2020 Challenge Tour

The 2020 Challenge Tour was the 32nd 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]

2020 Challenge Tour season
Duration30 January 2020 (2020-01-30) – 22 November 2020 (2020-11-22)
Number of official events11[lower-alpha 1]
Most wins2:
Czech Republic Ondřej Lieser
Challenge Tour RankingsCzech Republic Ondřej Lieser
← 2019
2021 →

After beginning with three tournaments in South Africa co-sanctioned with the Sunshine Tour, the remainder of the season was severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, with many tournaments being cancelled or postponed.

Schedule

The following table lists official events during the 2020 season.[2]

DateTournamentHost countryPurse
(€)		Winner[lower-alpha 2]OWGR
points		Other
tours[lower-alpha 3]		Notes
2 FebLimpopo ChampionshipSouth AfricaUS$250,000South Africa J. C. Ritchie (1)13AFRNew to Challenge Tour
9 FebRAM Cape Town OpenSouth AfricaUS$250,000Sweden Anton Karlsson (1)13AFRNew to Challenge Tour
16 FebDimension Data Pro-AmSouth AfricaUS$340,000South Africa Christiaan Bezuidenhout (n/a)13AFRNew to Challenge Tour
Pro-Am
10 MayPrague Golf ChallengeCzech Republic–Cancelled[lower-alpha 4]–
7 JunD+D Real Czech ChallengeCzech Republic–Cancelled[lower-alpha 4]–
14 JunMatch Play 9Spain–Postponed[lower-alpha 5]–
5 JulD+D Real Slovakia ChallengeSlovakia–Cancelled[lower-alpha 4]–
12 JulLe Vaudreuil Golf ChallengeFrance–Cancelled[lower-alpha 4]–
12 Jul[lower-alpha 6]Austrian OpenAustria500,000Scotland Marc Warren (3)18EUR
18 Jul[lower-alpha 6]Euram Bank OpenAustria500,000France Joël Stalter (2)18EUR
26 JulVierumäki Finnish ChallengeFinland–Cancelled[lower-alpha 4]–
9 Aug
31 May		Swiss ChallengeSwitzerland–Cancelled[lower-alpha 4]–
15 AugMade in Denmark ChallengeDenmark–Cancelled[lower-alpha 4]–
22 AugRolex TrophySwitzerland–Cancelled[lower-alpha 4]–
29 AugB-NL Challenge TrophyNetherlands–Cancelled[lower-alpha 4]–New tournament
6 SepOpen de BretagneFrance–Cancelled[lower-alpha 4]–
6 Sep[lower-alpha 6]Northern Ireland OpenNorthern Ireland200,000United States Tyler Koivisto (1)12
13 SepIrish ChallengeRepublic of Ireland–Cancelled[lower-alpha 4]–
20 SepOpen de PortugalPortugal500,000South Africa Garrick Higgo (1)18EUR
27 SepHopps Open de ProvenceFrance–Cancelled[lower-alpha 4]–
4 OctLalla Aïcha Challenge TourMorocco–Cancelled[lower-alpha 4]–
4 Oct[lower-alpha 7]
28 Jun		Italian Challenge Open Eneos Motor OilItaly300,000Germany Hurly Long (1)12
11 Oct
21 Jun		Hauts de France – Pas de Calais Golf OpenFrance–Cancelled[lower-alpha 4]–
18 OctHainan OpenChina–Cancelled[lower-alpha 4]–CHN
25 OctFoshan OpenChina–Cancelled[lower-alpha 4]–CHN
8 Nov[lower-alpha 7]
17 May		Andalucía Challenge de EspañaSpain200,000Czech Republic Ondřej Lieser (1)12
14 NovAndalucía Challenge de CádizSpain200,000Spain Pep Anglès (1)12New tournament
22 Nov[lower-alpha 7]
8 Nov		Challenge Tour Grand FinalSpain350,000Czech Republic Ondřej Lieser (2)17Flagship event

Challenge Tour Rankings

The rankings were titled as the Road to Mallorca and were based on prize money won during the season, calculated using a points-based system. The top five players on the tour earned limited status to play on the 2021 European Tour.[15]

RankPlayerPoints
1Czech Republic Ondřej Lieser116,345
2Germany Marcel Schneider98,500
3Spain Pep Anglès92,688
4England Richard Mansell84,534
5England Matt Ford69,948

See also

Notes
  1. A further 17 tournaments were scheduled but were either cancelled, postponed or otherwise removed from the schedule.
  2. 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.
  3. AFR − Sunshine Tour; CHN − China Tour; EUR − European Tour.
  4. Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10]
  5. Postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[11][4]
  6. Tournament added to the schedule as part of changes due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[12][13]
  7. Rescheduled due to COVID-19 pandemic.[14]

References
  1. "Tour History". PGA European Tour. Archived from the original on 22 July 2010. Retrieved 16 January 2013.
  2. "Challenge Tour Schedule 2020". PGA European Tour. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  3. Jackson, Keith (11 March 2020). "Coronavirus: Indian Open postponed, Czech Masters cancelled outright". Sky Sports. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  4. "Update on Challenge Tour international schedule". PGA European Tour. 17 April 2020. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  5. "Further update to Challenge Tour schedule". Challenge Tour. 28 April 2020. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
  6. "R&A support for the Challenge Tour". The R&A. 16 June 2020. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
  7. "Vierumäelle rahakas golfkisa myös tälle vuodelle". Etelä-Suomen Sanomat (in Finnish). 10 July 2020. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
  8. "Swiss Challenge 2020 auf golf sempach – abgesagt" (in German). Swiss Challenge. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
  9. Keogh, Brian (14 August 2020). "2020 Irish Open moved to Northern Ireland's Galgorm Castle due to Republic's Covid travel restrictions". Irish Independent. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
  10. "Hopps Open de Provence cancelled". European Tour. 24 August 2020. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
  11. "Statement on the Challenge de España". PGA European Tour. 18 March 2020. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  12. "European Tour and Challenge Tour to resume in Austria". European Tour. 15 June 2020. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
  13. "NI Open: R&A to back September European Challenge Tour event at Galgorm Spa & Resort". BBC Sport. 17 July 2020. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
  14. "Statement on Challenge Tour international schedule". PGA European Tour. 2 April 2020. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  15. "Czech mate as Lieser scoops Grand Final and Rankings double". PGA European Tour. 22 November 2020.
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