The European Challenge Tour heads to the famous Golf Club de Genève for the 2018 Rolex Trophy this week. Renown for producing future European Tour stars, we look at five key facts before the golf gets under way.
A victory goes a long way
Nine of the past ten winners of the Rolex Trophy have gone on to graduate to the European Tour at the end of the same season.
Pedro Oriol continued that feat last year when he claimed the Rolex Trophy title by beating Adrien Saddier on the first play-off hole, on his way to finish tenth in the Rankings.
Dylan Frittelli, Nacho Elvira, Byeong Hun An all triumphed in Geneva in 2016, 2015, and 2014, respectively, before they graduated to the European Tour too.
Could someone follow suit at the Rolex Trophy in 2018 with victory at Golf Club de Genève followed by a top 15 finish and a European Tour card for the following season this week?
Completing the treble
Out of the players who have lifted the Rolex Trophy and graduated in the same season, there are three players who gained automatic qualification to the European Tour after their timely success.
Benjamin Hebert gained automatic promotion to the European Tour following his third win of 2011 in Switzerland. While Kristoffer Broberg and Nacho Elvira followed suit in 2012 and 2015, respectively.
Joachim B. Hansen and Kim Koivu are the only players who could follow the trend after both have claimed two titles each in 2018.
All eyes on…
With 37 of the top 40 players on the Road to Al Khaimah in action this week, the challenge for glory is at its toughest.
Hansen and Koivu will be looking for their third victories of the year, while several players will be aiming to secure their top 15 spot with victory this week.
Lorenzo Gagli returns to Challenge Tour action after leading the Road to Ras Al Khaimah earlier this season following his success at the Barclays Kenya Open and runner-up finish at the Turkish Airlines Challenge. Hansen pushed him down to second in the Rankings, but a win this week will all but seal his graduation onto the European Tour.
Unique tournament
The Rolex Trophy is a prestigious tournament for many reasons, none more so than as it is the longest-running event on the Challenge Tour, having been part of the Tour’s inception since 1989.
The tournament also involves a Pro-Am format, which is unique to the Challenge Tour, where one professional plays with three amateurs during the event.
A special setting
The only 18-hole golf course in the Canton of Geneva, Golf Club de Genève boasts views of Geneva from one side of the course and looks upon the picturesque Alps and Mount Blanc from the south side of the course.
The club was founded in 1922 and the course was designed in 1973 under the guidance of Robert Trent Jones Senior, who was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1987 for his expansive work in golf course architecture.
The Rolex Trophy has been played at the club since the inaugural staging of the event in 1989.
