The Rolex Challenge Tour Grand Final supported by The R&A will see the leading 45 players on the Road to Mallorca Rankings tee it up, as they look to secure one of the 20 life-changing DP World Tour cards on offer.
Club de Golf Alcanada plays host to the end-of-season showpiece from October 31 to November 3, with promotion all-but secure for some, and hanging in the balance for several others. Across four nail-biting rounds, here are the permutations for the week ahead…
Race to Number One
Englishman John Parry is the current Number One, with three wins and five other top tens putting him in pole position on 1,512 points. The 37-year-old shot to the top of the Rankings with a third win of the season in the Italian Challenge Open but could be overtaken by fellow three-time winner, Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen, or two-time winner Hamish Brown should either win at Club de Golf Alcanada.
Irishman Conor Purcell and Oliver Lindell from Finland could also finish as the Number One should either of them win and Parry finish no higher than third. Purcell could finish as low as third and still win the Rankings, but would need Parry to finish no higher than 22nd, Neergaard-Petersen to finish no higher than 11th and Brown to finish no higher than seventh.
Lindell is 14 points behind Purcell and would need a similar set of circumstances for him to end the year as the Number One should he finish third.
It is also possible for Spaniard Angel Ayora, Swede Joakim Lagergren, and Englishman Jack Senior to win the Rankings. Spaniard Joel Moscatel, currently placed ninth, is the lowest-ranked player who could win the Road to Mallorca Rankings but would need to win the Rolex Challenge Tour Grand Final and, among other results, require Parry to finish 46th.
The fight for 20 DP World Tour cards
Although 20 DP World Tour cards are up for grabs in Mallorca to the leading players in the Rankings at the conclusion of the Rolex Challenge Tour Grand Final, it will be the 22nd player in the Rankings that gets the final card.
South African Robin Williams, who won’t be playing this week in Mallorca but sits tenth in the Rankings, has already secured his DP World Tour card and a better category for next season, as has three-time winner this season, Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen. With both set to remain inside the top 20 following the Rolex Challenge Tour Grand Final, the 22nd player in the Rankings will get the final card. Due to that, the 46th and 47th players in the Rankings take the final spots in the field.
All to play for
South African Justin Walters is 47th in the Road to Mallorca Rankings and therefore the last man in the field. In 19 starts this year, Walters has 398 points to his name, just 229 points behind Nicolai von Dellingshausen who currently occupies the 22nd and final promotion place. With 640 points available for the winner and 440 for second place, every player in the field, including Walters, has a realistic chance of earning DP World Tour playing rights.
