The Road to Mallorca heads to Finland for the Vierumäki Finnish Challenge supported by Finnish Golf Union. Here is everything you need to know before the action begins on Thursday.
Challenge Tour in Finland
The 15th edition of the Vierumäki Finnish Challenge will take place at Vierumäki Resort, which has played host to the event since 2016. The event, which was first held in 2001 when Swede Klas Eriksson triumphed at Talma, made its return to the Challenge Tour’s schedule in 2012 after an eight-year gap, with another Swedish player, Kristoffer Broberg, taking the crown at Kytäjä.
Kim Koivu became the first Finnish player to win the event in 2018 after coming out on top in a play-off against Scotsman Robert MacIntyre to secure his second Challenge Tour title of the season. Koivu added a third title later that year, the 2018 Rolex trophy and subsequently gained automatic promotion to the DP World Tour. Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen and John Parry are both in the field this week and they will be looking to follow in the footsteps of Koivu by securing a third win of the season to earn automatic promotion.
Lauri Ruuska became the second player from Finland to win on home soil after he clinched his maiden Challenge Tour title with a seven-shot victory last year at Vierumäki Resort. The 30-year-old became just the fourth player in Challenge Tour history to shoot a round of 59 or better when he achieved the feat during round one.
Vierumäki Resort
Vierumäki Resort, located 90 minutes’ drive from Helsinki, is a centre of excellence for the Sport Institute of Finland, where the main aim is to develop and market competitive training and education in leisure and physical education. The Cooke Course, designed by North American architect Graham Cooke, is set in rolling countryside surrounded by beautiful lakes. The fairways are wide and tree-lined, while water comes into play at the third, sixth and seventh holes.
The 292-yard par four 13th hole on the Cooke Course at Vierumäki Resort is a brilliant risk and reward hole, with a pond in play all the way from tee to green. At under 300 yards, most players will have their eye on driving the green, and last year Ruuska made eagle on his way to victory on home soil.
European Young Masters
In 2022 Vierumäki Resort hosted the European Young Masters. The tournament comprised of the most talented under-16 golfer’s from 26 different countries competing against each other in a three day tournament with Spain’s Jorge Siyuan Hao claiming the boy’s individual title and Germany’s Helen Briem taking home the girl’s title. Germany claimed the Nation’s Cup title, in what was their third consecutive trophy in the European Young Masters with Briem, Philippa Gollan, Tim Wiedemeyer and Peer Wernicke representing the team. Last year, Briem and Wernicke (pictured) were part of the 2023 European Junior Ryder Cup winning team in Rome.
Previous winners
In 2022 Germany’s Velten Meyer shot a superb Sunday 65 to clinch his maiden Challenge Tour win in emphatic fashion at the Vierumäki Finnish Challenge.
Marcus Helligkilde posted a 23 under par total as he went wire-to-wire to claim his maiden Challenge Tour title in Finland in 2021. The Dane recorded two further wins that season and became the third Dane to be crowned Road to Mallorca Number One after securing a memorable victory at the Rolex Challenge Tour Grand Final supported by The R&A.
José-Filipe Lima triumphed at the 2019 edition of the event to claim his fifth Challenge Tour title, putting him in a tie for seventh place for players with most Challenge Tour wins. In 2017, Englishman Paul Howard claimed victory in exceptional circumstances as the fourth round was cancelled after torrential rain flooded Vierumäki Resort and the tournament was reduced to 54 holes. Dominic Foos became the Challenge Tour’s youngest ever winner at the age of 17 when he prevailed in wire-to-wire fashion in 2015. Another former champion is Welshman Stuart Manley who claimed a two-stroke victory in 2013.
