The 2024 Road to Mallorca got under way in South Africa with the Rainbow Nation playing host to the first four weeks of the season.
Rhys Enoch, Mikael Lindberg, David Ravetto and Björn Åkesson enjoyed statement wins to begin their own promotion pushes, with Lindberg taking an early lead in the Road to Mallorca Rankings.
Ahead of back-to-back events in India – starting with the Delhi Challenge taking place from March 14-17 – here’s what you may have missed from a busy South African swing.
European success
For the fifth successive year, South Africa brought a familiar start to the Challenge Tour season. Co-sanctioned events with the Sunshine Tour began in 2020, and in each year there has been one constant; a South African winner. That all changed this time around, with all four winners coming from Europe.
It could’ve been a very different story though. South African duo Deon Germishuys and Martin Rohwer pushed Welshman Rhys Enoch all the way in the season-opener, 21-year-old Ryan van Velzen narrowly missed out in a playoff in Cape Town and South Africa accounted for four of the top seven at Fancourt. Prior to 2024, ten of the 14 tournament winners had come from the host country.
Satellite and feeder tour strength
There were strong performances from several graduates of the Challenge Tour’s satellite and feeder tours, with Björn Åkesson providing the stand-out moment.
The Swede had actually retired from the sport in 2017 but returned last year, earning promotion by topping the Nordic Golf League’s Order of Merit. His win in the NMB Championship marked the perfect return to the Challenge Tour as he now targets back-to-back promotions.
George Bloor and Curtis Knipes, both graduates of the Clutch Pro Tour, also enjoyed good starts to the campaign. Englishman Bloor recorded a fifth place finish in the SDC Open, with countryman Knipes finishing seventh at the same event.
There were also positive signs for Alps Tour graduate Quim Vidal who finished in a share of 17th in the Dimension Data Pro-Am, and Per Längfors, Nordic Golf League graduate, who matched that feat in his first start of the season at the NMB Championship.
20 years on…
It’s been 20 years since Lee Slattery became the Challenge Tour Number One, and the Englishman has made a fast start to the new year. The Englishman has been one of the most consistent performers over the opening four weeks, making the cut in all three of his starts to sit sixth on the Rankings.
The 45-year-old finished tied 30th in the SDC Open and tied 24th in the Bain’s Whisky Cape Town Open before finishing in solo second at the NMB Championship following impressive rounds of 65-67-67 at Humewood.
Delivering early in the season
Joe Dean provided one of the stories of the week at the recent Magical Kenya Open presented by absa on the DP World Tour. The Englishman had been working as a delivery driver for UK supermarket chain Morrisons the previous week, before finishing in a life-changing tie for second place at Muthaiga Golf Club.
Introduced for this season, Challenge Tour members who participate in DP World Tour tournaments and Major Championships scheduled in the same week as a Challenge Tour tournament will earn points towards the Road to Mallorca Rankings, excluding those DP World Tour tournaments scheduled after the Swiss Challenge.
Due to that, Dean, as well as climbing up to 40th in the Race to Dubai Rankings, is also well-placed in 11th on the Road to Mallorca.
