Tag: Challenge Tour

Former Notre Dame golfer gets conditional status for DP World Tour

Hopefully, we see big things from him.

Notre Dame will have a representative overseas during the upcoming golf season. [autotag]Palmer Jackson[/autotag], perhaps the best golfer in Irish history, has earned conditional status for the 2025 DP World Tour, also known as the European Tour.

Jackson finished this year’s DP World Tour Qualifying School in a tie for 30th by shooting a 16-under-par 412 over six rounds. That left him two strokes short of earning full-time status for the DP World Tour. So he will spend most of this upcoming season on the Challenge Tour, the European developmental tour for the DP World Tour.

This achievement comes five months after Jackson placed eighth at the national championship, the best finish ever for an Irish golfer at that event. While it already was obvious his career would go beyond his time with the Irish, that moment for him erased any lingering doubts one might have had.

Also, just because, here’s a putting lesson from the man himself:

Congratulations to Jackson, and we wish him well as a professional golfer.

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Follow Geoffrey on X: @gfclark89

Tommy Fleetwood traded his clubs for his stepson’s as a caddie at Challenge Tour event

No days off for Tommy Fleetwood.

No days off for Tommy Fleetwood.

After playing the last three weeks in the United States on the PGA Tour, including a T-3 finish at the 2024 Masters, Fleetwood is in United Arab Emirates this week at a Challenge Tour event. Not as a player, but as a caddie for his 17-year-old stepson Oscar Craig.

And it seems Fleetwood knows a thing or two about being a good looper. He has helped Craig, playing this week as an amateur at Saadiyat Beach Golf Club in Abu Dhabi, to a 3-under 69 start. Then, the duo continued on, making the cut and earning tee times on the weekend.

Not bad for a 17-year-old, and not bad for Fleetwood after his busy three-week stretch.

Craig earned his spot in the tournament by winning the Ras Al Khaimah Men’s Open in February. The family has a home in Dubai, so it’s not a far trip from home for them to tackle the links together this week.

Here’s a look at Fleetwood’s looping skills through photos:

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Former can’t-miss-kid Matteo Manassero tastes victory on Challenge Tour 10 years after his biggest win

“Golf is strange and hard to understand at times, and probably we shouldn’t try too hard to understand it.”

What a long strange trip it has been for Matteo Manassero to return to the winner’s circle.

On the weekend of the 10-year anniversary of his BMW PGA Championship victory, the 30-year-old Italian claimed his maiden European Challenge Tour title at the Copenhagen Challenge.

Manassero, a four-time DP World Tour winner and the youngest player to win three times on the European circuit, shot a bogey-free final-round 66, which was good enough for a one-shot victory at 12 under par and his first title since winning the 2020 Toscana Open on the Alps Tour.

Born near Verona, he started playing golf at age three with a set of plastic clubs. At 16, he became the youngest winner of the British Amateur Championship in 2009 before taking the silver medal for low amateur in the 2009 British Open Championship. Manassero climbed as high as 25th in the Official World Golf Ranking and seemed destined for greater things. But the short-hitting Italian chased distance gains and lost control of his swing and his game. He entered the week No. 575 in the world.

Manassero started the day six shots behind overnight leader Matias Honkala, but made a three-foot birdie putt on the 72nd hole to secure his first DP World Tour-sanctioned victory since his heroics at Wentworth in 2013.

“There are a lot of emotions,” he said. “It has been 10 years now since I won on Tour so I guess May is a good time of the year for me.

“My wife never caddies for me but this week she was here, so it’s been the perfect week and as good as any other I’ve ever had.”

Manassero started strongly in the final round with back-to-back birdies from the second hole before tacking on another at the eighth. With Honkala dropping back and South African teenager Casey Jarvis also picking up shots, Manassero was in a three-way share of the lead. However, he rose to the top with birdies at the 14th and 15th before the clincher at 18 to be crowned champion at Royal Golf Club by one stroke ahead of Jarvis. Manassero enjoyed the moment after being lost in golf’s wilderness for a decade, a can’t-miss-kid who has been one of the biggest disappointments in the professional game.

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“I’ve had a lot of down periods during those ten years but I’m still here and now I’m holding the trophy, which means I’ve done a lot of good things as well in that period of time,” he said. “In the past maybe I didn’t enjoy enough of the good times, but I definitely will now.

“I came into this week with doubts about my game and I wasn’t feeling great. This golf course isn’t a course that you can afford not to be feeling great but sometimes you grind, and it doesn’t happen and sometimes all of a sudden it clicks.

“Golf is strange and hard to understand at times, and probably we shouldn’t try too hard to understand it.”

Manassero improved to fifth on the Road to Mallorca Rankings up from 40th position, while Jarvis moves up to second from 15th place.

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A 58 on a par-72 layout? It just happened for the first time on a major tour.

He had such a good time posting a 29 on the front nine, he decided to do it again on the back.

Former Arizona State University star Alejandro del Rey had such a good time posting a 29 on the front nine of a Challenge Tour event Friday he decided to do it again on the back.

The final result, a scintillating 58, is believed to be the first on a major tour on a par-72 layout. A few others — Jim Furyk at the 2016 Travelers, for example — have posted the same score, but on par-70 layouts.

Incredibly, the Spaniard was thinking even lower during the Swiss Challenge at Golf Saint Apollinaire, a course in the French hills just outside Basel, Switzerland. After posting consecutive eagles on Nos. 11 and 12, then adding birdies on No. 14 and 15, he could have gone 55 if he’d have birdied out. Instead, del Rey made par on each of the final three holes to secure the impressive number.

Although he had a productive career at Arizona State — capturing four collegiate titles while in Tempe and helping Spain take the bronze at the 2018 World Amateur Team Championship — del Rey has fallen to 392nd in the Official World Golf Ranking and an even 500th in the Golfweek/Sagarin rankings. He struggled in Thursday’s opening round at the event, posting a pedestrian 74, before Friday’s incredible display.

A pair of other players Adrian Monk and Nicolo Ravano, have also posted 58s on the Challenge Tour, but again not on par-72 layouts.

Even with his showing, del Rey is still two shots behind leaded Marcel Schneider, who broke the course record with a 61 on the event’s opening day, but that distinction didn’t hold up long.

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A step forward for global golf: European Tour, Sunshine Tour partner to elevate game in South Africa

The European Tour and the Sunshine Tour have formed a new partnership to elevate golf in South Africa.

The European Tour and the Sunshine Tour have formed a new partnership that should not only elevate golf in South Africa but recognize its contributions to global golf. The European Tour announced that it is committed to improving the existing international pathway between the two Tours by co-sanctioning the South African Open through 2025, continuing to stage three Challenge Tour events in South Africa and creating several new co-sanctioned events that will appear on both the Challenge and Sunshine Tour schedules.

“For many years the European Tour has greatly valued the relationship we have enjoyed with the Sunshine Tour and today’s announcement is the next step in that journey together,” Keith Pelley, Chief Executive of the European Tour, said in a release.

“Through the leadership, vision and commitment of Chairman Johann Rupert, the Sunshine Tour has not only flourished and produced many of the game’s greats over decades, it is also part of the ecosystem that is at the very core of professional golf. We have been proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with the Sunshine Tour on this pathway for over a quarter of a century and we very much look forward to continuing this partnership for many years to come.”

The first event co-sanctioned by the European and Sunshine Tours, the Lexington South African PGA Championship, was played in February 1995. A familiar name, Ernie Els, took home the trophy that week. Since then, the two tours have combined close to 100 times.

South Africa ranks fourth on the list of most successful nations in European Tour history, behind only England, the U.S. and Spain. Several major winners have South African roots – not only Els but Retief Goosen, Charl Schwartzel, Louis Oosthuizen, Trevor Immelman and of course Gary Player.

The move drew support from the PGA Tour, the European Tour’s Strategic Alliance Partner.

“We are thrilled to see these two leading golf organizations come together for the benefit of the global game, players and fans,” said PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan. “The European Tour and Sunshine Tour each have rich histories, celebrated events and a proven record of developing some of the world’s best players. This new partnership further illustrates the strengthening ecosystem of professional golf that we have all worked together to build for the betterment of the game.”

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Meet the 2019 European Challenge Tour graduate class

Alistair Tait breaks down the Challenge Tour graduating class of 2019 and three players to look out for.

The 2019 Challenge Tour graduate class will have to play very well to top the class of 2018. Eleven of last year’s 15 graduates kept their cards on the main tour this year.

Don’t expect the class of 2019 to match that statistic. That’s not to say there aren’t good players amongst this year’s graduates, but it’s hard to see any of the 15 coming close to the likes of Victor Perez, Robert Macintyre, Adri Arnaus and Joachim B. Hansen, who are currently ninth, 13th, 36th and 52nd respectively on the Race to Dubai after getting their cards via last year’s Challenge Tour.

So who is most likely to excel in the 2020 season? Here are three names to look out for in 2020.

Key players in 2020

Connor Syme of Scotland, England’s Matthew Jordan and Pole Adrian Meronk are the likely lads of 2020.

Syme has been a potential Scottish star since he won the 2016 Australian Amateur Championship. He played in the 2017 Walker Cup, winning just one point out of a possible four. He turned that disappointment around by earning his European card for the 2018 season via the Qualifying School. Syme finished 126th on the money list, with a second-place finish in the Shot Clock Masters. He made 12 of 26 cuts in his rookie year.

With two full seasons under his belt, Syne should have enough experience to do a better job in his second tilt at the main tour. He’ll get a decent number of starts this year in good tournaments. He might not match fellow 2017 Walker Cup player Macintyre’s feats of this season, but he has the game to at least keep his card next year.

Jordan looked good in this year’s Betfred British Masters at Hillside Golf Club on the main tour, especially when he led after an opening 63 to set a course record. He eventually finished 15th, and didn’t look out of place alongside the likes of Tommy Fleetwood, Eddie Pepperell, Matt Wallace and other high calibre Englishmen in the field.

Jordan also played in the 2017 Walker Cup but went 0-2. The softly spoken Englishman is a links specialist, courtesy of his membership of Royal Liverpool. He won the 2017 St Andrews Links Trophy, a major amateur championship in the British Isles. Look for him to excel on fast running courses where the wind is a factor.

Meronk is the outside bet in this trio. He spent four years at East Tennessee State, when he won four times. He becomes the first Polish player to play on the European Tour. The 6-foot, 5-inch player might not light up the main tour next year, but he has the game to have a respectable season along with Syme and Jordan.

The Challenge Tour Class of 2019

  1. Francesco Laporta, Italy, 29 – Made five trips to the Qualifying School and succeeded in 2015 only to finish 189th on the money list. Has two Challenge Tour wins.
  2. Callum Hill, Scotland, 26 – Has three Challenge Tour wins including twice this year. Failed to get his card for main tour at 2018 Qualifying school. Has played just five European Tour events.
  3. Richard Bland, England, 46 – Veteran European Tour pro who epitomizes the term “journeyman.” He has two seconds in main tour events but has never won in 448 starts. His best season was 2016 when he finished 28th on the Race to Dubai.
  4. Sebastian Heisele, Germany, 31 – Played college golf at Colorado, graduating in 2011 with a degree in architecture. Has one Challenge Tour victory. Made six visits to the Qualifying School, with success in 2016 and 2017 but failed to keep his card both times.
  5. Adrian Meronk, Poland, 26 – Won this year’s 57º Open de Portugal @ Morgado Golf Resort. Played college golf at East Tennessee State, and becomes first Polish golfer to hold a full European Tour card.
  6. Jack Senior, England, 31 – Has made eight unsuccessful trips to the European Tour Qualifying School. Has two Challenge Tour victories, including one this year. Won the 2011 Lytham Trophy and went on to play in that year’s victorious GB&I Walker Cup team, winning two and a half points out of four.
  7. Robin Roussel, France, 26 – Has one Challenge Tour win, this year’s Hauts de France – Pas de Calais Golf Open. He also won on the MENA Tour. He’s made four unsuccessful trips to the Qualifying School.
  8. Antoine Rozner, France, 26 – Won back-to-back events on the Challenge Tour this year, taking the Challenge de España by four shots and then running out a seven-shot winner of the Prague Golf Challenge. Has made two unsuccessful trips to the Qualifying, 2017 and 2018.
  9. Matthew Jordan, England, 23 – The softly spoken Englishman won the Italian Challenge Open Eneos Motor Oil to pave his way to the European Tour. The Royal Liverpool member made a splash on the European Tour this year in the Betfred British Masters when he set a course record at Hillside Golf Club with an opening 63. He eventually finished 15th. Played in the 2017 Walker Cup at Los Angeles.
  10. Ricardo Santos, Portugal, 37 – The Tour veteran had a full card for three straight seasons between 2012 and 2014. He won the 2012 Madeira Islands Open in his homeland. He won this year’s Swiss Challenge Presented by Swiss Golf on the Challenge Tour. He’s made nine unsuccessful visits to the Qualifying School
  11. Cormac Sharvin, Northern Ireland, 27 – Sharvin helped Great Britain & Ireland win the 2015 Walker Cup at Royal Lytham, winning three points out of three. In 2015, he won the prestigious Brabazon Trophy. He failed to get his tour card at the 2016 Qualifying School and has spent the last three years on the Challenge Tour.
  12. Oliver Farr, Wales, 31 – The Welshman has had a full European Tour card twice before, 2015 and 2018, both times via the Challenge Tour top 15. He has three Challenge Tour wins, including this year’s Lalla Aïcha Challenge Tour in Morocco.
  13. Darius van Driel, The Netherlands, 30 – Winning the Rolex Trophy, his second Challenge Tour win, helped him finish in the top 15 of the money list. Gave up the game at 18 because of a broken right hand after falling off a banana boat. Took it up again in 2015 and topped the Alps Tour money list.
  14. Connor Syme, Scotland, 24 – Won the 2016 Australian Amateur and reached eighth on the World Amateur Golf Ranking. Played in the 2017 Walker Cup. Got his card at the 2017 Qualifying School, but finished 126th on last year’s Race to Dubai. Won this year’s Turkish Airlines Challenge to ensure a return to the main tour.
  15. Sebastian Garcia Rodriguez, Spain, 30 –After four fruitless attempts at the Qualifying School, the Spaniard took 15th and final spot on the Challenge Tour money list by €1,437.50. Didn’t win on the circuit but had seven top 10s including two seconds.