The 2017 Road to Oman reaches its final destination of Al Mouj Golf this week, with much at stake at the NBO Golf Classic Grand Final.
Even by the high standards of the Challenge Tour, the 2017 season has been a truly remarkable one. Two players who teed it up in Muscat last year, Dylan Frittelli and Jordan Smith, have already become European Tour winners, showing how strong the level of the Challenge Tour is – no doubt many of the players in Oman this week will soon be competing and winning at the very highest levels too.
Smith’s continued rise has been remarkable. 12 months ago, he stood on the 18th green at Al Mouj holding the Rankings shield, having been crowned the Challenge Tour Number One for the 2016 season – his first year on the Road to Oman.
Now, he is one of the hottest talents on the European Tour, a tournament winner, inside the top 70 in the world and this summer he tasted both Major Championship golf and a first WGC of his career – his Challenge Tour journey may have ended in Muscat last year but his route to the very top has been steep and fast.
Other successes followed this year. Brooks Koepka became a Major winner, triumphing at the U.S. Open less than four years after he graduated from the Challenge Tour – his younger brother Chase is in this week’s field and will follow his brother onto the European Tour after enjoying an excellent season of his own.
Julian Suri is one player who will not be in Oman this week, but for good reason – the American won in the Czech Republic to move to the top of the Challenge Tour Rankings before excelling himself, winning the Made in Denmark to become a full European Tour member and leave the Road to Oman behind. His outstanding performance was yet another reminder of the high standard of player the Challenge Tour continues to produce.
For those competing in Muscat this week, this could be a defining event of the season. As ever, the Rankings race ends here, with the top 15 from the Road to Oman – the year-long points list – earning European Tour cards on Saturday evening.
Many are already assured of their spots. Tapio Pulkkanen comes into the week comfortably in first place after a consistently excellent season, with Julien Guerrier and Aaron Rai his nearest rivals for the Number One Ranking.
Rai’s year has been nothing short of remarkable. After winning the season-opener in Kenya, he went on to triumph a further two times – either side of making a Major Championship debut at the U.S. Open – to earn immediate promotion to the European Tour. Having enjoyed the last three months in the Race to Dubai, he returns for a farewell appearance, and a shot at the top spot.
Much of the drama will revolve around the final few spots in the Rankings. Any one of the 45 players in the field can still gatecrash the top 15 and there will inevitably be a lot of drama in the final few hours of the season on Saturday.
Two years ago, four players dramatically moved into the top 15 at the expense of others right at the end of the season and this year it is too close to call once again.
As ever, a variety of nationalities will tee it up in Muscat, reflecting the diverse nature and wide global reach of the Challenge Tour – players from countries as diverse as Australia, South Africa, Argentina, the United States, Chile, Poland, Austria and even Iceland are all in the field.
A mix of English and French golfers have shone most brightly on the Challenge Tour this year, with three from each England - Rai, Ryan Evans and Steven Brown - and four Frenchmen (Julien Guerrier, Adrien Saddier, Clément Sordet and Robin Sciot-Siegrist) all inside the top 15 at the moment.
Jens Dantorp, so unlucky at last year’s Grand Final, became the fourth Swedish winner of the season at last week’s Ras Al Khaimah 2017 Golf Challenge, with the 26 tournaments so far shared out between 23 players from 12 countries.
The stage is perfectly set for the Challenge Tour’s fifth time in Oman, and the third consecutive year that Al Mouj has hosted the Grand Final – if the season so far is anything to go by, it should be our best trip to Muscat yet.
