The 5th edition of Turkish Open is opening the race for the World Tour number 1 title with an FIFG 250 tournament this week.

TURKISH OPEN 2019
8-10th March, Kaya Palazzo Golf Club, Belek/Antalya

Schedule:
8th March, Friday
- Registration (starts at 14:00)
- Practice day on 18 Holes (course is open for training from 14:00)
- Draw and welcome cocktail (21:00)

9th March, Saturday
- Tournament on 18 Holes (14:00)

10th March, Sunday
- Tournament on 18 Holes (14:00)
- Award ceremony (20:00)

Argentina has already given two individual champions of the world to FootGolf. In the home of Christian Otero and Matias Perrone, the last Major of the year will be held close to place of the 2016 FIFG World Cup.

The Major in Argentina is going to be held from November 28th to December 1st at Praderas Golf Club, Lujan, Buenos Aires.

​Javier de Ancizar, President of the Asociación Argentina de FootGolf, says, “The course is the same as was used for the Major in 2018. It is very challenging with water hazards, trees, slopes, and out of bounds that make each shot count.”
 
The cash purse will be USD 7500 plus USD 2500 for the team competition. The course is at Lujan city, located 70 kilometers away from Ezeiza Airport and Buenos Aires City. It is 15 minutes away from Pilar Golf, the course used for the 2016 World Cup. As in the prior year, the final stage of the Argentine Professional League with be run on practice day beside the Major.
 
“This competition means a lot to us, hosting one of the four most important tournaments in the world is a real honor and we are very proud of this. Welcoming players from different countries – knowing that Argentina is far away for most of the players – is really amazing. It makes us work harder in order to assure the best possible event. As for the details, we are working on them and we are going to publish them during the next few weeks.“

Here you can see the FIFG 250 ranked tournament with the dates in Europe, America and Asia/Oceania.

​Europe
THE NETHERLANDS – 3.03.2019 or 15.09.2019
TURKEY – 8-9-10.03.2019
SPAIN – 12-13.04.2019
FRANCE – 11-12.05.2019
AUSTRIA – 24-25-26.05.2019
SLOVENIA – 28-29-30.06.2019
FRANCE – 13-14.07.2019
LUXEMBOURG – 13-14.07.2019
GERMANY – 3-4.08.2019 or 17-18.08.2019
BELGIUM – 23-24-25.08.2019
SWITZERLAND – 31.08.2019-1.09.2019
UK – 2-3-4.09.2019
HUNGARY – 8.09.2019
ITALY – 23-24.11.2019

​The Americas and Asia/Oceania:
CHINESE TAIPEI – 7-8.03.2019 or 18-19-07-2019 or 19-20.09.2019
AUSTRALIA – 17-18-19.05.2019
CHINA – 8-9.06.2019 or 26-27.10.2019
MEXICO – 28--29-30.06.2019 or 6-7-8.12.2019
ARGENTINA – 3-4.08.2019
BRAZIL – 9-10-11.08.2019
USA – 9-11.11.2019
AUSTRALIA – 22-23-24.11.2019

The InterAmerican FootGolf Tour starts this year under the umbrella of the Federation for International FootGolf.

​All World Tour tournaments held in “The America’s” will be part of the tour. Established for FIFG Affiliated Players only, the winners will be the players with more points based on the following guideline:
Categories: Absolute/Senior/Women
FIFG 1000 Major: 1 (max 1000 points)
FIFG 500: 1  (max 500 points)
FIFG 250: 1  (max 250 points)
FIFG 100: 3  (max 300 points)
FIFG 50: 3  (max 150 points)
​Total: 9 tournaments
Max points: 2200

Before organizing the second edition of Euro Footgolf, the United Kingdom will host a Major at the end of the summer. Magnolia Park, near Oxford, will be the home of the champions in this period of the year.

“The course at Magnolia Park was first used in 2016 for the English Open and staged of the UK Open in 2017 and 2018. The course has been re-designed for each event and will once again go through an update for the UK Open and Euro Footgolf in 2019,” said tournament director Paul Oliver. “The greenkeeper at Magnolia Park is outstanding and allows us to utilise all areas of his course, meaning we can really create something magical for the players. Of course, it is a typical Paul Oliver design to test the best mentally, physically and technically. Players will have to think about all shots from tee to green and calculate when to take a risk and attack or when to respect the course and the designer,” he added with a smile on his face. “Our last two winners — Liam Shutes and Antonio Balestra — have totally different games, which you can see in the design that a player really needs every shot to win on this course.”

The organizers hope that the cash purse will be the largest ever seen in the UK because the aim is to reward the players travelling across the world all year on the World Tour. “Clearly there is a need to reward players but there can be only one winner, so my main focus will be on making sure that all players feel like champions and have a fantastic time at the UK Open.”

This is the first FIFG Major the UK will host since its inception.

“I’m sure players know my attention to detail to create an unforgettable experience for the players. It’s also a great opportunity for the British players who haven’t got the option to leave our shores to play footgolf against some of the best around the world. I’m delighted to be working once again with the volunteer team from the World Cup, so we’ll have a team of staff including French, Spanish and Hungarian. These people were the unsung heroes in Marrakech, working from dawn till dusk for the love of the game.”

Besides the main event, they always stage the National Pairs Championship at the UK Open, which starts on Friday night, where anyone can enter in a pair. Teams will play an 18 hole qualifier and then on Saturday evening a series of short knockout matches until the final two pairs play the 18th hole to decide the winners. Last year, Michael Wilkes and Evgeniy Levchenko won an all Dutch final. Players are also invited to stay on after the UK Open and compete in the InterNational (FIFG250), which will take place at the Celtic Manor Resort on the 3rd and 4th of September. The event will take place on both mornings with Team UK and USA playing the Jansen Cup in the afternoon. The field at Celtic Manor is strictly limited to 120 players.

REGISTRATION

The first European Major in 2019 will be held in Udine, Italy on the first weekend of July. The cash purse can reach the €15.000 shared among the footgolfers after the three-day-long tournament played on 36 brand new holes.

“We are very proud to host a major tournament for the third time in a row. It’s a demonstration of how good we are working for footgolf in our country” told the FIFG website Leonardo Decaria, president of the Associazione Italiana FootGolf (AIFG).
“We will return playing at Udine, but with some important news. The old course has been totally renewed and a second one has been built, so there are 36 brand new holes waiting for the players. Of course, there will be evening programs and parties for the footgolfers every day.”
The cash purse may rise up to €15.000 related to the number of participating players. Registration starts on April 1st.
Follow the AIFG page and Facebook site and do not miss the 7th Italian Open held 4-7th July in 2019.

Here you can find the FIFG 500 tournaments in 2019 across the world.
EUROPE

IRELAND - 04-05-06.05.2019
SLOVAKIA - 10-11-12.05.2019 
HUNGARY - 17-18-19.05.2019
THE NETHERLANDS - 7-8-9.06.2019
FRANCE - 14-15-16.06.2019 
SWITZERLAND - 21-22-23.06.2019
SPAIN - 11-12-13.10.2019 
PORTUGAL - 14-15-16-17.11.2019
ASIA/OCEANIA
CHINA - 02-03-04.08.2019
JAPAN - 09-10-11.08.2019
AMERICA
USA - 02-03-04.08.2019 
MEXICO - 19-20-21-22.09.2019
URUGUAY - 16-17-18.11.2019

Two majors will be in Europe and two in the American continent.

Majors in 2019:
USA: 23-26. 05. 2019
ITALY: 04-07. 07. 2019
UK: 29.08.-01.09. 2019
ARGENTINA: 28.11.-01.12. 2019

The FIFG 500's dates will be announced on Monday 04.02.2019.

Dear FIFG member countries and affiliated players,
We have received the calendar draft for the new season from our FIFG member countries and tomorrow the tournaments will be announced. 
Thank you, national organizations for the submissions of 7 bids for Majors, 20 bids for FIFG 500's and 31 bids for FIFG 250's tournaments.
​
Sporting regards,
Gabor Gelencser
FIFG World Tour Director
worldtour@fifg.org