JC Ritchie has made an electric start to the 2022 Road to Mallorca Rankings and is currently the man in top spot after the first four events of the year.
The South African has won two events on home soil – the Bain’s Whisky Cape Town Open and the Jonsson Workwear Open – and has taken full advantage of the early season co-sanctioned events between the European Challenge Tour and the Sunshine Tour.
Ritchie successfully defended his title in the Mother City to chalk up his third Challenge Tour title, before winning in Durban the very next week – and set a new lowest 54-hole total in Challenge Tour history in the process.
The 28-year-old tops the Road to Mallorca Rankings on 85,392 points, 28,000 points ahead of Alexander Knappe, who occupies second place. The German won the season-opening Dimension Data Pro-Am, his first victory for over five years, and has a 6,000-point advantage over Belgium’s Christopher Mivis, who is third on the Rankings following back-to-back runner-up finishes to Ritchie in Cape Town and Durban.
The only other winner so far this season is Denmark’s Oliver Hundebøll, who followed two missed cuts to start the season with his maiden Challenge Tour victory at the Mangaung Open in Bloemfontein. The 22-year-old is fourth on the Rankings and will be looking to emulate countryman Marcus Helligkilde, who won the Road to Mallorca Rankings in 2021.
New Zealander Daniel Hillier is fifth on the Rankings with 31,482 points and he’s followed by South African trio Tristen Strydom, Luke Jerling and Keenan Davidse.
Northern Irishman Tom McKibbin, who hails from the same Northern Irish town as Rory McIlroy, is ninth after taking advantage of his early season invites, while Denmark’s Nicolai Kristensen rounds off the top ten.
The Road to Mallorca continues in South African at the SDC Open from March 24-27.
