The 2010 Challenge Tour was the 22nd season of the Challenge Tour, the official development tour to the European Tour.

2010 Challenge Tour season
Duration18 February 2010 (2010-02-18) – 30 October 2010 (2010-10-30)
Number of official events25[a]
Most winsDenmark Andreas Hartø (2)
Chile Mark Tullo (2)
Spain Álvaro Velasco (2)
Austria Martin Wiegele (2)
Austria Bernd Wiesberger (2)
RankingsSpain Álvaro Velasco
2009
2011

Changes for 2010

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In August, the Official World Golf Ranking announced that the Apulia San Domenico Grand Final would gain "flagship event" status, meaning that the minimum points awarded would increase to 16 from 12.[1][2]

Schedule

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The following table lists official events during the 2010 season.[3]

Date Tournament Host country Purse
()
Winner[b] OWGR
points
Other
tours[c]
Notes
21 Feb Abierto Internacional de Golf II Copa Antioquia Colombia US$220,000   David Vanegas (1) 12 CAN, TLA New to Challenge Tour
28 Mar Kenya Open Kenya 190,000   Robert Dinwiddie (3) 12
2 May Turkish Airlines Challenge Turkey 175,000   Charlie Ford (1) 12 New tournament
9 May Allianz Open Côtes d'Armor Bretagne France 150,000   Sam Walker (2) 12
23 May Mugello Tuscany Open Italy 150,000   Floris de Vries (1) 12 New tournament
30 May Telenet Trophy Belgium 150,000   Lee Slattery (2) 12
6 Jun Kärnten Golf Open Austria 160,000   Martin Wiegele (2) 12
13 Jun Scottish Hydro Challenge Scotland 200,000   George Murray (1) 12
20 Jun[d]
25 Apr
Moroccan Golf Classic Morocco 150,000   Chris Baker (1) 12
20 Jun Saint-Omer Open France 600,000   Martin Wiegele (3) 18 EUR
27 Jun Fred Olsen Challenge de España Spain 150,000   Álvaro Velasco (1) 12
4 Jul The Princess Sweden 150,000   Thorbjørn Olesen (1) 12
11 Jul Allianz Golf Open de Lyon France 150,000   Bernd Wiesberger (1) 12
18 Jul Credit Suisse Challenge Switzerland 150,000   Alessandro Tadini (3) 12
25 Jul English Challenge England 150,000   Daniel Gaunt (1) 12
1 Aug Green Challenge Finland Cancelled[5]
14 Aug Rolex Trophy Switzerland 215,000   Mark Tullo (1) 12
22 Aug ECCO Tour Championship Germany DKr 1,350,000   Andreas Hartø (a) (1) 12 DNK
28 Aug SWALEC Wales Challenge Wales 150,000   Oscar Florén (1) 12
5 Sep Allianz EurOpen Strasbourg France 150,000   Romain Wattel (a) (1) 12
12 Sep Kazakhstan Open Kazakhstan 400,000   Álvaro Velasco (2) 12
19 Sep M2M Russian Challenge Cup Russia 175,000   Carlos del Moral (2) 12 New tournament
10 Oct Allianz Golf Open du Grand Toulouse France 150,000   Bernd Wiesberger (2) 12
16 Oct Roma Golf Open Italy 150,000   Andreas Hartø (2) 12
23 Oct Egyptian Open Egypt 250,000   Mark Tullo (2) 14 New to Challenge Tour
30 Oct Apulia San Domenico Grand Final Italy 300,000   Matt Haines (1) 16 Flagship event

Rankings

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The rankings were based on prize money won during the season, calculated in Euros.[6][7] The top 20 players on the rankings earned status to play on the 2011 European Tour.[8][9]

Rank Player Prize money ()
1   Álvaro Velasco 134,297
2   Matt Haines 107,152
3   Thorbjørn Olesen 104,754
4   Floris de Vries 101,288
5   Bernd Wiesberger 99,989

Notes

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  1. ^ One further tournament was scheduled but was cancelled.
  2. ^ 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.
  3. ^ CAN − Canadian Tour; DNK − Danish Golf Tour; EUR − European Tour; TLA − Tour de las Américas.
  4. ^ Rescheduled due to the eruptions of Eyjafjallajökull.[4]

References

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  1. ^ "Official World Golf Ranking board announces new directives". Official World Golf Ranking. 23 August 2010. Retrieved 19 July 2023. The Board also agreed that the European Challenge Tour, in keeping with the other Tours, should have a Flagship event and approved a proposal that the 2010 Apulia San Domenico Grand Final should receive Flagship status with 16 ranking points to the winner.
  2. ^ "Grand Final becomes Flagship Event". European Tour. 29 July 2010. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
  3. ^ "2010 Tournament schedule". European Tour. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
  4. ^ Callow, James (19 April 2010). "Volcanic ash cloud causes widespread disruption to sporting calendar". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 August 2023. The Moroccan Golf Classic has been postponed...
  5. ^ "Green Challenge removed from Challenge Tour schedule". European Tour. 23 April 2010. Archived from the original on 29 September 2012. Retrieved 24 August 2022.
  6. ^ "2010 Rankings". European Tour. Archived from the original on 5 December 2010. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
  7. ^ "Haines hits the high notes on day of drama". European Tour. 30 October 2010. Retrieved 29 August 2023. Velasco has also targeted a maiden European Tour victory after topping the Rankings with earnings of €134,296.
  8. ^ "The Challenge Tour class of 2010". European Tour. 2 November 2010. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
  9. ^ "The Challenge Tour class of 2010 continued". European Tour. 3 November 2010. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
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