The 2009 Challenge Tour was the 21st season of the Challenge Tour, the official development tour to the European Tour.
| Duration | 19 March 2009 – 31 October 2009 |
|---|---|
| Number of official events | 24[a] |
| Most wins |  Edoardo Molinari (3) |
| Rankings | Edoardo Molinari |
← 2008 2010 → | |
Schedule edit
The following table lists official events during the 2009 season.[1]
| Date | Tournament | Host country | Purse (€) |
Winner[b] | OWGR points |
Other tours[c] |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 Mar | Club Colombia Masters | Colombia | US$200,000 |  Alan Wagner (1)
|
12 | TLA | |
| 19 Apr | Tusker Kenya Open | Kenya | 180,000 |  Gary Boyd (1)
|
12 | ||
| 3 May | Moroccan Classic | Morocco | 140,000 | Robert Coles (2)
|
12 | ||
| 17 May | Allianz Open Côtes d'Armor Bretagne | France | 150,000 | Lee S. James (5)
|
12 | ||
| 24 May | Piemonte Open | Italy | 150,000 | Edoardo Molinari (3)
|
12 | ||
| 31 May | Telenet Trophy | Belgium | 150,000 |  François Calmels (1)
|
12 | ||
| 7 Jun | Kärnten Golf Open | Austria | 140,000 |  Christoph Günther (1)
|
12 | New tournament | |
| 14 Jun | Challenge of Ireland | Ireland | 150,000 | Robert Coles (3)
|
12 | ||
| 21 Jun | Saint-Omer Open | France | 600,000 |  Christian Nilsson (1)
|
18 | EUR | |
| 28 Jun | The Princess | Sweden | 300,000 | Andrew Butterfield (1)
|
12 | New tournament | |
| 5 Jul | Credit Suisse Challenge | Switzerland | 140,000 | Peter Baker (3)
|
12 | ||
| 12 Jul | Allianz EurOpen de Lyon | France | 150,000 | Alexandre Kaleka (1)
|
12 | ||
| 26 Jul | SWALEC Wales Challenge | Wales | 150,000 |  Rhys Davies (1)
|
12 | ||
| 2 Aug | Scottish Hydro Challenge | Scotland | 200,000 |  Jamie McLeary (1)
|
12 | ||
| 9 Aug | SK Golf Challenge | Finland | 175,000 |  Nicolas Colsaerts (1)
|
12 | ||
| 16 Aug | Trophée du Golf de Genève | Switzerland | 210,000 | Julien Quesne (1)
|
12 | ||
| Chinese Challenge | China | – | Removed | – | New tournament | ||
| 30 Aug | DHL Wrocław Open | Poland | 140,000 | Eric Ramsay (1)
|
12 | ||
| 6 Sep | Fred Olsen Challenge de España | Spain | 150,000 | Rhys Davies (2)
|
12 | ||
| 13 Sep | Dutch Futures | Netherlands | 150,000 | Nicolas Colsaerts (2)
|
12 | ||
| 20 Sep | Kazakhstan Open | Kazakhstan | 400,000 | Edoardo Molinari (4)
|
12 | ||
| 4 Oct | ECCO Tour Championship | Denmark | 180,000 |  José-Filipe Lima (3)
|
12 | NGL | |
| 11 Oct | Allianz Golf Open Grand Toulouse | France | 150,000 | John Parry (1)
|
12 | ||
| 25 Oct | Italian Federation Cup | Italy | 150,000 | Edoardo Molinari (5)[d]
|
12 | ||
| 31 Oct | Apulia San Domenico Grand Final | Italy | 300,000 | Peter Whiteford (3)
|
12 | Tour Championship |
Rankings edit
For full rankings, see 2009 Challenge Tour graduates.
The rankings were based on prize money won during the season, calculated in Euros.[3][4] The top 20 players on the rankings earned status to play on the 2010 European Tour.[4]
| Rank | Player | Prize money (€) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Edoardo Molinari |
242,980 |
| 2 | José-Filipe Lima |
134,622 |
| 3 | Nicolas Colsaerts |
128,590 |
| 4 | Rhys Davies |
113,187 |
| 5 | Peter Whiteford |
110.593 |
Notes edit
- ^ A further one tournament was scheduled but was 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.
- ^ EUR − European Tour; NGL − Nordic Golf League; TLA − Tour de las Américas.
- ^ Molinari earned immediate promotion to the European Tour, as this was his third win of the season.[2]
References edit
- ^ "2009 Tournament schedule". European Tour. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
- ^ "Molinari Secures Order of Merit with Win". Phil Kenyon Putting. 24 November 2009. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
In so doing, Edoardo Molinari also earns himself Battlefield Promotion to the European Tour.
- ^ "2009 Rankings". European Tour. Archived from the original on 15 December 2009. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
- ^ a b "Whiteford wins season finale with final flourish". European Tour. 19 March 2010. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
...and the Scot can now look forward to joining The 2010 Race to Dubai after finishing fifth in the Rankings, which were won by Italy's Edoardo Molinari with record earnings of €242,979... There was also despair for Germany's Christoph Günther, whose place in the all-important top 20 was taken by Whiteford's fellow Scot Andrew McArthur...