ROLEX CHALLENGE TOUR GRAND FINAL

It all comes down to four rounds of golf as the top 45 players battle it out for a treasured DP World Tour card. Mike Green

Last year, Casey Jarvis was the latest prominent South African golfer to earn his DP World Tour card by finishing inside the top 20 after the Rolex Challenge Tour Grand Final supported by the R&A. There will almost certainly be more South Africans this year.

The season-ending Challenge Tour event takes place from 31 October to 3 November at Club de Golf Alcanada in Port d'Alcúdia, Mallorca, Spain, and, for the top 45 players from the year-long Road to Mallorca rankings on that Tour, it’s the toughest test they face.

No South African has won the tournament since its inception in 1995, but this year Robin Williams is in with a real shot after a brilliant start to his professional career. Having already earned DP World Tour status for 2025 through his second-place finish on the Sunshine Tour’s Order of Merit, he has risen to the highest level of the Road to Mallorca with seven top-10 finishes, including two runner-up spots. With an additional five top-20 finishes, he has shown he is on the verge of breaking through with a victory.

Of course, the win would be first prize for Williams, as the winner of the Road to Mallorca Rankings receives a Silver Salver (first awarded in 2009) and Category 15 membership of the DP World Tour. That category is better than the one from his Sunshine Tour exemption.

Like all the players, Williams is going to relish the on-course action: Club de Golf Alcanada is a jewel among Mallorca’s 24 courses. The club, which was opened in 2003, boasts spectacular scenery and views along its 6 559m layout and is designed to challenge professional and amateur players.

It is the only golf course in Mallorca situated right on the coast and has stunning sea views. The island of Alcanada with its lighthouse, just off the shore, can be seen from most of the holes. The lighthouse is the icon of the course and is used for the club’s logo. Built in 1861, it was inhabited until 1960 and since then has functioned as a fully automated lighthouse.

As proof that South Africans can do well on the course, on 6 November 2022, JC Ritchie played his round on the final day of the Grand Final in 63 shots. The previous course record of 64 was achieved in 2012 by Frenchman Romain Langasque.

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Relive the action from the 2023 Rolex Challenge Tour Grand Final supported by The R&A.

DID YOU KNOW?

This will be the sixth time the island of Mallorca will host the Rolex Challenge Tour Grand Final following two editions at T-Golf and Country Club, after the Tour’s maiden visit to Alcanada in 2019.

Gallery below

Work began on the course in 1998, with the world-famous golf course architect, Robert Trent Jones Jr., being asked to blend the course into the natural terrain to maintain the typical Majorcan landscape. It was officially founded in 2002 and opened for members and guests in October 2003.

In October 2019, the course adopted two donkeys as a new ‘clean-up crew’ and they are in charge of clearing grasses, pruning branches and tending the forest in the wooded area of the 13th hole. From the point of view of environmental sustainability, it is considered a good option, as it eliminates the application of herbicides, as well as prevents fires. They now have five donkeys – Estrella and her daughter born in July, Luna; Luisa and Tomeu.

In June 2020 six bee hives were installed on the outskirts of the farm, and in October 2021 they had their first harvest of about six kilograms of honey.

Joining Williams as South Africans in their quest for a place on the DP World Tour in Mallorca will be Deon Germishuys and Wilco Nienaber, as well as veteran Justin Walters.

They are among the latest players on a quest that has been undertaken by many notable golfers. The Challenge Tour has produced Major champions in Henrik Stenson, Martin Kaymer, Justin Rose, Brooks Koepka and Matt Fitzpatrick. Of course, Trevor Immelman won the 2008 Masters after winning the 2000 Barclays Kenya Open during the year he graduated from the Challenge Tour. And Louis Oosthuizen went on to win the 2010 Open Championship after graduating from the Challenge Tour in 2003.

While there may be a sense that some players have cemented their places on the DP World Tour before the Rolex Challenge Tour Grand Final – and some have – there is still all to play for: last year, the 45th man in the field was close enough to the 20th-ranked player to know that a win would catapult him into the top 20 and gain him promotion.

The winner of the Rolex Challenge Tour Grand Final could come from anyone inside the top 45 of the rankings – and that includes Williams, Germishuys and Nienaber. It takes just four good rounds, and they have been working all year for this moment.