Ahead of the new European Challenge Tour season starting this week in Kenya, we bring you some of the players to watch out for in 2018.
New recruits
Teeing it up in Nairobi are a host of new faces. Making their debut Challenge Tour appearances are Satellite Tour starsMax Schmitt, Axel Boasson, Minkyu Kim and Robbie van West, whileHenric Sturehedis the sole Qualifying School graduate who will make his first Challenge Tour appearance this week.
AustraliansAshley Hall andJack Munrowill also play on Europe’s top developmental tour for the first time, while South Africa’sAnthony Michael– a regular on the Sunshine Tour – will make just his second start at this level this week.
Proven winners
Returning to Challenge Tour action are 11tournament winners from last season. Of those players France’sVictor Perezmost recently lifted silverware, when he impressively won the Challenge de España in October with a final round of 65 which included a hole-in-one.
Oscar Lengden also won in dramatic fashion at last September’s Bridgestone Challenge by making an eagle on the final hole to seal victory, whileRobin Sciot-Siegrist, Birgir Hafthorsson, Paul Howard, Garrick Porteous, Joel Sjöholm, Oscar Stark andJoel Girrbachall also impressed when claiming their maiden Challenge Tour wins.
Estanislao GoyaandRichard McEvoyboth returned to the winners’ circle after long absences last year, and will be confident that more trophies are just around the corner.
Near misses
During last year’s NBO Golf Classic Grand Final there were points whenSebastian Heisele, Oliver LindellandGoyalooked set to graduate to the European Tour.
With 18 holes to go in Muscat bothGoyaandLindellwere two were inside the top 15, but both endured difficult days as the wind picked up off the Sea of Oman before they shared 11th place – not enough to hold on to a European Tour card.
Heiselewas unlucky Mr Number 16 last year, missing out on a European Tour place by around 5000 points. The German did however go on to regain his European Tour card at Qualifying School, but with a good result in Kenya he could return to the Challenge Tour fold for 2018.
Looking to bounce back
Each year there are always some disappointed players whose European Tour campaigns did not quite go as planned.
Chief among them last term wasRomain Langasque, who after excelling in his debut Challenge Tour season struggled to maintain the consistent start which had seen him make his first seven European Tour cuts.
The former Amateur Champion is a prodigious talent though, and having already recorded a third-place finish this year, in the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open, do not be surprised to see the 22 year old back competing at the top of leaderboards again in 2018.
Other players who will be hungry to return to the European Tour at the first opportunity will beBernd Ritthammer,Duncan Stewart,Joël Stalter andAlexander Knappe, who were all firmly in contention to maintain their European Tour playing privileges last season.
