2021 Challenge Tour
| Duration | 22 April 2021– 7 November 2021 |
|---|---|
| Number of official events | 26[a] |
| Most wins |  Marcus Helligkilde(3) |
| Rankings | Marcus Helligkilde |
←2020 2022→ | |
The2021 Challenge Tourwas the 33rd season of theChallenge Tour,the official development tour to theEuropean Tour.
Changes for 2021
[edit]Similarly to 2020, the season was due to begin in February with three tournaments in South Africa co-sanctioned with theSunshine Tour,but in mid-January the South African swing was postponed to April/May because ofCOVID-19 pandemicconcerns.[1]The official schedule announcement was made on 27 January 2021.[2]In April two back-to-back events in Sweden in May were added.[3]
In-season changes
[edit]In August, it was announced that theHainan Openand theFoshan Open;both played in China, were cancelled.[4]Later in the month, replacement tournaments were confirmed in Spain, both hosted at Empordà Golf on theCosta Brava.[5]
Schedule
[edit]The following table lists official events during the 2021 season.[6]
| Date | Tournament | Host country | Purse (€) |
Winner[b] | OWGR points |
Other tours[c] |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 Apr | Limpopo Championship | South Africa | R3,000,000 |  Brandon Stone(1) |
13 | AFR | |
| 2 May | Bain's Whisky Cape Town Open | South Africa | R3,000,000 | J. C. Ritchie(2) |
13 | AFR | |
| 9 May | Dimension Data Pro-Am | South Africa | R6,000,000 | Wilco Nienaber(1) |
13 | AFR | Pro-Am |
| 16 May | Range Servant Challenge | Sweden | 200,000 |  Craig Howie(1) |
12 | New tournament | |
| 22 May | Dormy Open | Sweden | 200,000 |  Félix Mory(1) |
12 | New tournament | |
| 30 May | Irish Challenge | Ireland | 220,000 |  Daan Huizing(3) |
12 | ||
| 6 Jun | D+D Real Czech Challenge | Czech Republic | 200,000 |  Santiago Tarrío(1) |
12 | ||
| 13 Jun | Challenge de Cádiz | Spain | 200,000 |  Kristof Ulenaers(1) |
12 | ||
| 18 Jun | Challenge de España | Spain | 200,000 | Santiago Tarrío(2) |
12 | ||
| 27 Jun | Open de Bretagne | France | 200,000 | Julien Brun(2) |
12 | ||
| 4 Jul | Kaskáda Golf Challenge | Czech Republic | 200,000 |  Marcel Schneider(2) |
12 | ||
| 11 Jul | Le Vaudreuil Golf Challenge | France | 210,000 | Marcel Siem(1) |
12 | ||
| 18 Jul | Euram Bank Open | Austria | 190,000 |  Stuart Manley(3) |
12 | ||
| 25 Jul | Italian Challenge | Italy | 300,000 |  Ricardo Gouveia(4) |
12 | ||
| 8 Aug | Vierumäki Finnish Challenge | Finland | 200,000 | Marcus Helligkilde(1) |
12 | ||
| 14 Aug | Made in Esbjerg Challenge | Denmark | 200,000 | Ricardo Gouveia(5) |
9 | NGL | |
| 20 Aug | Sydbank Esbjerg Challenge | Denmark | 200,000 |  Espen Kofstad(4) |
9 | NGL | New tournament |
| Rolex Trophy | Switzerland | – | Removed | – | |||
| 29 Aug | B-NL Challenge Trophy | Netherlands | 250,000 | Alfredo García-Heredia(1) |
12 | New tournament[d] | |
| 5 Sep | British Challenge | England | £180,000 |  Hugo León(1) |
12 | New tournament | |
| 12 Sep | Big Green Egg German Challenge | Germany | 200,000 | Ángel Hidalgo(1) |
12 | New tournament | |
| 19 Sep | Hopps Open de Provence | France | 200,000 |  Alfie Plant(1) |
12 | ||
| 26 Sep | Open de Portugal | Portugal | 200,000 | Marcel Schneider(3) |
12 | ||
| 3 Oct | Swiss Challenge | France | 200,000 | Marcus Helligkilde(2) |
12 | ||
| Hainan Open | China | – | Cancelled | – | CHN | ||
| 17 Oct | Empordà Challenge | Spain | 200,000 | Julien Brun(3) |
13 | New tournament | |
| Foshan Open | China | – | Cancelled | – | CHN | ||
| 22 Oct | Challenge Costa Brava | Spain | 200,000 |  Daniel Hillier(1) |
13 | New tournament | |
| 7 Nov | Rolex Challenge Tour Grand Final | Spain | 450,000 | Marcus Helligkilde(3) |
17 | Flagship event |
Rankings
[edit]For full rankings, see2021 Challenge Tour graduates.
Therankingswere titled as theRoad to Mallorcaand were based on tournament results during the season, calculated using a points-based system.[7][8]The top 20 players on the rankings earned status to play on the2022 European Tour(DP World Tour).[9][10]
| Rank | Player | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Marcus Helligkilde |
222,628 |
| 2 | Ricardo Gouveia |
188,291 |
| 3 | Santiago Tarrío |
173,938 |
| 4 | Julien Brun |
163,773 |
| 5 | Frédéric Lacroix |
120,334 |
Notes
[edit]- ^A further three tournaments were scheduled but were either cancelled or otherwise removed from the schedule.
- ^The number in brackets after each winner's name is the number of Challenge Tour events they had won up to and including that tournament. This information is only shown for Challenge Tour members. It is rare for someone to accumulate many wins on the Challenge Tour as success at this level usually leads to promotion to theEuropean Tour.
- ^AFR −Sunshine Tour;CHN −China Tour;NGL −Nordic Golf League.
- ^Tournament's debut delayed from 2020.
References
[edit]- ^"South African Swing postponed".European Tour. 13 January 2021.Retrieved19 January2021.
- ^"Challenge Tour unveils 2021 International Schedule".European Tour. 27 January 2021.Retrieved27 January2021.
- ^"Two Swedish events added to Road to Mallorca International Schedule".European Tour. 7 April 2021.Retrieved10 April2021.
- ^"Challenge Tour statement on the Hainan Open and Foshan Open".European Tour. 11 August 2021.Retrieved29 August2023.
- ^"Empordà Golf to host second Spanish Swing of 2021".European Tour. 25 August 2021.Retrieved25 August2021.
- ^"2021 Tournament schedule".European Tour.Retrieved29 August2023.
- ^"2021 Road to Mallorca".European Tour.Retrieved29 August2023.
- ^"Helligkilde enjoys double delight at Challenge Tour's season finale".Golf News.7 November 2021.Retrieved29 August2023.
- ^Stafford, Ali (27 January 2021)."Extra European Tour cards on offer during 2021 Challenge Tour season".Sky Sports.Retrieved27 January2021.
- ^Coley, Ben (24 November 2021)."Challenge Tour graduates player profiles as DP World Tour welcomes new members".Sporting Life.Retrieved29 August2023.