Five events have been completed on the 2016 Road to Oman, where four players have won for the first time. Yet there is another intriguing pattern developing among the early pace setters on the European Challenge Tour, where former Satellite Tour champions are taking charge.
Current Road to Oman Rankings leader Matthieu Pavon soared to the summit after a red-hot run of form – following a tied fourth place finish at the Challenge de Madrid with an outright second spot a week later at the Turkish Airlines Challenge.
A final round 63 then fired the Frenchman to a joint runner-up spot at the Montecchia Open by Lyoness, capping off a remarkable three weeks for the Bordeaux man, who gained his card for the 2016 Road to Oman after making the cut at Qualifying School Final Stage.
Last season, the 23 year old was plying his trade on the Alps Tour, where he narrowly missed out on a top five qualifying spot for the 2016 Road to Oman after finishing sixth.
But it was on the feeder competition to the Challenge Tour where he learnt how to win, triumphing in Italy last season and in his native France in 2014.
Two other early success stories of the current Challenge Tour campaign have been England’s Jordan Smith and Gary King – both EuroPro Tour alumni.
Smith, who won twice on his way to topping the EuroPro Tour’s Order of Merit last season, stormed to a wire-to-wire maiden Challenge Tour win at the 2016 Red Sea Egyptian Challenge Presented by Hassan Allam Properties.
Throughout his week, the Englishman reiterated how his experience on the EuroPro Tour had prepared him for Europe’s top developmental tour.
“Winning twice on the EuroPro Tour has given me confidence that I can go on and win,” the 23 year old said, while leading the competition after 36 holes.
Smith’s compatriot, King, claimed his first Challenge Tour trophy at the rain-affected Montecchia Open this season. The 24 year old shot three rounds in the 60s for victory in Italy – something the two-time EuroPro Tour champion is used to.
“The fact that it’s a 54 hole tournament does play into my hands a little bit because I won twice last year on the EuroPro so it’s now a similar sort of thing,” he said after his second round.
“The EuroPro is such a strong standard now and I knew that if I could compete at that level then I could compete at any level.
“The best thing about it is that it prepares you so well for the bigger tours, with the cameras and the leaderboards, and it’s a great standard – if you’re winning on EuroPro you can win on any tour.”
Duncan Stewart, who sealed a maiden Challenge Tour title in Spain this season, won twice on the EuroPro Tour, in 2011 and 2012, while current Road to Oman Rankings Number Two Sebastian Soderberg won on the Nordic Golf League in 2013.
With a whole host of Satellite Tour graduates battling it out on Europe’s top developmental tour, it appears as though Europe’s feeder competitions are producing real contenders.
