The 2016 Challenge Tour was the 28th season of the Challenge Tour, the official development tour to the European Tour.
| Duration | 17 March 2016 – 5 November 2016 |
|---|---|
| Number of official events | 27 |
| Most wins |  Bernd Ritthammer (3) |
| Rankings |  Jordan Smith |
← 2015 2017 → | |
Schedule edit
The following table lists official events during the 2016 season.[1]
| Date | Tournament | Host country | Purse (€) |
Winner[a] | OWGR points |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 Mar | Barclays Kenya Open | Kenya | 220,000 |  Sebastian Söderberg (1) |
12 | |
| 23 Apr | Red Sea Egyptian Challenge | Egypt | 180,000 | Jordan Smith (1) |
12 | New tournament |
| 1 May | Challenge de Madrid | Spain | 170,000 |  Duncan Stewart (1) |
12 | |
| 8 May | Turkish Airlines Challenge | Turkey | 175,000 |  Clément Sordet (2) |
12 | |
| 15 May | Montecchia Open | Italy | 250,000 | Gary King (1) |
12 | |
| 29 May | D+D Real Czech Challenge | Czech Republic | 175,000 | Damien Perrier (1) |
12 | |
| 5 Jun | Swiss Challenge | Switzerland | 170,000 | Alexander Knappe (1) |
12 | |
| 12 Jun | KPMG Trophy | Belgium | 170,000 | Simon Forsström (1) |
12 | |
| 19 Jun | Najeti Open | France | 200,000 |  José-Filipe Lima (4) |
12 | |
| 26 Jun | SSE Scottish Hydro Challenge | Scotland | 250,000 | James Heath (2) |
12 | |
| 3 Jul | Made in Denmark Challenge | Denmark | 180,000 | Bernd Ritthammer (1) |
12 | |
| 10 Jul | D+D Real Slovakia Challenge | Slovakia | 170,000 |  Espen Kofstad (3) |
12 | |
| 17 Jul | Fred Olsen Challenge de España | Spain | 170,000 | Adrien Saddier (1) |
12 | |
| 24 Jul | Le Vaudreuil Golf Challenge | France | 210,000 | Alexander Björk (1) |
12 | |
| 31 Jul | Tayto Northern Ireland Open | Northern Ireland | 170,000 |  Ryan Fox (2) |
12 | |
| 7 Aug | Swedish Challenge | Sweden | 200,000 | Joël Stalter (1) |
12 | New to Challenge Tour |
| 14 Aug | Vierumäki Finnish Challenge | Finland | 180,000 | Sam Walker (4) |
12 | |
| 20 Aug | Rolex Trophy | Switzerland | 250,000 |  Dylan Frittelli (2) |
12 | |
| 28 Aug | Bridgestone Challenge | England | 180,000 |  Thomas Detry (1) |
12 | |
| 4 Sep | Cordon Golf Open | France | 200,000 |  Álvaro Velasco (3) |
12 | |
| 11 Sep | Volopa Irish Challenge | Ireland | 180,000 | Bernd Ritthammer (2) |
12 | |
| 2 Oct | Kazakhstan Open | Kazakhstan | 450,000 | Sam Walker (5) |
13 | |
| 9 Oct | Terre dei Consoli Open | Italy | 250,000 | Johan Edfors (4) |
12 | |
| 16 Oct | Hainan Open | China | US$262,500 | Alexander Knappe (2) |
13 | New to Challenge Tour |
| 23 Oct | Foshan Open | China | US$500,000 | Marcus Armitage (1) |
13 | |
| 29 Oct | Ras Al Khaimah Golf Challenge | UAE | US$350,000 | Jordan Smith (2) |
13 | New tournament |
| 5 Nov | NBO Golf Classic Grand Final | Oman | 400,000 | Bernd Ritthammer (3) |
17 | Flagship event |
Rankings edit
For full rankings, see 2016 Challenge Tour graduates.
The rankings were titled as the Road to Oman and were based on tournament results during the season, calculated using a points-based system.[2][3] The top 16 players on the rankings earned status to play on the 2017 European Tour.[4]
| Rank | Player | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jordan Smith |
239,985 |
| 2 | Bernd Ritthammer |
209,953 |
| 3 | Alexander Knappe |
193,500 |
| 4 | Ryan Fox |
160,768 |
| 5 | Sam Walker |
158,370 |
Notes edit
- ^ 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 edit
- ^ "2016 Tournament schedule". European Tour. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
- ^ "2016 Road to Oman". European Tour. Archived from the original on 16 February 2017. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
- ^ "Derry Hill player Jordan Smith crowned European Challenge Tour's 2016 champion after topping Road To Oman standings". Gazette & Herald. Chippenham, United Kingdom. 5 November 2016. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
- ^ "Recap: the final day of the 2016 Road to Oman". European Tour. 6 November 2016. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
So, at the end of the most competitive Challenge Tour season in recent memory, the lucky 16 going to the European Tour next year were decided. Jordan Smith, Bernd Ritthammer, Alexander Knappe, Ryan Fox, Sam Walker, Matthieu Pavon, Alexander Bjӧrk, Dylan Frittelli, Romain Langasque, Duncan Stewart, Marcus Armitage, José-Filipe Lima, Damien Perrier, Pep Angles, Thomas Detry and Joël Stalter, we wish you good luck in your endeavours - do us proud.