The 2010 Challenge Tour was the 22nd season of the Challenge Tour, the official development tour to the European Tour.
| Duration | 18 February 2010 – 30 October 2010 |
|---|---|
| Number of official events | 25[a] |
| Most wins |  Andreas Hartø (2) Mark Tullo (2) Álvaro Velasco (2) Martin Wiegele (2) Bernd Wiesberger (2) |
| Rankings | Álvaro Velasco |
← 2009 2011 → | |
Changes for 2010 edit
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 edit
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] |
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 | ||
| 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 edit
For full rankings, see 2010 Challenge Tour graduates.
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 edit
- ^ A further one tournament was scheduled but was cancelled.
- ^ 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.
- ^ CAN − Canadian Tour; DNK − Danish Golf Tour; EUR − European Tour; TLA − Tour de las Américas.
- ^ Rescheduled due to the eruptions of Eyjafjallajökull.[4]
References edit
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Grand Final becomes Flagship Event". European Tour. 29 July 2010. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
- ^ "2010 Tournament schedule". European Tour. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
- ^ 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...
- ^ "Green Challenge removed from Challenge Tour schedule". European Tour. 23 April 2010. Archived from the original on 29 September 2012. Retrieved 24 August 2022.
- ^ "2010 Rankings". European Tour. Archived from the original on 5 December 2010. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "The Challenge Tour class of 2010". European Tour. 2 November 2010. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
- ^ "The Challenge Tour class of 2010 continued". European Tour. 3 November 2010. Retrieved 29 August 2023.