With the countdown to the first event of the new European Challenge Tour season continuing at pace, europeantour.com has picked out a quality quintet for golf fans to keep an eye on as the second tier season unfurls before us this year.
There can be few things more intoxicating than the opportunities afforded by a fresh start and the potential achievements not yet known, a teasing proposition for any aspiring professional as they get ready to embark on a season that could dramatically change the trajectory of their career.
Some will have tasted success at this level before, while for others this year could well be the first morsels of their journey in the paid ranks, but regardless it will be nigh on impossible to predict who will come tumbling out of the Challenge Tour pack when play gets under way next month at the Madeira Islands Open – Portugal – BPI.
However, there is evidence to suggest that the following five potentially potent players could well make up a proportion of the graduating class by finding their way into the top 15 on the season-long Rankings come the climax in Dubai.
Ricardo Gouveia
Age: 23 – Best Challenge Tour finish: 1 (EMC Golf Challenge Open, 2014) – Rankings: 47
This Portuguese star of the future wasted little time in making a name for himself on the Challenge Tour last year, thanks to an 11th hour maiden victory in Rome that saw him earn his place for the following season, as well as a last ditch chance at making the Dubai Festival City Challenge Tour Grand Final hosted by Al Badia Golf Club. Alas, the University of Central Florida alumnus would narrowly miss out on the top 45 that qualified for the closing event in the UAE, but he will start this campaign as one of the hot favourites for a place in our graduating class as a result of his impressive Italian play-off win, which remains the best moment in his thus far embryonic professional career.
Hugues Joannes
Age: 26 – Best Challenge Tour finish: 2 (Fred Olsen Challenge de España, 2014) – Rankings: 3
Following the success of two-time Challenge Tour graduate Nicolas Colsaerts in recent years, this Belgian looks handily placed to play his way up to and alongside his esteemed compatriot on The European Tour, thanks to an impressive debut on the second tier in the past 12 months. His second place at the Fred Olsen Challenge de España last June was a sign of the talent he possesses, and he duly followed that with a tie for fourth in France before a closing share of fifth in the Grand Final ensured his place as one of the men to beat this coming season.
Max Orrin
Age: 20 – Best Challenge Tour finish: 1 (National Bank of Oman Golf Classic, 2014) – Rankings: 22
Hailing from Kent in England’s south east corner, this former amateur star proved his class in claiming a maiden Challenge Tour victory in the penultimate event of last season, holding off a strong field at the National Bank of Oman Golf Classic to catapult himself into the final tournament of the year. Once there, he would narrowly miss out on earning a place in the top 15 in the Rankings, but his success has made sure that he starts this season as one to watch
Callum Shinkwin
Age: 21 – Best Challenge Tour finish: 2 (Challenge de Catalunya, 2014) – Rankings: 34
In just his third start on the Challenge Tour, the Watford native posted an impressive second placed finish at the Challenge de Catalunya to propel himself into the reckoning early last season for a place in the top 15 on the Rankings. His quest for immediate graduation to The Race to Dubai did not quite pan out from there, but four further top ten finishes ensured a place at the Grand Final, and his 34th place finish in the Rankings come season’s end has highlighted him as a prime candidate for ascension to The European Tour come November.
Pontus Widegren
Age: 24 – Best Challenge Tour finish: 2 (Norwegian Challenge, 2013) – Rankings: 28
Barring a run of missed cuts in the middle of the 2014 season, this Stockholm native was a model of consistency last year, notching six top ten finishes en route to the 28th spot in the Rankings. Two ties for fourth, at the D+D REAL Czech Challenge and the VACON Open, were supplemented by a season-opening share of fifth in Kenya that clearly kick-started what turned out to be an exemplary first full campaign. Clear to see, therefore, that there was plenty of good in this Swede’s game, so if he were to cut down on some of the bad, then he could well be a contender in 2015.
And the rest…
Also worth keeping an eye on in the year ahead might beWilliam Harrold, after the talented Englishman picked up a maiden title of his own last season at the Belgian Challenge. He will hope for more of the same, as well as adding a little additional consistency if he is to challenge for a top 15 place.
Marcel Schneidermight also be worth a look, thanks to the momentum he will have garnered from a successful turn on the satellite Pro Golf Tour last year. He followed in the footsteps of Florian Fritsch in topping their Order of Merit in 2014, and the German will hope to emulate his compatriot further by graduating at the end of a maiden second tier campaign this year.
Finally, fresh off a potentially tide-turning triumph at the Shankai Classic presented by IDG last season,Johan Edforswill hope to carry on that form in the coming months as he continues his comeback from injury. His pedigree is without question, and if he were to find his best form once again, the 2003 Challenge Tour Number One will very much be one to watch.
