For the third consecutive season, France will host four European Challenge Tour events, the most of any host country on the Road to Mallorca in 2020.
The first of four French tournaments will begin at the Open de Golf Hauts de France – Pas de Calais, which returns to the notoriously difficult Aa Saint-Omer Golf Club in Lumbres for the 21st consecutive year from June 18-21. Frenchman Robin Roussel captured the title with a bogey-free weekend at last year’s tournament, a victory he used to propel him on to graduation come the end of the season.
The Road to Mallorca heads back to France three weeks later, for the eighth edition of the Le Vaudreuil Golf Challenge, which also returns to its long-term home at Golf PGA France du Vaudreuil when it gets under way from July 9-12.
The tournament keeps its traditional summer spot in the calendar, with the stars of 2020 looking to follow in the footsteps of a host of European Tour winners, including Andrew ‘Beef’ Johnston, Ryan Fox and Richard McEvoy by lifting the title.
The Challenge Tour will then feature a French double-header in September, with the Open de Bretagne (September 3-6) and Hopps Open de Provence (September 24-27) bookending the Irish Challenge and Open de Portugal at Royal Óbidos.
With the Road to Mallorca nearing crunch-time and only the top 45 players in the Rankings securing their spots at the season-ending Challenge Tour Grand Final, there will be plenty to play for at Golf Bluegreen de Pléneuf Val André and Golf International de Pont Royal, respectively.
Renowned for its spectacular views, the former has welcomed the Challenge Tour on 13 occasions, with European Tour winners Eddie Pepperell, Andrea Pavan and Benjamin Hébert, all lifting the Open de Bretagne title before going on to triumph on Europe’s top tier.
Meanwhile, Dutchman Lars van Meijel prevailed at the Hopps Open de Provence, with the tournament set for a third edition in 2020, as it hosts the fourth and final French event on the Challenge Tour International Schedule.
French players enjoyed a sparkling season in 2019, with Antoine Rozner, who clinched back-to-back titles at the Challenge de España and Prague Golf Challenge, and Roussel, both graduating to the European Tour.
