As the European Challenge Tour heads to the Czech Republic for the Prague Golf Challenge, we have taken a look at some of the themes of the Road to Ras Al Khaimah, as it stands…
The Great Dane
He has been hot on the heels of Barclays Kenya Open Champion Lorenzi Gagli since finishing in a tie for second place at the Belt & Road Colourful Yunnan Open in March and Joachim B. Hansen finally claimed top spot with victory at the Made in Denmark Challenge presented by Ejner Hessel last week. The Dane has been the in-form player for many months now and is just one win away from earning a spot on the European Tour. The 27 year old earned his first victory at the Turkish Airlines Challenge in April and has since recorded three top ten finishes prior to his second win of the season at Himmerland Golf & Spa Resort. He currently leads the Road to Ras Al Khaimah on 130,951 points.
Soaring Scandinavia
The upper echelons of the Road to Ras Al Khaimah are dominated by Scandinavia. Led by the in-form Hansen, six of the top 15 are from Scandinavia with three of them recording wins on this year’s Challenge Tour. Hansen is the only Dane, while Finnish pair Kim Koivu and Kalle Samooja and Swedish trio Jens Fahrbring, Oscar Lengden and Sebastian Soderberg make up the contingent from the Northern European area. Furthermore, there are another four Scandinavians currently ranked between 16 and 30.
Flying the flag
He is a man in-form and now Stuart Manley is aiming to represent his home country of Wales by earning a place on the European Tour next season. Manley, 39, is enjoying a stand-out year on the Challenge Tour and secured his first win in five years by finishing top of the pile at the Hauts de France Golf Open. Prior to his victory in Saint Omer, Manley lost in a three-way play-off to Pedro Figueiredo at the KPMG Trophy and also recorded three further top ten finishes. He is currently third on the Road to Ras Al Khaimah with 75,332 points – 12,993 ahead of fourth placed Fahrbring.
Home sweet home
They say home is where the heart is and that could not be more the case for David Law and Hansen. Scotsman Law won his maiden Challenge Tour title by triumphing at the SSE Scottish Hydro Challenge hosted by Macdonald Hotels and Resorts, while Hansen picked up his second Challenge Tour crown at the Made in Denmark Challenge presented by Ejner Hessel. Law, 27, made his debut on Europe’s top development tour in 2012 and has since recorded six top ten finishes. The Aberdeen native has shown glimpses of form recently and that came to a head in Aviemore as a final round 67 ensured his finished ahead of runner-up Hansen, who was two shots back.
Off and running
There have been nine first-time winners in the 12 Challenge Tour events so far this season. Gagli began the season with his first win in Kenya, before Finn Koivu triumphed in China. After Hansen continued the first-time winners’ streak in Turkey, Lengden broke the mould by winning his second event at the Challenge de España. It was only a minor bump in the maiden winners’ procession, however, as Dimitrios Papadatos won the 56º Open de Portugal @ Morgado Golf Resort and 25 year old Liam Johnston triumphed at the Andalucía Costa del Sol Match Play 9. Another trio of first-time winners followed, with Minkyu Kim becoming the youngest-ever winner at the D+D REAL Czech Challenge, while Marcel Schneider and Figueiredo won at the Swiss Challenge presented by Association Suisse de Golf and the KPMG Trophy, respectively. Law is the most recent first-time champion, with his Scottish victory being sandwiched between Manley’s triumph at the Hauts de France Golf Open and Hansen’s Danish win.
