1996 Challenge Tour

1996 Challenge Tour season
Duration22 February 1996 (1996-02-22) – 24 October 1996 (1996-10-24)
Number of official events32
Most wins Dennis Edlund (2)
Ignacio Feliu (2)
Adam Mednick (2)
Kalle Väinölä (2)
Erol Şimşek (2)
Rankings Ian Garbutt
1995
1997

The 1996 Challenge Tour was the eighth season of the Challenge Tour, the official development tour to the European Tour.

Schedule

The following table lists official events during the 1996 season.[1]

Date Tournament Host country Purse
(£)
Winner[a] Notes
25 Feb Kenya Open Kenya 65,000 Mike Miller (1)
10 Mar Open de Côte d'Ivoire Ivory Coast 70,000 Massimo Florioli (1)
14 Apr Is Molas Challenge Italy Lit 80,000,000 Simon Burnell (1) New tournament
21 Apr Le Pavoniere Challenge Italy Lit 80,000,000 Kalle Väinölä (1) New tournament
27 Apr Alianca UAP Challenger Portugal 50,000 Gary Marks (1) New tournament
5 May Canarias Challenge Spain Pta 12,000,000 Robert Lee (1)
19 May Open de Dijon France 45,000 Francisco Cea (1)
26 May Club Med Open Italy Lit 140,000,000 Ignacio Feliu (2)
2 Jun SIAB Open Sweden 35,000 Kalle Väinölä (2)
9 Jun KB Golf Challenge Czech Republic 65,000 Joakim Rask (2)
9 Jun Himmerland Open Denmark 35,000 Niklas Diethelm (1)
23 Jun Team Erhverv Danish Open Denmark 70,000 Robert Jonsson (1)
23 Jun Open dei Tessali Italy Lit 100,000,000 Stephen Scahill (1)
30 Jun Audi Quattro Trophy Germany 72,000 Erol Şimşek (1)
7 Jul Open des Volcans France 60,000 Andrew Sandywell (2)
13 Jul Gosen Challenge England 35,000 Greg Owen (1) New tournament
14 Jul Volvo Finnish Open Finland 35,000 Björn Bäck (1)
28 Jul Interlaken Open Switzerland CHF 100,000 Van Phillips (1)
4 Aug English Challenge Tour Championship England 65,000 Dennis Edlund (3)
10 Aug Rolex Trophy Pro-Am Switzerland CHF 100,000 Dennis Edlund (4)
18 Aug Karsten Ping Norwegian Open Norway 60,000 Ignacio Feliu (3)
25 Aug Dutch Challenge Netherlands 60,000 Mathew Goggin (1)
25 Aug Toyota Danish PGA Championship Denmark 40,000 Adam Mednick (4)
1 Sep Kentab/RBG Open Sweden 40,000 Max Anglert (1)
8 Sep Russian Open Russia 65,000 Carl Watts (2) New to Challenge Tour
8 Sep SM Match Play Sweden 50,000 Adam Mednick (5)
15 Sep Perrier European Pro-Am Belgium 55,000 Kevin Carissimi (1)
21 Sep Eulen Open Galea Spain 72,000 José Antonio Sota (1)
28 Sep Modena Classic Open Italy 35,000 Lee S. James (1) New tournament
29 Sep Telia InfoMedia Grand Prix Sweden SKr 1,000,000 Scott Watson (1)
6 Oct Bank Pekao Polish Open Poland 40,000 Erol Şimşek (2) New to Challenge Tour
20 Oct UAP Grand Final Portugal 65,000 Ian Garbutt (1) Tour Championship

Unofficial events

The following events were sanctioned by the Challenge Tour, but did not carry official money, wins were still official however.

Date Tournament Host country Purse
(£)
Winner[a] Notes
30 Jun Memorial Olivier Barras Switzerland CHF 75,000 Juan Quirós (1)
7 Jul Neuchâtel Open Golf Trophy Switzerland CHF 75,000 Federico Bisazza (1)

Rankings

The rankings were based on prize money won during the season, calculated in Pound sterling.[2] The top 15 players on the rankings earned status to play on the 1997 European Tour.[2]

Rank Player Prize money (£)
1 Ian Garbutt 37,661
2 Dennis Edlund 34,286
3 Robert Lee 33,990
4 Andrew Sandywell 33,098
5 Massimo Florioli 32,708

See also

Notes

  1. ^ a b The number in brackets after each winner's name is the number of Challenge Tour events they had won up to and including that tournament. This information is only shown for Challenge Tour members. It is rare for someone to accumulate many wins on the Challenge Tour as success at this level usually leads to promotion to the European Tour.

References

  1. ^ "1996 Tournament schedule". European Tour. Retrieved 31 August 2023.
  2. ^ a b "Challenge Tour Penningligan" [Challenge Tour Money list]. Svensk Golf (in Swedish). No. 12. December 1996. p. 90. Retrieved 10 October 2023. De femton bästa får kortet till Europatouren [The top fifteen will receive a European Tour card]