The European Challenge Tour on Monday unveiled its 2024 schedule with two events being allotted to India, in the form of the Delhi Challenge from March 14 to 17 at the Classic Golf and Country Club followed by the Kolkata Challenge at the Royal Calcutta Golf Club from March 21 to 24.
The RCGC is the oldest golf club in India and the first one established outside the United Kingdom. Together the two India legs will act as a leadup to the 2024 Hero Indian Open to be played at the DLF Golf and Country Club from March 28 to 31.
In a statement the Challenge tour said players would compete for total prize money of over €8,000,000 for the second consecutive year and the 2024 Road to Mallorca rankings order will begin with the SDC Open in early February, the first of four co-sanctioned events with the Sunshine Tour in South Africa with the India leg to follow. The Road to Mallorca heads to the United Arab Emirates in April with back-to-back events, the Abu Dhabi Challenge followed by the UAE Challenge, as part of the European Tour group’s long-term partnership with the Emirates Golf Federation. Spain is up next in May for the Challenge de España, which will kick-start a run of 18 tournaments in 21 weeks and see the Road to Mallorca travel through 14 countries in Europe, including Poland for the Rosa Challenge Tour and Ireland for the Irish Challenge at The K Club, which hosted the Irish Open in 2023 and will do so again in 2025 and 2027.
The Road to Mallorca returns to China for back-to-back events in October, the Hainan Open followed by the Hangzhou Open, which offers a final opportunity to tee it up in the Rolex Challenge Tour Grand Final supported by The R&A.
The Rolex Challenge Tour Grand Final is back at the Club de Golf Alcanada for the third successive year for the end-of-season showpiece from October 31 to November 3, as the top 45 players on the Rankings battle it out in Mallorca for one of the 20 DP World Tour cards. Those 20 players who benefit from this formal pathway to the DP World Tour will then be
eligible for the DP World Tour’s Earnings Assurance Programme, guaranteeing them minimum earnings of $150,000 for the 2025 season if they play in 15 or more events. The top five graduates will also benefit from the John Jacobs Bursary, similarly designed to provide security and a strong platform for their first season on the European Tour group’s top tier. Jamie Hodges, Challenge Tour Director, said: “I would like to thank all our promoters, national Federations and tournament sponsors who are absolutely integral to the success of the Challenge Tour and have helped make this global schedule possible.
“The number of different countries we are visiting, the variety of courses and conditions, in addition to the overall experiences the players get on the Challenge Tour will ensure they are fully equipped to make the step up to the DP World Tour.
“The success of our graduates on the DP World Tour in 2023, as well as the impressive start made by our graduates so far in 2024, highlights the calibre of golfer that the Challenge Tour continues to produce. Their careers benefited from our formal pathway to the DP World Tour and following in their footsteps is a great incentive for our members competing on the Challenge Tour in 2024.
“We are also very grateful for the commitment of Rolex, The R&A, and DP World through their title partnership of the DP World Tour, all of which has helped us raise prize funds and increase playing opportunities for our members.”
Last season, 25 former Challenge Tour players won on the DP World Tour including 2022 graduates Matthew Baldwin, Tom McKibbin, Daniel Hillier and Todd Clements, while six finished inside the top ten on the DP World Tour Rankings in Partnership with Rolex.
Matthieu Pavon became the 213th former Challenge Tour player to win on the European Tour when he secured a four-shot triumph at the Acciona Open de España presented by Madrid, while the total number of wins by Challenge Tour alumni is now 570.
Six former Challenge Tour players helped Team Europe to their dominant 16½-11½ victory against the US in the 2023 Ryder Cup at Marco Simone in Rome, including debutants Robert MacIntyre and Nicolai Højgaard, who went on to win the DP World Tour Championship last month to finish second on the Race to Dubai, the statement added.