The HotelPlanner Tour returns to Switzerland this week for the Swiss Challenge, taking place at Golf Sempach from June 5-8. Here’s all you need to know…
Golf Sempach returns
This week sees the return of Golf Sempach as host venue of the Swiss Challenge for the first time in six years. The Lucerne club has a rich history on the HotelPlanner Tour, with this the 11th time an event has been staged there. The Swiss Challenge, albeit under different guises, made its first appearance on the schedule in 2000, and returned in 2001 before a five year break. Since 2006, it has been ever-present on the Road to Mallorca schedule since the first edition back in 2006, with this the 21st edition of the event and the first at Golf Sempach since 2019.
Several impressive names have held the iconic trophy over the years, with winners at Golf Sempach including four-time DP World Tour winner and European Ryder Cup star Rafa Cabrera Bello, and home favourite Joel Girrbach, who remains the only Swiss player to win the event.
HotelPlanner impact
HotelPlanner were announced as Title Partner of the now HotelPlanner Tour back in January, in a multi-year partnership which will see players compete for a record total prize fund of over €9,000,000 this season. For the first time in the Tour’s history, each European event will also have a minimum prize fund of €300,000. That’s not all though. The winner of the Swiss Challenge will receive £10,000 worth of HotelPlanner vouchers – the first of six events on the Road to Mallorca that will offer the reward.
First-class facilities
At the start of the year Golf Sempach opened a brand-new state-of-the-art indoor training facility, to allow for year-round golf in Switzerland. Indoor putting greens are interactive, allowing for precise target lines to be created, with chipping and pitching facilities also available. Full swing analysis can be accessed too, and a moving floor can simulate undulating terrain found on golf courses around the world.
Step outside and you have the Alps as the backdrop, plus two 18-hole Championship courses - including the Woodside course the players will tee it up on this week – which makes Golf Sempach a leading facility in Europe.
