it will be our best fields, our best
tournaments and it will lead to a significantly enhanced
European Tour brand," Pelley told Sky Sports on Tuesday.
"There are a number of reasons why we brought it in but one is
the fact we wanted something from the financial perspective that
would allow the young players to have an opportunity to choose
where they wanted to play and they didn't have to go to the
United States.
"We are very optimistic this is a critical point for us and a
critical game-changer for the European Tour," the Canadian
added.
World number two McIlroy, fourth-ranked Stenson, number 14
Justin Rose and 15th-ranked Sergio Garcia are among the European
elite who currently elect to play most of their golf on the more
lucrative U.S. PGA Tour.
Pelley, who took over from George O'Grady just over a year ago,
wants the tour to be more innovative with its ideas and
announced plans this year for a new six-hole event incorporating
a shot clock, music, different clothes and fewer clubs.
Last month's British Masters on the outskirts of London also
featured the floodlit Hero Challenge one-hole knockout event
where the players arrived on the tee to a noisy welcome from the
fans with dazzling pyrotechnics up ahead on the green.
(Editing by John O'Brien)
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