THE European Tour will return to Newport for the Wales Open in July.

The tournament was revived last summer as part of a double-header at Celtic Manor.

The coronavirus pandemic led to a new European Tour schedule with the Celtic Classic won by England's Sam Horsfield before the Wales Open was held for the first time since 2014.

France's Romain Langasque took the spoils by two strokes on eight under.

Next year's event will take place on July 22 to 25, the week after the 149th Open at Royal St George's in Kent.

South Wales Argus: Callum Hill of Scotland putting on the 17th green during preview day of the Celtic Classic at Celtic Manor Resort. PA Photo. Picture date: Wednesday August 12, 2020. See PA story GOLF Celtic. Photo credit should read: David Davies/PA Wire. RESTRICTIONS: ECallum Hill of Scotland putting on the 17th green during preview day of the Celtic Classic at Celtic Manor Resort. PA Photo. Picture date: Wednesday August 12, 2020. See PA story GOLF Celtic. Photo credit should read: David Davies/PA Wire. RESTRICTIONS: E

The European Tour has announced its entire schedule for next season as it returns to a full international programme.

There will be a minimum of 42 tournaments in 24 countries between January and November, including 18 events that were either postponed or cancelled in 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The headline Rolex Series has been reduced from eight tournaments to four, with the Abu Dhabi Championship in January, the Scottish Open in July and the PGA Championship in September each having an increased prize fund of 8million US dollars (approximately £5.9million) and 8,000 Race to Dubai points.

The prize fund for the fourth and final Rolex Series event, the World Tour Championship in Dubai, will be 9million dollars (approximately £6.6million), with 12,000 Race to Dubai points on offer.

There will be four events in the UK in July and August, the second of which will be co-sanctioned with the Ladies European Tour and the LPGA.

Danny Willett will host the British Masters, which will also have an increased prize fund, while there will be new tournaments in Tenerife and Gran Canaria.

The schedule has been designed to reduce travel where possible, and Keith Pelley, chief executive of the European Tour, said: "I am incredibly proud to announce our 2021 global schedule, one that once again sees us journey through continents and across the world.

"There is no question that the challenge of reshaping our 2020 season in many ways informed our approach to 2021.

"One of the key learnings was to group events together in terms of their geographical location to create a more travel-friendly season for our members. That is reflected in numerous concentrations of event locations.

"Our events in the initial part of the 2021 season will continue to operate under the guidelines of our world-class health strategy, which will evolve aligned to the latest medical advice.

"However, with the incredible progress that has been made in recent months in terms of a vaccine, we look forward to hopefully welcoming the gradual return of the fans we've so dearly missed."