2021 Challenge Tour
The 2021 Challenge Tour was the 33rd season of the Challenge Tour, the official development tour to the European Tour.
| Duration | 22 April 2021 – 7 November 2021 |
|---|---|
| Number of official events | 26[lower-alpha 1] |
| Most wins |  Marcus Helligkilde (3) |
| Rankings | Marcus Helligkilde |
← 2020 2022 → | |
Changes for 2021
Similarly to 2020, the season was due to begin in February with three tournaments in South Africa co-sanctioned with the Sunshine Tour, but in mid-January the South African swing was postponed to April/May because of COVID-19 pandemic concerns.[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
In August, it was announced that the Hainan Open and the Foshan Open; both played in China, were cancelled.[4] Later in the month, replacement tournaments were confirmed in Spain, both hosted at Empordà Golf on the Costa Brava.[5]
Schedule
The following table lists official events during the 2021 season.[6]
| Date | Tournament | Host country | Purse (€) | Winner[lower-alpha 2] | OWGR points | Other tours[lower-alpha 3] | 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 | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} 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[lower-alpha 4] | |
| 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
For full rankings, see 2021 Challenge Tour graduates.
The rankings were titled as the Road to Mallorca and were based on tournament results during the season, calculated using a points-based system.[7][8] The top 20 players on the tour earned status to play on the 2022 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
- 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 the European Tour.
- AFR − Sunshine Tour; CHN − China Tour; NGL − Nordic Golf League.
- Tournament's debut delayed from 2020.
References
- "South African Swing postponed". European Tour. 13 January 2021. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
- "Challenge Tour unveils 2021 International Schedule". European Tour. 27 January 2021. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
- "Two Swedish events added to Road to Mallorca International Schedule". European Tour. 7 April 2021. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
- "Challenge Tour statement on the Hainan Open and Foshan Open". European Tour. 11 August 2021. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
- "Empordà Golf to host second Spanish Swing of 2021". European Tour. 25 August 2021. Retrieved 25 August 2021.
- "2021 Tournament schedule". European Tour. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
- "2021 Road to Mallorca". European Tour. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
- "Helligkilde enjoys double delight at Challenge Tour's season finale". Golf News. 7 November 2021. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
- Stafford, Ali (27 January 2021). "Extra European Tour cards on offer during 2021 Challenge Tour season". Sky Sports. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
- Coley, Ben (24 November 2021). "Challenge Tour graduates player profiles as DP World Tour welcomes new members". Sporting Life. Retrieved 29 August 2023.