Englishman Paul Casey believes the 2009 season could prove to be a pivotal chapter in the history of the European Tour with the Race to Dubai set to change the face of the sport.

The traditional Order of Merit has been replaced with a schedule of 53 tournaments in 26 countries that starts with November's HSBC Champions and ends with the top 60 golfers contesting the 20million US dollar (£11.5million) Dubai World Championship at Jumeirah Golf Estates just over a year later.

Now that previously unheralded riches are now on offer, some of the world's most prominent stars are now turning their gaze in the direction of the European Tour with the intention of qualifying for the season-ending extravaganza.

With the minimum number of events required for membership now raised from 11 to 12 - two of which must be played on continental Europe - it seems European crowds may now have the opportunity to see the likes of Phil Mickelson and Vijay Singh on a more regular basis.

And Casey believes that will signal the start of a bright new dawn for the European Tour.

"It's something I think that could be a new era," he said. "There's now talk of a couple of US guys wanting to come over like Mickelson and maybe Anthony Kim. I think that'd be great, I think that's an asset to the European Tour if you can entice more guys over.

"The one thing you do lack in Europe is that you don't get the US players playing over here that often. If we can entice them over that would be great it would make our tour stronger."

The revamped tour has forced many players to re-think their 2009 schedules and Casey admitted he will now need to be even more meticulous as to how he splits his time between Europe and America.

But while the lure of the Dubai tournament is hard to ignore, the 31-year-old insisted titles rather than swelling his bank balance still remains his primary motivation for next season.

"It's nicely positioned so you can do both. I'll be a member of the PGA Tour next year and I'll play both but I have to make sure I plan wisely and save my energy," he added.

"But majors are still the most important thing to all the players, including myself, and you base your schedule around that.

"But as soon as you get done with the US PGA in August, there's a shift of focus. For guys in the US it's the FedEx Cup, for guys over here it's going to be towards that Race to Dubai and you can't blame them.

"I'm sure part of it is about the money but part of it's about winning stuff. For me it's about the title. I came close to winning the Order of Merit in 2006 and I'd love to be the head guy winning the Race to Dubai, that'd be pretty sweet."