Challenge Tour
Encyclopedia
The Challenge Tour is the second tier men's professional golf
tour in Europe
. It is operated by the PGA European Tour
and as with on the main European Tour and the European Seniors Tour
, some of the events are played outside of Europe. World ranking points
are awarded for high finishes in Challenge Tour events.
The tour was introduced in 1986 and was initially called the Satellite Tour. The Order of Merit was introduced in 1989, with the top five players on it winning membership of the European Tour for the following season. The following year the tour was renamed the Challenge Tour. Up to 1993 the Challenge Tour Rankings were based on each players' best several results, but since 1994 it has been a straightforward money list, with all results counting. In 2008 the total prize fund was €
6,017,393.
Players who are successful on the Challenge Tour qualify for membership of the European Tour the following year. The top-20 players in the rankings are said to have "gained their tour card"; in reality, the top 15 qualify for most tournaments, 16-20 somewhat fewer, although the categories are re-ranked midway through the season. The final 5 places were added for the 2005 season - previously the top-15 only qualified. Players finishing 21-45 may also gain qualification for occasional low-prize money European Tour Events. Players who win three Challenge Tour events in a season are fast-tracked onto the main tour immediately.
One competitive level down from the Challenge Tour are four third-level developmental tours—the Alps Tour
, the EPD Tour
, the PGA EuroPro Tour
and the Nordic League
, each of which is based in a different region of Europe. These circuits are now collectively known as the Satellite Tour. Each season the top five players from the Order of Merit of each of these tours wins a place on the Challenge Tour for the following season. The Challenge Tour also has an annual qualifying school
.
in India. This is the first Challenge Tour event to be held in India
, and the third in Asia after the Kazakhstan Open
and the Qingdao Golf Open
. The tour then takes in tournaments in Colombia and Kenya, before arriving in Europe
at the end of April for the Turkish Challenge. From then on the tour stays mainly in Europe, encompassing one further new tournament, the Acaya Golf Challenge Open in Italy, and two tournaments co-sanctioned with the European Tour, the Madeira Islands Open BPI - Portugal, in Portugal, and the Saint-Omer Open, in France. There are four further French tournaments in the schedule, which all also form part of the Allianz Golf Tour, the official tour organised by the French Golf Federation. The season ends with the Apulia San Domenico Grand Final in October.
.
The PGA European Tour does track career earnings on the Challenge Tour. A ranking of career earnings would be of little value as a measure of success, since the objective of players on the tour is to leave it as soon as possible by winning promotion to the main tour.
became the currency of record for the tour. Individual tournaments have purses fixed in a mixture of British pounds, euro and U.S. dollars, so year on year changes in the total prize fund reflect exchange rate fluctuations as well as prize fund movements in constant currencies.
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
tour in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. It is operated by the PGA European Tour
PGA European Tour
The PGA European Tour is an organization which operates the three leading men's professional golf tours in Europe: the elite European Tour, the European Seniors Tour and the developmental Challenge Tour. Its headquarters are at Wentworth Club in Virginia Water, Surrey, England...
and as with on the main European Tour and the European Seniors Tour
European Seniors Tour
The European Seniors Tour is a professional tour for male golfers aged 50 and over run by the PGA European Tour.The Tour was founded in 1992. In 2008 it had a total prize fund of €7,729,284, so it is much further behind the U.S.-based Champions Tour in relative prize money than the main European...
, some of the events are played outside of Europe. World ranking points
Official World Golf Rankings
The Official World Golf Ranking is a system for rating the performance level of male professional golfers...
are awarded for high finishes in Challenge Tour events.
The tour was introduced in 1986 and was initially called the Satellite Tour. The Order of Merit was introduced in 1989, with the top five players on it winning membership of the European Tour for the following season. The following year the tour was renamed the Challenge Tour. Up to 1993 the Challenge Tour Rankings were based on each players' best several results, but since 1994 it has been a straightforward money list, with all results counting. In 2008 the total prize fund was €
Euro
The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
6,017,393.
Players who are successful on the Challenge Tour qualify for membership of the European Tour the following year. The top-20 players in the rankings are said to have "gained their tour card"; in reality, the top 15 qualify for most tournaments, 16-20 somewhat fewer, although the categories are re-ranked midway through the season. The final 5 places were added for the 2005 season - previously the top-15 only qualified. Players finishing 21-45 may also gain qualification for occasional low-prize money European Tour Events. Players who win three Challenge Tour events in a season are fast-tracked onto the main tour immediately.
One competitive level down from the Challenge Tour are four third-level developmental tours—the Alps Tour
Alps Tour
The Alps Tour is a developmental professional golf tour for men which is sanctioned by the national golf associations of France, Italy, Austria, Switzerland and Morocco. It is a third level tour, the highest level of men's golf in Europe being the European Tour, and the second level being the...
, the EPD Tour
EPD Tour
The EPD Tour is a developmental professional golf tour based in Germany. It is a third level tour, the highest level of men's golf in Europe being the European Tour, and the second level being the Challenge Tour...
, the PGA EuroPro Tour
PGA EuroPro Tour
The PGA EuroPro Tour is a men's developmental professional golf tour. It was created in 2002 by the merger of two older development tours, the EuroPro Tour and the PGA Mastercard Tour. It is based mainly in the United Kingdom, with a few events in other countries...
and the Nordic League
Nordic League (golf)
The Nordic League is one of the four PGA European Tour-recognised third-tier men's professional golf tours that are collectively known as the Satellite Tour...
, each of which is based in a different region of Europe. These circuits are now collectively known as the Satellite Tour. Each season the top five players from the Order of Merit of each of these tours wins a place on the Challenge Tour for the following season. The Challenge Tour also has an annual qualifying school
Qualifying school
In professional golf the term qualifying school is used for the annual qualifying tournaments for leading golf tours such as the U.S. based PGA and LPGA Tours and the European Tour. A fixed number of players in the event win membership of the tour for the following season, otherwise known as a...
.
Schedule
The 2011 season begins in January with a new tournament, the Gujarat Kensville ChallengeGujarat Kensville Challenge
The Gujarat Kensville Challenge is a golf tournament on the Challenge Tour, played in India. It was held for the first time in January 2011 at Kensville Golf and Country Club in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, and was the season opening event on the tour....
in India. This is the first Challenge Tour event to be held in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, and the third in Asia after the Kazakhstan Open
Kazakhstan Open
The Kazakhstan Open is a men's professional golf tournament on the Challenge Tour, the official developmental tour of the PGA European Tour. First played in 2005, it was held at the Nurtau Golf Club in Almaty, Kazakhstan for the first four editions before moving to the Zhailjau Golf Resort, also in...
and the Qingdao Golf Open
Qingdao Golf Open
The Qingdao Golf Open was a golf tournament on the Challenge Tour, played in China. It was held in 2008 at the Qingdao Huashan Golf & Resort, in Qingdao.With a prize fund of US$500,000 it was one of the richest events on the Challenge Tour.-Winners:...
. The tour then takes in tournaments in Colombia and Kenya, before arriving in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
at the end of April for the Turkish Challenge. From then on the tour stays mainly in Europe, encompassing one further new tournament, the Acaya Golf Challenge Open in Italy, and two tournaments co-sanctioned with the European Tour, the Madeira Islands Open BPI - Portugal, in Portugal, and the Saint-Omer Open, in France. There are four further French tournaments in the schedule, which all also form part of the Allianz Golf Tour, the official tour organised by the French Golf Federation. The season ends with the Apulia San Domenico Grand Final in October.
Challenge Tour Rankings winners
The Challenge Tour Rankings have been calculated in Euros since 1999. Prior to that they were calculated in British PoundsPound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
.
| Year | Player | Country | Earnings |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 2010 Challenge Tour The 2010 Challenge Tour is a series of professional golf tournaments collectively known as the Challenge Tour.The Challenge Tour is Europe's official developmental tour and is organised by the PGA European Tour... |
Álvaro Velasco Álvaro Velasco (golfer) Álvaro Velasco Roca is a Spanish professional golfer.Velasco was born in Barcelona and attended Coastal Carolina University on a golf scholarship where he graduated with a degree in Business Administration... |
€ Euro The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,... 134,297 |
|
| 2009 2009 Challenge Tour The 2008 Challenge Tour was a series of golf tournaments known as the Challenge Tour, the official development tour run by the PGA European Tour... |
Edoardo Molinari Edoardo Molinari Edoardo Molinari is an Italian professional golfer. He is a two-time winner on the European Tour, 2005 U.S. Amateur champion, 2009 Challenge Tour Rankings leader, winner, with his brother Francesco, of the 2009 World Cup and a member of the 2010 European Ryder Cup team... |
€242,980 | |
| 2008 2008 Challenge Tour The 2008 Challenge Tour was a series of golf tournaments known as the Challenge Tour, the official development tour run by the PGA European Tour... |
David Horsey David Horsey (golfer) David Horsey is an English professional golfer.Horsey was born in Stockport, Greater Manchester. He had a successful amateur career, which included winning the 2005 Greek Amateur Championship and finishing as runner-up in the 2004 English Amateur... |
€144,118 | |
| 2007 2007 Challenge Tour The 2007 Challenge Tour was a series of golf tournaments known as the Challenge Tour, the official development tour run by the PGA European Tour... |
Michael Lorenzo-Vera Michael Lorenzo-Vera Michael Lorenzo-Vera is an French professional golfer.Lorenzo-Vera was born in Bayonne, Pyrénées-Atlantiques in South-West France.... |
€128,927 | |
| 2006 2006 Challenge Tour The 2006 Challenge Tour was a series of golf tournaments known as the Challenge Tour, the official development tour run by the PGA European Tour. The tour was started as the Satellite Tour in 1986 and was renamed the Challenge Tour ready for the start of the 1990 season.The Challenge Tour Rankings... |
Mark Pilkington | €119,152 | |
| 2005 2005 Challenge Tour The 2005 Challenge Tour was a series of golf tournaments known as the Challenge Tour, the official development tour run by the PGA European Tour... |
Marc Warren Marc Warren (golfer) Marc Warren is a Scottish professional golfer.Warren was born in Rutherglen, South Lanarkshire. As an amateur he was a member of East Kilbride Golf Club, and he was awarded honorary life membership of the club in February 2002... |
€103,577 | |
| 2004 2004 Challenge Tour The 2004 Challenge Tour was a series of golf tournaments known as the Challenge Tour, the official development tour run by the PGA European Tour... |
Lee Slattery Lee Slattery Lee Andrew Slattery is an English professional golfer who currently plays on the European Tour.Slattery was born in Southport, Lancashire. He turned professional in 1998 and spent his early career playing in minor tournaments on mini-tours in the United Kingdom. He won the Tour Championship on the... |
€95,980 | |
| 2003 2003 Challenge Tour The 2003 Challenge Tour was a series of golf tournaments known as the Challenge Tour, the official development tour run by the PGA European Tour... |
Johan Edfors Johan Edfors Johan Edfors is a Swedish professional golfer who plays primarily on the European Tour.Edfors was born in Varberg. He attended the University of Texas at San Antonio on a Division I athletic scholarship for men's golf. He played for the team under the coaching of Barry Denton for two years.Edfors... |
€94,509 | |
| 2002 2002 Challenge Tour The 2002 Challenge Tour was a series of golf tournaments known as the Challenge Tour, the official development tour run by the PGA European Tour. The tour was started as the Satellite Tour in 1986 and was renamed the Challenge Tour ready for the start of the 1990 season.The Challenge Tour Rankings... |
Lee S James | €121,531 | |
| 2001 2001 Challenge Tour The 2001 Challenge Tour was a series of golf tournaments known as the Challenge Tour, the official development tour run by the PGA European Tour... |
Mark Foster Mark Foster (golfer) Mark B. Foster is an English professional golfer.Foster was born in Worksop. He won the English Amateur twice before turning professional in 1995. For the first few years as a professional he was troubled by back problems, but in 2001 he won twice on the Challenge Tour and topped the money list... |
€97,737 | |
| 2000 2000 Challenge Tour The 2000 Challenge Tour was a series of golf tournaments known as the Challenge Tour, the official development tour run by the PGA European Tour... |
Henrik Stenson Henrik Stenson Henrik Stenson is a Swedish professional golfer who plays both on the US and European tours. He has spent over 100 weeks ranked in the World top ten and his career high ranking of fourth is the best by any Swedish golfer.-Career:... |
€108,711 | |
| 1999 1999 Challenge Tour The 1999 Challenge Tour was a series of golf tournaments known as the Challenge Tour, the official development tour run by the PGA European Tour... |
Carl Suneson Carl Suneson Carl José Suneson is a Spanish professional golfer.Suneson was born in Las Palmas, Gran Canaria to a Swedish father and an English mother. He represented England in amateur competition, and attended Oklahoma State University in the United States, but in 1996 he took Spanish citizenship.Suneson... |
€69,642 | |
| 1998 1998 Challenge Tour The 1998 Challenge Tour was a series of golf tournaments known as the Challenge Tour, the official development tour run by the PGA European Tour... |
Warren Bennett Warren Bennett Warren Bennett is an English professional golfer.Bennett was born in Ashford, Surrey and is the son of former footballer Peter Bennett. In 1994, he won the Australian Amateur and was the leading amateur at The Open Championship... |
£ Pound sterling The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence... 81,053 |
|
| 1997 1997 Challenge Tour The 1997 Challenge Tour was a series of golf tournaments known as the Challenge Tour, the official development tour run by the PGA European Tour... |
Michele Reale Michele Reale Michele Reale is an Italian professional golfer.Reale was born in Biella, Piedmont. Having won the Italian PGA Championship and the Italian Under 20 Championship as an amateur in 1991, he turned professional the following year.... |
£51,679 | |
| 1996 1996 Challenge Tour The 1996 Challenge Tour was a series of golf tournaments known as the Challenge Tour, the official development tour run by the PGA European Tour... |
Ian Garbutt Ian Garbutt Ian David Garbutt is an English professional golfer.Garbutt was born in Doncaster. He started playing golf at the age of 8, and by the age of 16, he had become a scratch player... |
£37,661 | |
| 1995 1995 Challenge Tour The 1995 Challenge Tour was a series of golf tournaments known as the Challenge Tour, the official development tour run by the PGA European Tour... |
Thomas Bjørn Thomas Bjørn Thomas Bjørn is a professional golfer from Denmark who plays on the European Tour. He is the most successful Danish golfer to have played the game having won thirteen tournaments worldwide on the European Tour. In 1999 he also became the first Dane to qualify for a European Ryder Cup team... |
£46,471 | |
| 1994 1994 Challenge Tour The 1994 Challenge Tour was a series of golf tournaments known as the Challenge Tour, the official development tour run by the PGA European Tour... |
Raymond Burns Raymond Burns (golfer) Raymond Burns is an Northern Irish professional golfer.Burns was born in Banbridge, County Down and turned professional in 1993 after representing Great Britain and Ireland in the Walker Cup. He missed out on qualifying for the European Tour at qualifying school at the end of 1993, and decided to... |
£43,584 | |
| 1993 1993 Challenge Tour The 1993 Challenge Tour was a series of golf tournaments known as the Challenge Tour, the official development tour run by the PGA European Tour... |
Klas Eriksson Klas Eriksson Klas Eriksson is a Swedish professional golfer.Eriksson was born in Växjö and turned professional in 1991 having won the European Amateur and the French Amateur Stoke Play Championship the previous year. He won three times on the second tier Challenge Tour in 1993 on his way to the top of the... |
£48,366 | |
| 1992 1992 Challenge Tour The 1992 Challenge Tour was a series of golf tournaments known as the Challenge Tour, the official development tour run by the PGA European Tour... |
Paul Affleck Paul Affleck Paul Affleck is a Welsh professional golfer who has played on the European Tour.Affleck was born in St Asaph. He turned pro in 1986. He visited qualifying school four times before he finally got his European Tour card after winning the Challenge Tour in 1992. He won the 1992 Audi Open on the... |
£39,769 | |
| 1991 1991 Challenge Tour The 1991 Challenge Tour was a series of golf tournaments known as the Challenge Tour, the official development tour run by the PGA European Tour... |
David R Jones | £35,533 | |
| 1990 1990 Challenge Tour The 1990 Challenge Tour was a series of golf tournaments known as the Challenge Tour, the official development tour run by the PGA European Tour... |
Giuseppe Calì Giuseppe Cali (golfer) Giuseppe Calì is an Italian professional golfer.Calì was born in Mirano. He turned professional in 1971 and has won twelve professional tournaments in his home country, including five in 1988.... |
£28,383 | |
| 1989 | Neal Briggs |
The PGA European Tour does track career earnings on the Challenge Tour. A ranking of career earnings would be of little value as a measure of success, since the objective of players on the tour is to leave it as soon as possible by winning promotion to the main tour.
Schedules by year
The table below summarises the development of the tour since 1999, which was the year that the euroEuro
The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
became the currency of record for the tour. Individual tournaments have purses fixed in a mixture of British pounds, euro and U.S. dollars, so year on year changes in the total prize fund reflect exchange rate fluctuations as well as prize fund movements in constant currencies.
| Year | Ranking tournaments | Total prize money (€) |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 2010 Challenge Tour The 2010 Challenge Tour is a series of professional golf tournaments collectively known as the Challenge Tour.The Challenge Tour is Europe's official developmental tour and is organised by the PGA European Tour... |
25 | 4,826,454 |
| 2009 2009 Challenge Tour The 2008 Challenge Tour was a series of golf tournaments known as the Challenge Tour, the official development tour run by the PGA European Tour... |
24 | 4,693,649 |
| 2008 2008 Challenge Tour The 2008 Challenge Tour was a series of golf tournaments known as the Challenge Tour, the official development tour run by the PGA European Tour... |
33 | 6,017,393 |
| 2007 2007 Challenge Tour The 2007 Challenge Tour was a series of golf tournaments known as the Challenge Tour, the official development tour run by the PGA European Tour... |
32 | 5,282,301 |
| 2006 2006 Challenge Tour The 2006 Challenge Tour was a series of golf tournaments known as the Challenge Tour, the official development tour run by the PGA European Tour. The tour was started as the Satellite Tour in 1986 and was renamed the Challenge Tour ready for the start of the 1990 season.The Challenge Tour Rankings... |
30 | 4,799,014 |
| 2005 2005 Challenge Tour The 2005 Challenge Tour was a series of golf tournaments known as the Challenge Tour, the official development tour run by the PGA European Tour... |
30 | 5,493,413 |
| 2004 2004 Challenge Tour The 2004 Challenge Tour was a series of golf tournaments known as the Challenge Tour, the official development tour run by the PGA European Tour... |
29 | 4,370,149 |
| 2003 2003 Challenge Tour The 2003 Challenge Tour was a series of golf tournaments known as the Challenge Tour, the official development tour run by the PGA European Tour... |
28 | 4,676,787 |
| 2002 2002 Challenge Tour The 2002 Challenge Tour was a series of golf tournaments known as the Challenge Tour, the official development tour run by the PGA European Tour. The tour was started as the Satellite Tour in 1986 and was renamed the Challenge Tour ready for the start of the 1990 season.The Challenge Tour Rankings... |
26 | 3,982,797 |
| 2001 2001 Challenge Tour The 2001 Challenge Tour was a series of golf tournaments known as the Challenge Tour, the official development tour run by the PGA European Tour... |
29 | 3,888,135 |
| 2000 2000 Challenge Tour The 2000 Challenge Tour was a series of golf tournaments known as the Challenge Tour, the official development tour run by the PGA European Tour... |
23 | 2,593,986 |
| 1999 1999 Challenge Tour The 1999 Challenge Tour was a series of golf tournaments known as the Challenge Tour, the official development tour run by the PGA European Tour... |
27 | 2,196,529 |
See also
- List of golfers with most Challenge Tour wins
- Nationwide TourNationwide TourThe Nationwide Tour is the developmental tour for the U.S.-based PGA Tour, and features professional golfers who have either failed to score well enough at that level's Qualifying School to earn their PGA Tour card, or who have done so but then failed to win enough money to stay at that level...
– the analogous tour operated in North AmericaNorth AmericaNorth America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
by the PGA TourPGA TourThe PGA Tour is the organizer of the main men's professional golf tours in the United States and North America... - Alps TourAlps TourThe Alps Tour is a developmental professional golf tour for men which is sanctioned by the national golf associations of France, Italy, Austria, Switzerland and Morocco. It is a third level tour, the highest level of men's golf in Europe being the European Tour, and the second level being the...
– a third-level tour played in France, Italy and several nearby countries - EPD TourEPD TourThe EPD Tour is a developmental professional golf tour based in Germany. It is a third level tour, the highest level of men's golf in Europe being the European Tour, and the second level being the Challenge Tour...
– a third-level tour based in Germany - Nordic LeagueNordic League (golf)The Nordic League is one of the four PGA European Tour-recognised third-tier men's professional golf tours that are collectively known as the Satellite Tour...
– a third-level tour based in Scandinavia - PGA EuroPro TourPGA EuroPro TourThe PGA EuroPro Tour is a men's developmental professional golf tour. It was created in 2002 by the merger of two older development tours, the EuroPro Tour and the PGA Mastercard Tour. It is based mainly in the United Kingdom, with a few events in other countries...
– a third-level tour based in the United Kingdom - Professional golf toursProfessional golf toursProfessional golf tours are the means by which otherwise unconnected professional golf tournaments are organised into a regular schedule. There are separate tours for men and women, with each tour being based in a specific geographical region, although some of their tournaments may be held in other...
External links
- PGA European Tour's official site - there is a Challenge Tour subsection in most of the main sections