1997 Challenge Tour
The 1997 Challenge Tour was the ninth season of the Challenge Tour, the official development tour to the European Tour.
| Duration | 5 March 1997 – 26 October 1997 |
|---|---|
| Number of official events | 35[lower-alpha 1] |
| Most wins | Andrew Collison (2) Fredrik Henge (2) Raphaël Jacquelin (2) Anssi Kankkonen (2) Michele Reale (2) Erol Şimşek (2) |
| Rankings | Michele Reale |
← 1996 1998 → | |
Schedule
The following table lists official events during the 1997 season.[1]
| Date | Tournament | Host country | Purse (£) | Winner[lower-alpha 2] | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 Mar | Open de Côte d'Ivoire | Ivory Coast | 70,000 | Knud Storgaard (1) | |
| 16 Mar | Lonrho Kenya Open | Kenya | 65,000 | Jorge Berendt (1) | |
| 13 Apr | Is Molas Challenge | Italy | 35,000 | Andrew Collison (2) | |
| 19 Apr | Le Pavoniere Supercal Challenge | Italy | 35,000 | Andrew Collison (3) | |
| 27 Apr | Alianca UAP Challenger | France | 55,000 | Anssi Kankkonen (2) | |
| 4 May | Canarias Challenge | Spain | 55,000 | Michele Reale (1) | |
| 18 May | Modena Classic Open | Italy | 35,000 | Jesús María Arruti (2) | |
| 25 May | Matchmaker Austrian Open | Austria | 50,000 | Erol Şimşek (3) | New to Challenge Tour |
| 1 Jun | Himmerland Open | Denmark | 35,000 | Mikael Lundberg (1) | |
| 8 Jun | KB Golf Challenge | Czech Republic | 55,000 | Alex Čejka (3) | |
| 8 Jun | SIAB Open | Sweden | 35,000 | Joakim Rask (3) | |
| 22 Jun | Team Erhverv Danish Open | Denmark | 80,000 | David Lynn (1) | |
| 29 Jun | Audi Quattro Trophy | Germany | 72,000 | David A. Russell (1) | |
| 29 Jun | Open dei Tessali | Italy | 35,000 | Ivó Giner (1) | |
| 6 Jul | Open des Volcans | France | 50,000 | Mark Litton (4) | |
| 7 Jul | Neuchâtel Open | Switzerland | 35,000 | Erol Şimşek (4) | |
| 13 Jul | Volvo Finnish Open | Finland | 35,000 | Søren Kjeldsen (1) | |
| 20 Jul | Rolex Trophy Pro-Am | Switzerland | 50,000 | Anssi Kankkonen (3) | |
| Interlaken Open | Switzerland | – | Abandoned[lower-alpha 3] | ||
| 27 Jul | BTC Slovenian Open | Slovenia | 40,000 | Kalle Brink (1) | New tournament |
| 3 Aug | Klassis Turkish Open | Turkey | 85,000 | Bradley Dredge (1) | New tournament |
| 10 Aug | Challenge Tour Championship | England | 70,000 | Greg Chalmers (1) | |
| 24 Aug | Netcom Norwegian Open | Norway | 45,000 | Demitri Bieri (1) | |
| 31 Aug | Steelcover Dutch Challenge | Netherlands | 60,000 | Raphaël Jacquelin (2) | |
| 25 Aug | Toyota Danish PGA Championship | Denmark | 40,000 | Fredrik Henge (1) | |
| 6 Sep | Sovereign Russian Open | Russia | 90,000 | Michele Reale (2) | |
| 7 Sep | Öhrlings Swedish Matchplay | Sweden | 50,000 | Gregory Garbero (1) | |
| 14 Sep | Perrier European Pro-Am | Belgium | 65,000 | Craig Hainline (1) | |
| 21 Sep | Eulen Open Galea | Spain | 65,000 | Warren Bennett (2) | |
| 26 Sep | BPGT Challenge | England | 35,000 | Olivier Edmond (1) | |
| Polish Open | Poland | – | Cancelled | ||
| 5 Oct | Telia InfoMedia Grand Prix | Sweden | 80,000 | Fredrik Henge (2) | |
| 11 Oct | San Paolo Vita Open | Italy | 45,000 | Mathew Goggin (2) | |
| 19 Oct | Estoril Challenge | Portugal | 85,000 | José Manuel Carriles (1) | New tournament |
| 26 Oct | Estoril Grand Final | Portugal | €70,000 | Nicolas Joakimides (1) | Tour Championship |
Unofficial events
The following events were sanctioned by the Challenge Tour, but did not carry official money, wins were still official however.
| Date | Tournament | Host country | Purse (£) | Winner[lower-alpha 2] | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 Jun | Memorial Olivier Barras | Switzerland | 40,000 | Raphaël Jacquelin (1) |
Rankings
For full rankings, see 1997 Challenge Tour graduates.
The rankings were based on prize money won during the season, calculated in Pound sterling.[3] The top 15 players on the rankings earned status to play on the 1998 European Tour.[3]
| Rank | Player | Prize money (£) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michele Reale | 51,679 |
| 2 | Kalle Brink | 36,112 |
| 3 | Greg Chalmers | 35,267 |
| 4 | Raphaël Jacquelin | 34,537 |
| 5 | Anssi Kankkonen | 32,128 |
See also
Notes
- A further two tournaments were scheduled but were either cancelled or abandoned.
- 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.
- Tournament abandoned due to persistent bad weather.[2]
References
- "1997 Tournament schedule". European Tour. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
- "Wash out!". The Sunday People. London, United Kingdom. 27 July 1997. p. 60. Retrieved 30 September 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- "Leading 15 players on rankings who earn European Tour cards for 1998". The Birmingham Post. Birmingham, United Kingdom. 27 October 1997. p. 21. Retrieved 29 September 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
External links
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