Mikael Lindberg leads the early Road to Mallorca Rankings after returning to the winner’s circle in South Africa.
The Swede triumphed in dramatic fashion at the Bain’s Whisky Cape Town Open - the second of four co-sanctioned events with the Sunshine Tour - to kick-start the 2024 season.
The 31-year-old sunk a 35-foot birdie putt on the second play-off hole to get over the line in Cape Town and that, coupled with a tied 17th place finish at the Dimension Data Pro-Am the following week, sees him top the Rankings with 342 points.
Rhys Enoch occupies second place on 331 points after the Welshman carded four rounds of 66 in the season-opening SDC Open to earn a two-stroke victory and a first in five years on the Challenge Tour.
David Ravetto is just six points further back in solo third on the Rankings after he earned a maiden Challenge Tour title at the Dimension Data Pro-Am.
The Frenchman, who retained his DP World Tour playing privileges for 2024 at Qualifying School, took a two-shot lead into the final day at Fancourt Golf Estate, and after two birdies in his opening three holes on Sunday, never looked back.
Björn Åkesson climbed into fourth on the Rankings after securing a fairytale victory last weekend. The Swede retired from professional golf in 2017 after falling out of love with the sport, but following a stellar 2023 he earned promotion after topping the Nordic Golf League Order of Merit.
The 35-year-old teed it up in the NMB Championship and made sure of a first Challenge Tour win after the tournament was reduced to 54 holes at Humewood.
Sam Hutsby has been arguably the most consistent performer across the first four events of the season and completes the top five with 292 points. The Englishman has recorded three top 15 finishes in that time, including a second-place finish in the Dimension Data Pro-Am, followed by a tied 11th finish on the DP World Tour in the Magical Kenya Open.
Countryman Lee Slattery, who finished as the Challenge Tour Number One 20 years ago in 2004, has also impressed over the first month, racking up 253 points. The 40-year-old finished 30th and 24th in his first two starts before a solo second finish at the NMB Championship saw him climb 40 places to sixth.
South African trio Deon Germishuys, Louis Albertse and JC Ritchie occupy seventh, eighth and ninth respectively after all three enjoyed encouraging starts to the year on home soil. Germishuys earned 233 points thanks to three top 15 finishes in as many weeks, while Albertse is 20 points further back after making all four cuts. Ritchie, a four-time Challenge Tour winner, came close to making it five with tied fourth, solo eighth and tied 13th finishes in consecutive weeks.
Frenchman Martin Couvra occupies the final place in the top ten on 188 points thanks to a tied sixth place finish in Cape Town and a fourth place finish in George.
Outside of the top ten, Englishman Joe Dean, who earned DP World Tour playing privileges for 2024 at Qualifying School, sits in 11th on 180 points after he recorded a career-best second place finish at the Magical Kenya Open last weekend. Challenge Tour members who participate in DP World Tour tournaments and Major Championships scheduled in the same week as a Challenge Tour tournament will earn points towards the Road to Mallorca Rankings, excluding those DP World Tour tournaments scheduled after the Swiss Challenge.
After a two week break, the Road to Mallorca will return with back-to-back events in India starting with the Delhi Challenge which takes place from March 14-17 at Classic Golf & Country Club.
Visit the Challenge Tour's YouTube channel to catch up on all of the action from the opening four weeks of the season.
