Challenge Tour Grand Final
| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Location | Muscat, Oman |
| Established | 1995 |
| Course(s) | Al Mouj Golf |
| Par | 72 |
| Length | 7,310 yards (6,680 m) |
| Tour(s) | Challenge Tour |
| Format | Stroke play |
| Prize fund | €400,000 |
| Month played | November |
| Tournament record score | |
| Aggregate | 265 Espen Kofstad (2012) |
| To par | −21 Bernd Ritthammer (2016) |
| Current champion | |
 Bernd Ritthammer | |
The Challenge Tour Grand Final is the season-ending tour championship on the Challenge Tour. The field currently consists of the top 45 players on the Challenge Tour rankings vying for fifteen European Tour cards. It has been played annually since 1995. Initially it was played in Portugal, but has since been held in Cuba, France, Italy, the United Arab Emirates, and since 2015, in Oman. The Challenge Tour Grand Final is the Challenge Tour's flagship event, giving a minimum of 17 Official World Golf Ranking points to the winner, compared to 12 for most events.
History
In 2007, Michael Lorenzo-Vera entered the tournament 7th on the Challenge Tour's money list. By winning the tournament, he moved all the way up to 1st place to be named the 2007 Challenge Tour's Order of Merit winner. In 2013 the prize fund was €330,000, with €52,800 going to the winner.
Oman Air became the presenting sponsor for the 2015 NBO Golf Classic Grand Final.[1][2]
Venues
| Venue | Location | First | Last | Times |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quinta do Peru | Sesimbra, Portugal | 1995 | 1996 | 2 |
| Clube de Golf do Montado | Setúbal, Portugal | 1997 | 1997 | 1 |
| Belas Clube de Campo | Sintra, Portugal | 1998 | 1998 | 1 |
| Varadero Golf Club | Varadero, Cuba | 1999 | 2000 | 2 |
| Golf du Médoc | Bordeaux, France | 2001 | 2004 | 4 |
| San Domenico Golf | Puglia, Italy | 2005 | 2012 | 8 |
| Al Badia Golf Club | Dubai, United Arab Emirates | 2013 | 2014 | 2 |
| Al Mouj Golf | Muscat, Oman | 2015 | 2016 | 2 |
Winners
| Year | Winner | Country | Venue | Score | To par | Margin of victory | Runner(s)-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NBO Golf Classic Grand Final | |||||||
| 2016 | Bernd Ritthammer | Germany | Al Mouj Golf | 267 | −21 | 1 stroke |  Jens Dantorp |
| 2015 | Ricardo Gouveia |  Portugal | Al Mouj Golf | 275 | −13 | 1 stroke |  Joachim B. Hansen |
| Dubai Festival City Challenge Tour Grand Final | |||||||
| 2014 | Benjamin Hébert |  France | Al Badia Golf Club | 276 | −12 | 5 strokes | Jérôme Lando-Casanova |
| 2013 | Shiv Kapur |  India | Al Badia Golf Club | 272 | −16 | 4 strokes | José-Filipe Lima Jamie McLeary |
| Apulia San Domenico Grand Final | |||||||
| 2012 | Espen Kofstad |  Norway | San Domenico Golf | 265 | −19 | 1 stroke | Joachim B. Hansen James Busby |
| 2011 | Andrea Pavan |  Italy | San Domenico Golf | 267 | −17 | 1 stroke | Tommy Fleetwood |
| 2010 | Matt Haines | England | San Domenico Golf | 276 | −8 | 1 stroke |  Daniel Gaunt |
| 2009 | Peter Whiteford | Scotland | San Domenico Golf | 279 | −5 | Playoff | Andrew Tampion |
| 2008 | Estanislao Goya |  Argentina | San Domenico Golf | 267 | −17 | 1 stroke | Richard Bland John E. Morgan |
| 2007 | Michael Lorenzo-Vera | France | San Domenico Golf | 269 | −15 | 1 stroke |  Jamie Donaldson Joost Luiten Stuart Manley Eric Ramsay |
| 2006 | James Hepworth | England | San Domenico Golf | 271 | −13 | 2 strokes | Rafa Echenique Alexander Norén Mark Pilkington |
| 2005 | Carl Suneson |  Spain | San Domenico Golf | 273 | −15 | 1 stroke | Daniel Vancsik Marc Warren |
| Bouygues Telecom Grand Final | |||||||
| 2004 | David Drysdale | Scotland | Golf du Médoc | 271 | −13 | Playoff | Mattias Eliasson |
| Challenge Tour Grand Final | |||||||
| 2003 | José Manuel Carriles | Spain | Golf du Médoc | 273 | −11 | Playoff | Johan Edfors |
| 2002 | Peter Lawrie |  Ireland | Golf du Médoc | 272 | −12 | 4 strokes | Julien Van Hauwe |
| 2001 | Richard Bland | England | Golf du Médoc | 266 | −18 | 5 strokes | Philip Golding |
| 2000 | Henrik Stenson | Sweden | Varadero GC | 270 | −18 | 5 strokes | Mikael Lundberg Andrew Raitt Michele Reale |
| 1999 | Stephen Scahill |  New Zealand | Varadero GC | 277 | −11 | 2 strokes | José Manuel Lara Henrik Stenson |
| AXA Grand Final presented by Estoril | |||||||
| 1998 | Jorge Berendt | Argentina | Belas Clube de Campo | 275 | −13 | Playoff | Warren Bennett |
| Estoril Grand Final | |||||||
| 1997 | Nicolas Joakimides | France | Clube de Golf do Montado | 198 | 1 stroke | Mikael Lundberg | |
| UAP Grand Final | |||||||
| 1996 | Ian Garbutt | England | Quinta do Peru | 272 | 2 strokes | Ben Tinning Van Phillips | |
| 1995 | Francis Valera | Spain | Quinta do Peru | 275 | 1 strokes | Thierry Planchin | |
References
- ↑ "Oman Air become Presenting Sponsor for the NBO Golf Classic Grand Final". Zawya. Retrieved 6 September 2015.
- ↑ "Oman Air presenting sponsor for NBO Golf Final". The MEA. Retrieved 7 September 2015.