The 1997 Challenge Tour was a series of golf

Golf

Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....

 tournaments known as the Challenge Tour

Challenge Tour

The Challenge Tour is the second tier men's professional golf tour in Europe. It is operated by the PGA European Tour and as with on the main European Tour and the European Seniors Tour, some of the events are played outside of Europe...

, the official development tour run by the PGA European Tour

PGA European Tour

The PGA European Tour is an organization which operates the three leading men's professional golf tours in Europe: the elite European Tour, the European Seniors Tour and the developmental Challenge Tour. Its headquarters are at Wentworth Club in Virginia Water, Surrey, England...

. The tour was started as the Satellite Tour in 1986 and was renamed the Challenge Tour ready for the start of the 1990 season.

The Challenge Tour Rankings was won by Italy's Michele Reale

Michele Reale

Michele Reale is an Italian professional golfer.Reale was born in Biella, Piedmont. Having won the Italian PGA Championship and the Italian Under 20 Championship as an amateur in 1991, he turned professional the following year....

.

Tournament schedule

The table below shows the 1997 Challenge Tour schedule.

Dates	Tournament	Host country	Winner	Notes
5–8 Mar	Open de Cote d'Ivoire	Ivory Coast	Knud Storgaard Knud Storgaard Knud Storgaard Jensen is a Danish professional golfer.Storgaard, who holds a masters degree in nuclear physics, qualified for the 2003 European Tour season, but at the same time it was discovered that he was suffering from testicular cancer...
13–16 Mar	Lonrho Kenya Open	Kenya Kenya Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...	Jorge Berendt Jorge Berendt Jorge Alberto Berendt is an Argentine professional golfer.Born in Formosa, Argentina, Berendt worked as a caddy before turning professional in 1982. He competed in the British Open in 1990. He played on the European Tour and Challenge Tour from 1990 to 2004, winning one tournament, the Cannes Open...
10–13 Apr	Is Molas Challenge	Italy Italy Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...	Andrew Collison
16–19 Apr	Le Pavoniere Supercal Challenge	Italy Italy Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...	Andrew Collison
24–27 Apr	Alianca UAP Challenger	Portugal Portugal Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...	Anssi Kankkonen
1–4 May	Canarias Challenge	Spain Spain Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...	Michele Reale Michele Reale Michele Reale is an Italian professional golfer.Reale was born in Biella, Piedmont. Having won the Italian PGA Championship and the Italian Under 20 Championship as an amateur in 1991, he turned professional the following year....
15–18 May	Modena Classic Open	Italy Italy Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...	Jesús María Arruti
22–25 May	Matchmaker Austrian Open	Austria Austria Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...	Erol Simsek
30 May–1 Jun	Himmerland Open	Denmark Denmark Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...	Mikael Lundberg Mikael Lundberg Mikael Lundberg is a Swedish professional golfer who currently plays on the European Tour.Lundberg was born in Helsingborg, Sweden. He represented Sweden in the 1994 Eisenhower Trophy and turned professional in 1995...
5–8 Jun	KB Golf Challenge	Czech Republic Czech Republic The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....	Alex Čejka Alex Cejka Alexander Čejka is a Czech/German professional golfer.Čejka was born in Marienbad, Czechoslovakia. He left Czechoslovakia with his parents as a refugee at the age of nine, eventually settling in Munich, where he lived for many years, becoming a German citizen...
5–8 Jun	Siab Open	Sweden Sweden Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....	Joakim Rask
19–22 Jun	Team Erhverv Danish Open	Denmark Denmark Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...	David Lynn
20–22 Jun	Memorial Olivier Barras	Switzerland Switzerland Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....	Raphaël Jacquelin Raphaël Jacquelin Raphaël Jacquelin is a French professional golfer.Jacquelin was born in Lyon. He turned professional in 1995, after winning the French Amateur Championship.Jacquelin began his professional career on the Challenge Tour...	Unofficial money
26–29 Jun	Audi Quattro Trophy	Germany Germany Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...	David A Russell
26–29 Jun	Open dei Tessali	Italy Italy Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...	Ivó Giner
3–6 Jul	Open des Volcans Open des Volcans The Open des Volcans was a golf tournament on the Challenge Tour, played in France. It ran annually from 1992 to 2007 and was always played at the Golf des Volcans.-Winners:AGF-Allianz Open des Volcans – Challenge de France*2007 Gareth Paddison...	France France The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...	Mark Litton
5–7 Jul	Neuchâtel Open	Switzerland Switzerland Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....	Erol Simsek
10–13 Jul	Volvo Finnish Open Volvo Finnish Open The Volvo Finnish Open was a golf tournament on the Challenge Tour from 1989 until 2004. It was played at Espoon Golfseura in Espoo, Finland. It was founded as the Scandinavian Tipo Trophy before being sponsored by Volvo from 1991.-Winners:...	Finland Finland Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...	Søren Kjeldsen Søren Kjeldsen Søren Kjeldsen is a Danish golfer. He turned professional in 1995.Kjeldsen's success on the second tier Challenge Tour in 1997, which included victory in the Volvo Finnish Open, earned him membership of the main European Tour for 1998. He has performed steadily at this level and won his first...
17–20 Jul	Rolex Pro-Am	Switzerland Switzerland Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....	Anssi Kankkonen
24–27 Jul	Interlaken Open	Switzerland Switzerland Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....	Mark Foster Mark Foster (golfer) Mark B. Foster is an English professional golfer.Foster was born in Worksop. He won the English Amateur twice before turning professional in 1995. For the first few years as a professional he was troubled by back problems, but in 2001 he won twice on the Challenge Tour and topped the money list...	Tournament cancelled after 1st round because of rain
24–27 Jul	BTC Slovenian Open	Slovenia Slovenia Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...	Kalle Brink Kalle Brink Kalle Henrik Brink is a Swedish professional golfer who currently plays on the Challenge Tour.Brink was born in Helsingborg, Sweden. He turned professional in 1994...
31 Jul–3 Aug	Klassis Turkish Open	Turkey Turkey Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...	Bradley Dredge Bradley Dredge Bradley Dredge is a Welsh professional golfer.Dredge was born in Tredegar. He turned professional in 1996.Dredge attempted to gain his card on the European Tour via the qualifying school in 1995 and 1996, the second time doing sufficiently well to gain a place on the Challenge Tour for 1997...
7–10 Aug	Challenge Tour Championship Challenge Tour Championship The Challenge Tour Championship was a golf tournament on the Challenge Tour that was first played in 1992 as the East Sussex National Challenge. After a break of two years, it returned as the Coca-Cola Open, before being retitled as the Challenge Tour Championship in 1996.-Winners:-External links:*...	England England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...	Greg Chalmers Greg Chalmers Greg J. Chalmers is an Australian professional golfer who has played on both the European Tour and currently the PGA Tour.Chalmers was born in Sydney...
21–24 Aug	Netcom Norwegian Open	Norway Norway Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...	Demitri Bieri
28–31 Aug	Steelcover Dutch Challenge	Netherlands Netherlands The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...	Raphaël Jacquelin Raphaël Jacquelin Raphaël Jacquelin is a French professional golfer.Jacquelin was born in Lyon. He turned professional in 1995, after winning the French Amateur Championship.Jacquelin began his professional career on the Challenge Tour...
23–25 Aug	Toyota Danish PGA Championship	Denmark Denmark Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...	Fredrik Henge Fredrik Henge Fredrik Henge is a Swedish professional golfer.Henge was born in Lund and turned professional in 1997. He has earned his place on the top level European Tour several times, the first via qualifying school at the end of 1997 and twice by his position on the Challenge Tour Rankings, but has failed...
3–6 Sept	Sovereign Russian Open	Russia Russia Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...	Michele Reale Michele Reale Michele Reale is an Italian professional golfer.Reale was born in Biella, Piedmont. Having won the Italian PGA Championship and the Italian Under 20 Championship as an amateur in 1991, he turned professional the following year....
4–7 Sept	Öhrlings Swedish Matchplay	Sweden Sweden Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....	Gregory Garbero
11–14 Sept	Perrier European Pro-Am Perrier European Pro-Am The Perrier European Pro-Am was a golf tournament on the Challenge Tour that was played annually in Belgium from 1990 to 1997.-Winners:-External links:*...	Belgium Belgium Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...	Craig Hainline
18–21 Sept	Eulen Open Galea	Spain Spain Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...	Warren Bennett Warren Bennett Warren Bennett is an English professional golfer.Bennett was born in Ashford, Surrey and is the son of former footballer Peter Bennett. In 1994, he won the Australian Amateur and was the leading amateur at The Open Championship...
23–26 Sept	BPGT Challenge	England England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...	Olivier Edmond Olivier Edmond Olivier Edmond is a French professional golfer.Edmond was born in Paris. As an amateur, Edmond represented France in the Eisenhower Trophy. He won the 1990 French Amateur Championship and the Brabazon Trophy . He turned professional later that year...
25–28 Sept	Polish Open	Poland Poland Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...		Cancelled due to rain
2–5 Oct	Telia InfoMedia Grand Prix	Sweden Sweden Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....	Fredrik Henge Fredrik Henge Fredrik Henge is a Swedish professional golfer.Henge was born in Lund and turned professional in 1997. He has earned his place on the top level European Tour several times, the first via qualifying school at the end of 1997 and twice by his position on the Challenge Tour Rankings, but has failed...
8–11 Oct	San Paolo Vita Open	Italy Italy Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...	Mathew Goggin Mathew Goggin Mathew Charles Goggin is an Australian professional golfer.As an amateur, Goggin won the 1995 Australian Amateur, played at Huntingdale Golf Club in Melbourne, Victoria, 2 & 1 over American Jamie Crow...
16–19 Oct	Estoril Challenge	Portugal Portugal Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...	José Manuel Carriles
23–26 Oct	Estoril Grand Final	Portugal Portugal Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...	Nicolas Joakimides

Rankings

The top 15 on the Challenge Tour Rankings gained membership of the European Tour for the 1998 season.

Position	Player	Country	Prize money (£ Pound sterling The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence... )
1	Michele Reale Michele Reale Michele Reale is an Italian professional golfer.Reale was born in Biella, Piedmont. Having won the Italian PGA Championship and the Italian Under 20 Championship as an amateur in 1991, he turned professional the following year....		51,679
2	Kalle Brink Kalle Brink Kalle Henrik Brink is a Swedish professional golfer who currently plays on the Challenge Tour.Brink was born in Helsingborg, Sweden. He turned professional in 1994...		36,112
3	Greg Chalmers Greg Chalmers Greg J. Chalmers is an Australian professional golfer who has played on both the European Tour and currently the PGA Tour.Chalmers was born in Sydney...		35,267
4	Raphaël Jacquelin Raphaël Jacquelin Raphaël Jacquelin is a French professional golfer.Jacquelin was born in Lyon. He turned professional in 1995, after winning the French Amateur Championship.Jacquelin began his professional career on the Challenge Tour...		34,538
5	Anssi Kankkonen		32,128
6	Nicolas Joakimides		31,497
7	David Lynn		31,342
8	Steen Tinning Steen Tinning Steen Tinning is a Danish professional golfer.Tinning was born in Copenhagen. After a successful amateur career he turned professional in 1985 and soon won a place on the European Tour. This career was interrupted when he and his wife were involved in a multiple car crash in Germany in 1990, which...		29,522
9	Knud Storgaard Knud Storgaard Knud Storgaard Jensen is a Danish professional golfer.Storgaard, who holds a masters degree in nuclear physics, qualified for the 2003 European Tour season, but at the same time it was discovered that he was suffering from testicular cancer...		29,426
10	Craig Hainline		29,368
11	Stephen Leaney Stephen Leaney Stephen John Leaney is an Australian professional golfer.Leaney was born in Busselton, Western Australia. He turned professional in 1992 and won several tournaments in his home country in the 1990s, despite having two ribs cut removed in December 1993 after doctors diagnosed a blood clot in his...		28,614
12	Heinz Peter Thül		27,418
13	Nicolas Vanhootegem Nicolas Vanhootegem Nicolas Vanhootegem is a Belgian professional golfer.Vanhootegem was born in Brussels. He won several tournaments as an amateur, including the Welsh Open Stroke Play, and turned professional in 1994...		26,936
14	Søren Kjeldsen Søren Kjeldsen Søren Kjeldsen is a Danish golfer. He turned professional in 1995.Kjeldsen's success on the second tier Challenge Tour in 1997, which included victory in the Volvo Finnish Open, earned him membership of the main European Tour for 1998. He has performed steadily at this level and won his first...		26,581
15	Bradley Dredge Bradley Dredge Bradley Dredge is a Welsh professional golfer.Dredge was born in Tredegar. He turned professional in 1996.Dredge attempted to gain his card on the European Tour via the qualifying school in 1995 and 1996, the second time doing sufficiently well to gain a place on the Challenge Tour for 1997...		26,415

External links

• Official homepage of the Challenge Tour