1998 Challenge Tour
The 1998 Challenge Tour was the 10th season of the Challenge Tour, the official development tour to the European Tour. The tour started as the Satellite Tour with its first Order of Merit rankings in 1989 and was officially renamed as the Challenge Tour at the start of the 1990 season.[1]
| Duration | 5 March 1998 – 24 October 1998 |
|---|---|
| Number of official events | 30 |
| Most wins | 5: Warren Bennett |
| Challenge Tour Rankings | Warren Bennett |
← 1997 1999 → | |
The Challenge Tour Rankings were won by England's Warren Bennett.
Schedule
The following table lists official events during the 1998 season.[2]
| Date | Tournament | Host country | Purse (£) | Winner[lower-alpha 1] | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 Mar | Open de Côte d'Ivoire | Ivory Coast | 70,000 | John Mellor (1) | |
| 15 Mar | Tusker Kenya Open | Kenya | 65,000 |  Ricardo González (2) | |
| 5 Apr | Is Molas Challenge | Italy | 40,000 |  Magnus Persson (3) | |
| 25 Apr | Rimini International Open | Italy | 65,000 |  Massimo Scarpa (1) | New tournament |
| 16 May | Albarella International Open | Italy | 40,000 | Fredrik Lindgren (2) | New tournament |
| 24 May | Modena Classic Open | Italy | 40,000 |  Marc Pendariès (1) | |
| 31 May | Challenge de France | France | 50,000 | Warren Bennett (3) | New tournament |
| 7 Jun | KB Golf Challenge | Czech Republic | 40,000 |  Stephen Gallacher (1) | |
| 14 Jun | Diners Club Austrian Open | Austria | 55,000 |  Kevin Carissimi (2) | |
| 14 Jun | NCC Open | Sweden | 40,000 | Johan Ryström (2) | |
| 27 Jun | Osmanli Bankasi Klassis Turkish Open | Turkey | 60,000 |  Thomas Nielsen (1) | |
| 28 Jun | Open dei Tessali | Italy | 40,000 | Pehr Magnebrant (1) | |
| 3 Jul | MasterCard Challenge | England | 40,000 | Robert Lee (2) | |
| 5 Jul | Audi Quattro Trophy | Germany | 55,000 | Marcello Santi (2) | |
| 12 Jul | BTC Slovenian Open | Slovenia | 45,000 | Warren Bennett (4) | |
| 12 Jul | Volvo Finnish Open | Finland | 40,000 | Christian Cévaër (2) | |
| 19 Jul | Open des Volcans | France | 50,000 | Warren Bennett (5) | |
| 26 Jul | Interlaken Open | Switzerland | 75,000 | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} John Senden (1) | |
| 2 Aug | Challenge Tour Championship | England | 80,000 | Warren Bennett (6) | |
| 9 Aug | Finnish Masters | Finland | 80,000 | Massimo Scarpa (2) | New tournament |
| 16 Aug | Moscow Country Club Russian Open | Russia | 90,000 | Warren Bennett (7) | |
| 23 Aug | Netcom Norwegian Open | Norway | 80,000 | Gary Emerson (1) | |
| 30 Aug | Navision Open Golf Championship | Denmark | 40,000 |  Søren Hansen (1) | |
| 6 Sep | Öhrlings Swedish Matchplay | Sweden | 45,000 | Kevin Carissimi (3) | |
| 6 Sep | Open de Strasbourg | France | 45,000 | John Senden (2) | New tournament |
| 13 Sep | Warsaw Golf Open | Poland | 55,000 |  José Manuel Lara (1) | |
| 27 Sep | Eulen Open Galea | Spain | 60,000 | Álvaro Salto (1) | |
| 4 Oct | Telia Grand Prix | Sweden | 85,000 | Mats Lanner (4) | |
| 10 Oct | San Paolo Vita Open | Italy | 45,000 | Roger Winchester (2) | |
| 24 Oct | AXA Grand Final | Portugal | €75,000 | Jorge Berendt (2) | Tour Championship |
Unofficial events
The following events were sanctioned by the Challenge Tour, but did not carry official money, wins were still official however.
| Date | Tournament | Host country | Purse (£) | Winner | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19 Jul | Rolex Trophy | Switzerland | 50,000 |  David Park (1) |
Challenge Tour Rankings
For full rankings, see 1998 Challenge Tour graduates.
The rankings were based on prize money won during the season, calculated in Pound sterling. The top 15 players on the tour earned status to play on the 1999 European Tour.
| Rank | Player | Prize money (£) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Warren Bennett | 81,053 |
| 2 | Per Nyman | 37,196 |
| 3 | Massimo Scarpa | 35,524 |
| 4 | Roger Winchester | 33,796 |
| 5 | Ricardo González | 33,159 |
See also
Notes
- 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 the European Tour.
References
- "Tour History". PGA European Tour. Archived from the original on 22 July 2010. Retrieved 2010-07-30.
- "Tournament Schedule". PGA European Tour. Retrieved 2010-08-03.