The 2018 Challenge Tour was the 30th season of the Challenge Tour, the official development tour to the European Tour.
| Duration | 22 March 2018 – 3 November 2018 |
|---|---|
| Number of official events | 28 |
| Most wins |  Kim Koivu (3) |
| Rankings |  Joachim B. Hansen |
← 2017 2019 → | |
Schedule edit
The following table lists official events during the 2018 season.[1]
| Date | Tournament | Host country | Purse (€) |
Winner[a] | OWGR points |
Other tours[b] |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 Mar | Barclays Kenya Open | Kenya | 500,000 |  Lorenzo Gagli (1) |
12 | ||
| 15 Apr | Belt & Road Colorful Yunnan Open | China | US$350,000 | Kim Koivu (1) |
9 | CHN | New to Challenge Tour |
| 29 Apr | Turkish Airlines Challenge | Turkey | 200,000 | Joachim B. Hansen (1) |
12 | ||
| 6 May | Challenge de España | Spain | 200,000 |  Oscar Lengdén (2) |
12 | ||
| 13 May | Open de Portugal | Portugal | 200,000 |  Dimitrios Papadatos (1) |
12 | ||
| 20 May | Andalucía Costa del Sol Match Play 9 | Spain | 200,000 |  Liam Johnston (1) |
12 | ||
| 27 May | D+D Real Czech Challenge | Czech Republic | 185,000 |  Kim Min-kyu (1) |
12 | ||
| 3 Jun | Swiss Challenge | Switzerland | 180,000 |  Marcel Schneider (1) |
12 | ||
| 10 Jun | KPMG Trophy | Belgium | 180,000 |  Pedro Figueiredo (1) |
12 | ||
| 17 Jun | Hauts de France Golf Open | France | 180,000 |  Stuart Manley (2) |
12 | ||
| 24 Jun | SSE Scottish Hydro Challenge | Scotland | 250,000 | David Law (1) |
12 | ||
| 1 Jul | Made in Denmark Challenge | Denmark | 180,000 | Joachim B. Hansen (2) |
12 | ||
| 8 Jul | Prague Golf Challenge | Czech Republic | 185,000 |  Ben Stow (1) |
12 | ||
| 15 Jul | Italian Challenge | Italy | 300,000 | Sebastian Söderberg (2) |
12 | ||
| 22 Jul | Le Vaudreuil Golf Challenge | France | 210,000 | Richard McEvoy (3) |
12 | ||
| 29 Jul | Euram Bank Open | Austria | 180,000 |  Darius van Driel (1) |
12 | New tournament | |
| 5 Aug | Swedish Challenge | Sweden | 200,000 | Oliver Wilson (1) |
12 | ||
| 12 Aug | Vierumäki Finnish Challenge | Finland | 180,000 | Kim Koivu (2) |
12 | ||
| 19 Aug | Galgorm Resort & Spa Northern Ireland Open | Northern Ireland | 180,000 | Calum Hill (1) |
12 | ||
| 25 Aug | Rolex Trophy | Switzerland | 250,000 | Kim Koivu (3)[c] |
12 | ||
| 2 Sep | Cordon Golf Open | France | 230,000 | Jack Singh Brar (1) |
12 | ||
| 9 Sep | Bridgestone Challenge | England | 180,000 | Tom Lewis (1) |
12 | ||
| 16 Sep | Kazakhstan Open | Kazakhstan | 450,000 | Liam Johnston (2) |
13 | ||
| 23 Sep | Hopps Open de Provence | France | 200,000 |  Romain Langasque (1) |
12 | New tournament | |
| 7 Oct | Monaghan Irish Challenge | Ireland | 180,000 | Oliver Wilson (2) |
12 | ||
| 14 Oct | Hainan Open | China | US$350,000 | Kalle Samooja (1) |
13 | CHN | |
| 21 Oct | Foshan Open | China | US$500,000 | Victor Perez (2) |
13 | CHN | |
| 3 Nov | Ras Al Khaimah Challenge Tour Grand Final | UAE | 420,000 |  Adri Arnaus (1) |
17 | Flagship event |
Rankings edit
For full rankings, see 2018 Challenge Tour graduates.
The rankings were titled as the Road to Ras Al Khaimah and were based on tournament results during the season, calculated using a points-based system.[3][4] The top 15 players on the rankings earned status to play on the 2019 European Tour.[5]
| Rank | Player | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Joachim B. Hansen |
192,320 |
| 2 | Adri Arnaus |
185,836 |
| 3 | Victor Perez |
184,236 |
| 4 | Kalle Samooja |
140,243 |
| 5 | Sebastian Söderberg |
140,167 |
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.
- ^ CHN − China Tour.
- ^ Koivu earned immediate promotion to the European Tour, as this was his third win of the season.[2]
References edit
- ^ "2018 Tournament schedule". European Tour. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
- ^ "Rolex Trophy win hands Koivu European Tour card". European Tour. 25 August 2018. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
- ^ "2018 Road to Ras Al Khaimah". European Tour. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
- ^ Jackson, Keith (3 November 2018). "Adri Arnaus snatches tense win at Challenge Tour Grand Final". Sky Sports. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
Hansen struggled to a closing 75 which dropped him into a share of 13th place, but that was enough to secure first place in the Road to Ras Al Khaimah rankings ahead of Arnaus and Perez, with Kalle Samooja and Sebastian Soderberg rounding off the top five.
- ^ Gray, Will (5 November 2018). "Hansen headlines 15 Challenge Tour graduates in Europe". Golf Channel. Retrieved 29 August 2023.