The 2014 European Challenge Tour season tees off this week with the Barclays Kenya Open, where this year’s hopefuls will begin their chase to earn graduation to The European Tour.
Karen Country Club in Nairobi will provide a fitting backdrop for the maiden tournament of a season that will take in 27 tournaments in 21 different countries, as the players hope to follow in the footsteps of last year’s Challenge Tour Number One Andrea Pavan.
One of the longest-running tournaments on the Challenge Tour schedule, the Kenya Open also boasts arguably the greatest list of former winners.
Since the tournament’s inception back in 1967, some of European golf’s most successful players have claimed the title in Kenya’s capital, including Maurice Bembridge (1968, 1969 and 1979), Seve Ballesteros (1978) and Ian Woosnam (1986).
The event was instated as a Challenge Tour event in 1991, providing a platform for many players to go on to greater success, including 2000 winner Trevor Immelman, who went on to win the Masters Tournament in 2008, and 2007 champion Edoardo Molinari, who went on to feature in The Ryder Cup three years after his win at Karen.
Jordi Garcia Pinto will return to defend his title, after claiming a dramatic victory over Tim Sluiter - who will also play this week - last time around.
Pinto heads a field which boasts young up and coming talent and experienced champions in equal measure. Former European Tour winners in the field include Rhys Davies, Nick Dougherty and Phillip Price, while the Welshman’s fellow former Ryder Cup player Oliver Wilson also plays.
The 2012 Challenge Tour Number One Espen Kofstad will also attend as he looks to add to his two titles and make a swift return to The European Tour.
New additions to the Challenge Tour ranks in 2014 include two former English Amateur Champions, Callum Shinkwin, who made his mark at the National Bank of Oman Classic last year by being awarded the trophy for top amateur, and his compatriot Steven Brown, a former Walker Cup player who has already amassed three professional titles in just over a year on the Alps Tour.
Meanwhile, Edouard España of France begins his first full season on the Challenge Tour in Kenya after impressing last season, earning two top ten finishes in eight appearances.
