The European Challenge Tour has announced its global 2024 Road to Mallorca schedule, featuring 29 tournaments, staged across three continents in 18 different countries.
Two European Challenge Tour events have been allotted to India – Delhi Challenge from March 14 to 17 at the Classic Golf and Country Club, followed by the Kolkata Challenge at the Royal Calcutta Golf Club from March 21 to 24.
Players will compete for total prize money of more than €8 million for the second consecutive year and the 2024 Road to Mallorca will begin with the SDC Open at the start of February, the first of four co-sanctioned events with the Sunshine Tour in South Africa.
The Challenge Tour returns to India in March with the Delhi Challenge and Kolkata Challenge, the latter of which will be played at Royal Calcutta Golf Club – the oldest golf club in India and the first outside of Great Britain.
The Rolex Challenge Tour Grand Final returns to Club de Golf Alcanada for the third successive year for the end-of-season showpiece from October 31 – November 3, as the top 45 players on the Rankings battle it out in Mallorca for one of the life changing 20 DP World Tour cards.
Those 20 players who benefit from this formal pathway to the DP World Tour will then be eligible for the DP World Tour’s Earnings Assurance Programme, guaranteeing them minimum earnings of $150,000 for the 2025 season if they play in 15 or more events.
The top five graduates will also benefit from the John Jacobs Bursary, similarly designed to provide security and a strong platform for their first season on the European Tour group’s top tier.
Jamie Hodges, Challenge Tour director, said: “I would like to thank all our promoters, national Federations and tournament sponsors who are absolutely integral to the success of the Challenge Tour and have helped make this global schedule possible.
“The number of different countries we are visiting, the variety of courses and conditions, in addition to the overall experiences the players get on the Challenge Tour will ensure they are fully equipped to make the step up to the DP World Tour.
“The success of our graduates on the DP World Tour in 2023, as well as the impressive start made by our graduates so far in 2024, highlights the calibre of golfer that the Challenge Tour continues to produce. Their careers benefited from our formal pathway to the DP World Tour and following in their footsteps is a great incentive for our members competing on the Challenge Tour in 2024.
“We are also very grateful for the commitment of Rolex, The R&A, and DP World through their title partnership of the DP World Tour, all of which has helped us raise prize funds and increase playing opportunities for our members.”
Last season, 25 former Challenge Tour players won on the DP World Tour – including 2022 graduates Matthew Baldwin, Tom McKibbin, Daniel Hillier and Todd Clements, while six finished inside the top ten on the DP World Tour Rankings in Partnership with Rolex.
Matthieu Pavon became the 213th former Challenge Tour player to win on the DP World Tour when he secured a four-shot triumph at the acciona Open de España presented by Madrid, while the total number of wins by Challenge Tour alumni is now 570.
Six former Challenge Tour players helped Team Europe to their dominant 16½-11½ victory against the United States in the 2023 Ryder Cup at Marco Simone, including debutants Robert MacIntyre and Nicolai Højgaard, who went on to win the DP World Tour Championship last month to finish second on the Race to Dubai.
The full 2024 Road to Mallorca International Schedule can be viewed by clicking here…
