Satellite stars: Antoine Schwartz

With a new season on the European Challenge Tour comes a new wave of talent. This week we take a closer look at Antoine Schwartz, who topped the Order of Merit on the satellite Pro Golf Tour in 2016.

The Frenchman’s rise to the top of one of Europe’s four satellite tours started with victory in the first event of the season at the Red Sea Egyptian Classic, at a course he would return to a month later to compete on the 2016 Road to Oman in Ain Sokhna GC.

While the 27 year old failed to make it to the weekend in Egypt in his first Challenge Tour event of the season, he would fare better at the Cordon Golf Open in his homeland – where he claimed a share of fifth place, four shots back from champion Alvaro Velasco.

Back on the Pro Golf Tour Schwartz led from the front throughout the campaign, notching up six top five finishes, two further top tens while only missing one cut in 19 starts to top the Rankings.

“Most of the time I feel that I played pretty well,” he said. “I won the first event in Egypt, then I put in some good performances without ever winning again. I did feel that I made some mistakes when I was leading, or when I played the last round.

“But the most important thing for me was to finish in the top five and I was very happy with how I played during the season.”

Now with a full Challenge Tour card for 2017, the man from Paris will be hoping he can continue his winning ways on Europe’s top developmental tour.

2016 Pro Golf Tour Graduates: Antoine Schwartz (France), Julian Kunzenbacher (Germany), Christopher Mivis (Belgium), Max Kramer (Germany), Matthieu Fenasse (France)