Hopefuls competing for a place on the European Tour at the season-ending NBO Golf Classic Grand Final will have the added bonus of playing for an extra €20,000 at the prestigious Oman event after the prize fund increased from €400,000 to €420,000.
The top 45 teeing it up at Al Mouj Golf in Oman’s capital city of Muscat from November 1-4 will battle it out for 15 European Tour cards and a first-place prize of €71,600 in the European Challenge Tour’s 27th and final event of the season.
The Challenge Tour’s Grand Final has seen plenty of drama over the years. Last year’s tournament saw Adrien Saddier mount an outstanding final day charge to put himself into contention for a spot on the European Tour.
A bogey on the final hole of his last round ultimately cost the Frenchman a share of second place though, and opened the door for his fellow countryman Joël Stalter – who took the last European Tour card after finishing only 732 points ahead of Saddier.
Final day heroics have been a main stay over the years at the Challenge Tour finale, particularly in 2015 when Portugal’s Ricardo Gouevia made five straight birdies over his closing seven holes to win by one shot and top the Road to Oman Rankings with a record 251,992 points.
Jérôme Lando Casanova was the man of the moment in 2014 after making a birdie putt at his final hole to finish in second place – a result that earned him European Tour status after he moved up 25 places to 13thin the Rankings.
On an afternoon where his golfing future balanced on a knife’s edge at the Grand Final in 2013, Jamie McLeary stepped up and got the job done in Dubai.
The Scot started the final day knowing he needed to finish no worse than tied second to earn European Tour status, and after signing for a final round of 69, to claim a share of second, he rose from 33rdto take the 15thand final card.
During the 2012 Grand Final in southern Italy, James Busby produced a miraculous 66 on the final day to finish as a joint runner-up – that result taking him from 45thto 16thin the Rankings, comfortably inside the top 20 who earned European Tour cards that year.
Current Race to Dubai leader Tommy Fleetwood made history at the Grand Final in 2011. Despite losing out to home favourite Andrea Pavan in a final day shoot-out to decide the title in Italy, a then 20 year old Fleetwood finished second to become the youngest winner of the Challenge Tour Rankings.
Challenge Tour Director, Alain de Soultrait, said: “Throughout the Challenge Tour’s 28-year history we have seen some truly memorable moments at countless Grand Finals.
“The increased prize fund will only make this year’s Grand Final even more exciting and adds another incentive for the top 45 players who will be teeing it up in Oman.
“All of those competing in Muscat will be in with a chance of earning a spot in the top 15, and I have no doubt this year’s Grand Final will be one of the best yet.”
