2020 Challenge Tour Explained
The 2020 Challenge Tour was the 32nd season of the Challenge Tour, the official development tour to the European Tour.
In-season changes
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.[1]
| Date | Tournament | Host country | Purse
(€) | Winner | OWGR
points | Other
tours | Notes |
|---|
| 2 Feb | | South Africa | US$250,000 |  J. C. Ritchie (1) | 13 | | New to Challenge Tour |
| 9 Feb | | South Africa | US$250,000 |  Anton Karlsson (1) | 13 | | New to Challenge Tour |
| 16 Feb | | South Africa | US$340,000 | Christiaan Bezuidenhout (n/a) | 13 | | New to Challenge Tour
Pro-Am |
10 May | | Czech Republic | – | Cancelled[2] | – | | |
7 Jun | | Czech Republic | – | Cancelled | – | | |
14 Jun | | Spain | – | Postponed[3] | – | | |
5 Jul | | Slovakia | – | Cancelled | – | | |
12 Jul | | France | – | Cancelled | – | | |
| 12 Jul | | Austria | 500,000 | Marc Warren (3) | 18 | | |
| 18 Jul | | Austria | 500,000 |  Joël Stalter (2) | 18 | | |
26 Jul | | Finland | – | Cancelled[4] | – | | |
9 Aug
31 May | | Switzerland | – | Cancelled[5] | – | | |
15 Aug | | Denmark | – | Cancelled[6] | – | | |
22 Aug | | Switzerland | – | Cancelled[7] | – | | |
29 Aug | | Netherlands | – | Cancelled | – | | New tournament |
6 Sep | | France | – | Cancelled | – | | |
| 6 Sep | | Northern Ireland | 200,000 |  Tyler Koivisto (1) | 12 | | |
13 Sep | | Republic of Ireland | – | Cancelled[8] | – | | |
| 20 Sep | | Portugal | 500,000 | Garrick Higgo (1) | 18 | | |
27 Sep | | France | – | Cancelled[9] | – | | |
4 Oct | | Morocco | – | Cancelled | – | | |
4 Oct
28 Jun | | Italy | 300,000 |  Hurly Long (1) | 12 | | |
11 Oct
21 Jun | | France | – | Cancelled | – | | |
18 Oct | | China | – | Cancelled | – | | |
25 Oct | | China | – | Cancelled | – | | |
8 Nov
17 May | | Spain | 200,000 |  Ondřej Lieser (1) | 12 | | |
| 14 Nov | | Spain | 200,000 |  Pep Anglès (1) | 12 | | New tournament |
22 Nov
8 Nov | | Spain | 350,000 | Ondřej Lieser (2) | 17 | | Flagship event | |
Rankings
The rankings were titled as the Road to Mallorca and were based on tournament results during the season, calculated using a points-based system.[10] [11] The top five players on the rankings earned limited status to play on the 2021 European Tour.[11]
| Rank | Player | Points |
|---|
| 1 | | 116,345 |
| 2 | | 98,500 |
| 3 | | 92,688 |
| 4 | | 84,534 |
| 5 | | 69,948 | |
Notes and References
- Web site: 2020 Tournament schedule . European Tour . 29 August 2023.
- Web site: Coronavirus: Indian Open postponed, Czech Masters cancelled outright . Sky Sports . Keith . Jackson . 11 March 2020 . 21 April 2020 . Furthermore, Relmost has also advised us of the cancellation of the two Challenge Tour events they promote in the Czech Republic, the Prague Golf Challenge (May 7-10) and the D+D Real Czech Challenge (June 4-7), along with the D+D Real Slovakia Challenge (July 2-5)..
- Web site: Update on Challenge Tour International Schedule . European Tour . 17 April 2020 . 21 April 2020. The European Challenge Tour today confirmed the cancellation of Le Vaudreuil Golf Challenge and Open de Bretagne and the postponement of the Andalucía Match Play 9 and Challenge de España, due to the continuing threat posed by the spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19)..
- Web site: Vierumäelle rahakas golfkisa myös tälle vuodelle . Etelä-Suomen Sanomat . 10 July 2020 . Finnish . Vierumäki's lucrative golf competition also for this year . 17 July 2020.
- Web site: Swiss Challenge 2020 auf golf sempach – abgesagt . Swiss Challenge . German . Swiss Challenge 2020 at Golf Sempach – Cancelled . 17 July 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200718220907/http://www.swiss-challenge.ch/info/news/artikel-lesen/article/swiss-challenge-2020-auf-golf-sempach-abgesagt.html . 18 July 2020.
- Web site: Further update to Challenge Tour schedule . European Tour . 28 April 2020 . 17 July 2020 . The European Challenge Tour today confirmed the cancellation of the Made in Denmark Challenge presented by FREJA, the B-NL Challenge Trophy and the Foshan Open..
- Web site: R&A support for the Challenge Tour . The R&A . 16 June 2020 . 17 July 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200717165904/https://www.randa.org/en/news/2020/06/ra-support-the-challenge-tour . 17 July 2020 . Following the decision to cancel the Rolex Trophy that had been scheduled for August 19–22, Rolex has offered to repurpose the tournament prize fund to benefit the wider Challenge Tour schedule and its members in 2020..
- Web site: 2020 Irish Open moved to Northern Ireland's Galgorm Castle due to Republic's Covid travel restrictions . Irish Independent . Brian . Keogh . 14 August 2020 . 14 August 2020 . The €220,000 Irish Challenge, which was scheduled for the Republic of Ireland from September 10-13 but without a confirmed venue, has been removed from the Challenge Tour schedule..
- Web site: Hopps Open de Provence cancelled . European Tour . 24 August 2020 . 24 August 2020.
- Web site: 2020 Road to Mallorca . European Tour . 29 August 2023.
- Web site: Czech mate as Lieser scoops Grand Final and Rankings double . European Tour . 22 November 2020 . 29 August 2023 . Germany’s Marcel Schneider finished the 2020 season second on the Road to Mallorca Rankings, while Andalucía Challenge de Cádiz winner Pep Angles finished third. English duo Richard Mansell and Matt Ford came fourth and fifth, respectively, and all five players will receive playing opportunities in nominated European Tour events in 2021..
