When Ricardo Gouveia reeled off five consecutive birdies down the stretch before holing out for a crucial par at the final hole of the season to win the NBO Golf Classic Grand Final and the Road to Oman Rankings, it could not have been a more fitting end to an enthralling 2015 campaign…
Oh man, what a champion!
The newly-introduced Road to Oman proved a long and winding one, with twists and turns aplenty as the battle to be crowned 2015 Challenge Tour Number One was ultimately dominated by the ongoing epic duel between close friends Gouveia andSebastien Gros…
I just have no words to describe this season - Ricardo Gouveia
While the two traded blows at the top of the Road to Oman, it was ultimately a performance worthy of a true champion on the final day in Oman which separated the two rising stars and, for Gouveia, it was an emotional victory and a double-winning dream come true…
The Portuguese was undoubtedly the star of the show in 2015, a show in which the supporting actors not only finished the season as European Tour Members, but also as multiple award-winners…
Nacho beats them to the crunch
Among the season’s multiple winners,Nacho Elvirawas the quickest off the mark as the Spaniard marked his return to the Challenge Tour by becoming the latest in a long line of stars to win three times in a season and thereby earn automatic promotion to The European Tour.
His first of those three victories came in some style as he holed out for an albatross in the final round at the Challenge de Madrid…
The last of those victories came at a tournament which in the past has similarly provided third victories of the season for Kristoffer Broberg (2012) and Benjamin Hebert (2011) - the prestigious limited-field ROLEX Trophy...
Rhys’ showpieces
The 2015 season was the one in which Rhys Daviesreturned the kind of form which had him earmarked as one of the most promising young golfers in world golf during a glittering amateur career - and also made him a European Tour winner in 2010.
A third career Challenge Tour victory at the Turkish Airlines in May was followed by another in July at the Fred Olsen Challenge de España, during both of which he had his wife Deidre on the bag.
Love is…
The Welshman would earn graduation to The European Tour for the second time in his career, finishing eighth in the Road to Oman.
Gros profits on the rise
While he was eventually pipped at the top of the Road to Oman Rankings, Gros will look back on 2015 as the year when he went from being one of the real horror stories of Qualifying School Final Stage to realising his potential as a true champion and a real future prospect.
The Frenchman carded three consecutive closing bogeys at The European Tour’s marathon of golf in PGA Catalunya Resort in November 2014 to miss out on promotion to the top tier by one shot, but he certainly turned his fortunes around in spectacular fashion in a dream 2015 season.
His breakthrough victory came on home soil at the Najeti Open Presented by Neuflize OBC, where a convincing six-shot triumph had him looking to the stars…
The affable 26 year old looked like he was enjoying every minute of his Challenge Tour adventure and he even got a change to moonlight as a TV presenter on the Challenge Series, interviewing his friend and fellow 2015 winner Clément Sordet…
His second victory came at one of the most lucrative tournaments on the Challenge Tour schedule at the Kazakhstan Open, where he secured his European Tour status for 2016. Plenty of reason to smile then…
Spanish steps to the top
While all eyes were on the battle between Gouveia and Gros for much of the season, one man was quietly plotting his path to The European Tour underneath the radar, until he emerged from the shadows one week in late October…
Borja Virto Astudillo had already claimed a first title on the Challenge Tour in Slovakia earlier in the season but sat right on the brink – in 15th position in the Road to Oman Rankings – heading into the penultimate event of the season, The Foshan Open.
There, he produced an imperious display when it mattered most to claim a wire-to-wire victory and secure his graduation, eventually finishing third in the Road to Oman.
In the process Virto Astudillo did what many rock bands fail to do… Breaking the Chinese market…!
