The 2008 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 Edoardo Molinari

Edoardo Molinari

Edoardo Molinari is an Italian professional golfer. He is a two-time winner on the European Tour, 2005 U.S. Amateur champion, 2009 Challenge Tour Rankings leader, winner, with his brother Francesco, of the 2009 World Cup and a member of the 2010 European Ryder Cup team...

.

Tournament schedule

The table below shows the 2009 Challenge Tour schedule. The season started in March and was made up of 24 tournaments played in Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

, Latin America

Latin America

Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages  – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...

, Africa

Africa

Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

 and Central Asia

Central Asia

Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...

.

The numbers in brackets after winners' names indicate the player's total number of wins on the Challenge Tour including that event. No-one accumulates many wins on the Challenge Tour because success at this level soon leads to promotion to the European Tour.

Dates	Tournament	Host country	Winner	OWGR Official World Golf Rankings The Official World Golf Ranking is a system for rating the performance level of male professional golfers... Points	Notes
19–22 Mar	Club Colombia Masters Club Colombia Masters The Club Colombia Masters was a golf tournament co-sanctioned by the European Challenge Tour and the Tour de las Américas and was first played in 2007. The event was held at the Country Club de Bogotá, in Bogotá, Colombia. The tournament was organized by the Corporacion Internacional de Golf,...	Colombia Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...	Alan Wagner Alan Wagner (golfer) Alan Wagner is an Argentine professional golfer.In 2007 he won the Las Americas Cup Individual in Canada.-Challenge Tour wins:-Tour de las Américas wins:*2008 Peru Open*2009 Club Colombia Masters...  (1)	12	Co-sanctioned with the Tour de las Americas Tour de las Americas The Tour de las Américas is the men's professional golf tour for Latin America.Top level tournament golf in Latin America has had an unstable history. Some of the national open championships in the region are long established, but they did not traditionally form a coherent tour...
16–19 Apr	Tusker 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...	Gary Boyd Gary Boyd (golfer) Gary Stuart Boyd is an English professional golfer who currently plays on the European Tour.Boyd was born in Banbury, England. He turned professional in 2007....  (1)	12
30 Apr–3 May	Moroccan Classic by Banque Populaire	Morocco Morocco Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...	Robert Coles Robert Coles (golfer) Robert Coles is an English professional golfer who currently plays on the European Tour.Coles was born in Hornchurch, England. He turned professional in 1994....  (2)	12
14–17 May	Allianz Open Côtes d'Armor Bretagne	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...	Lee S. James Lee S. James Lee Scott James is an English professional golfer.James was born in Poole, Dorset. He won the 1994 Amateur Championship with a 2 & 1 victory over Gordon Sherry...  (5)	12
21–24 May	Piemonte Open Piemonte Open The Piemonte Open was a golf tournament on the Challenge Tour, played near Turin, in the Piedmont region of Italy. It was held in 2008 and 2009.-Winners:* – First two rounds played over both courses, with the final two being played at Royal Park....	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...	Edoardo Molinari Edoardo Molinari Edoardo Molinari is an Italian professional golfer. He is a two-time winner on the European Tour, 2005 U.S. Amateur champion, 2009 Challenge Tour Rankings leader, winner, with his brother Francesco, of the 2009 World Cup and a member of the 2010 European Ryder Cup team...  (3)	12
28–31 May	Telenet Trophy Telenet Trophy The Telenet Trophy is a golf tournament on the Challenge Tour, Europe's second tier men's professional golf tour. It was first played in 2006, with the host course being alternated between Limburg Golf & Country Club in Houthalen-Helchteren, Royal Waterloo in Lasne, and Rinkven Golf Club.As the...	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...	François Calmels François Calmels François Calmels is a French professional golfer who currently plays on the PGA European Tour.-Career:Calmels was born in Paris. He was a distinguished amateur, winning the 2004 Coupe Mouchy , and the 2006 Portuguese Amateur Open Championship...  (1)	12
4–7 Jun	Kärnten Golf Open Kärnten Golf Open The Kärnten Golf Open is a golf tournament on the Challenge Tour, played in Austria. It was held for the first time in 2009 and is contested over the Pete Dye designed course at the Golf Club Klagenfurt-Seltenheim....	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...	Christoph Günther Christoph Günther Christoph Joseph Günther is a German professional golfer who plays on the Challenge Tour and the EPD Tour.Günther was born in Göttingen. He has mainly played on the EPD Tour since turning professional in 1995. He has won eight times on the EPD Tour between 2001 and 2008.Günther won his first...  (1)	12	New tournament
11–14 Jun	Challenge of Ireland Challenge of Ireland The Challenge of Ireland was a golf tournament on the Challenge Tour, held in the Republic of Ireland. It was played from 2005 to 2009.Robert Coles won the 2009 event in a playoff over Belgian Nicolas Colsaerts.-Winners:PO – won following playoff...	Ireland Ireland Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...	Robert Coles Robert Coles (golfer) Robert Coles is an English professional golfer who currently plays on the European Tour.Coles was born in Hornchurch, England. He turned professional in 1994....  (3)	12
18–21 Jun	Saint-Omer Open	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...	Christian Nilsson Christian Nilsson -Professional career:Nilsson was born in Karlstad, Sweden. He turned professional in 1999 with a plus 3 handicap. Nilsson played on the Challenge Tour full time since 2004, playing few events before then. His first event on the European Tour was the 2005 Open Championship where he missed the cut....  (1)	18	Dual-ranking event with the European Tour
25–28 Jun	The Princess	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....	Andrew Butterfield Andrew Butterfield Andrew Butterfield is an English professional golfer who plays on the Challenge Tour.-Career:Butterfield was born in London, England. He turned professional in 1993 and joined the Challenge Tour in 1996. He played on the Challenge Tour until qualifying for the European Tour through Q-School in 1999...  (1)	12	New tournament
2–5 Jul	Credit Suisse Challenge Credit Suisse Challenge The Credit Suisse Challenge is a golf tournament on the Challenge Tour, held in Switzerland. It was first played as the Credit Suisse Private Banking Open in 2000 and 2001 at the Golf Club Patriziale Ascona in Ascona. Following a four year hiatus, the tournament returned in 2006 and was held at the...	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....	Peter Baker Peter Baker (golfer) Peter A. Baker is an English professional golfer.Baker was born in Shifnal, Shropshire, and currently lives near Wolverhampton. He learned golf at his father's nine hole Himley Hall course and was taught by Sandy Lyle's father Alex....  (3)	12
9–12 Jul	Allianz EurOpen de Lyon Allianz EurOpen de Lyon The Allianz Golf Open de Lyon is a golf tournament on the Challenge Tour, played near Lyon, France. It has been held annually since 2008, and has always been held at Golf du Gouverneur in Monthieux.-Winners:-External links:*...	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...	Alexandre Kaleka Alexandre Kaleka Alexandre Kaleka is a French professional golfer.Kaleka turned professional in July 2009 and won his first tournament as a pro, the Allianz EurOpen de Lyon on the Challenge Tour. The win gave him a full exemption on the 2010 Challenge Tour, and a consistent season saw him finish in 20th place in...  (1)	12
23–26 Jul	SWALEC Wales Challenge	Wales Wales Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...	Rhys Davies Rhys Davies (golfer) Rhys Davies is a Welsh professional golfer.Davies was born in Edinburgh, Scotland but has lived in Wales for the majority of his life. He played collegiate golf in the United States at East Tennessee State University where he won ten times...  (1)	12
30 Jul–2 Aug	Scottish Hydro Challenge	Scotland Scotland Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...	Jamie McLeary Jamie McLeary James Robert Ewan McLeary is a Scottish professional golfer who plays on the Challenge Tour.McLeary was born in Peterhead, Scotland. In 2004 he represented Scotland at the Eisenhower Trophy and represented Great Britain and Ireland at the St Andrews Trophy...  (1)	12
6–9 Aug	SK Golf Challenge SK Golf Challenge The SK Golf Challenge was a golf tournament on the Challenge Tour played in Finland. It was founded in 2008, and in 2010 was retitled as the Green Challenge before being cancelled due to the withdrawal of a major sponsor.-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...	Nicolas Colsaerts Nicolas Colsaerts Nicolas Colsaerts is a Belgian professional golfer.Colsaerts was born in Schaerbeek, Belgium. He turned professional in 2000, the day of his 18th birthday and went on to gain his European Tour card...  (1)	12
13–16 Aug	Trophée du Golf de Genève	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....	Julien Quesne Julien Quesne Julien Quesne is a French professional golfer.Quesne was born in Le Mans. He turned professional in 2003 and joined the Alps Tour. He gained a place on the second tier Challenge Tour for 2005 by reaching the final stage of the European Tour Qualifying School at the end of 2004...  (1)	12	Limited field Pro-Am
27–30 Aug	DHL Wroclaw Challenge	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...	Eric Ramsay Eric Ramsay Eric Thomas Ramsay is a Scottish professional golfer.Ramsay was born in Dundee. In 2005 he won the Australian Amateur and finished in a tie for 23rd place at the 2005 Open Championship, one stroke behind Lloyd Saltman in the race for the silver medal as the low amateur...  (1)	12
3–6 Sep	Fred Olsen Challenge de España	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...	Rhys Davies Rhys Davies (golfer) Rhys Davies is a Welsh professional golfer.Davies was born in Edinburgh, Scotland but has lived in Wales for the majority of his life. He played collegiate golf in the United States at East Tennessee State University where he won ten times...  (2)	12
10–13 Sep	Dutch Futures	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...	Nicolas Colsaerts Nicolas Colsaerts Nicolas Colsaerts is a Belgian professional golfer.Colsaerts was born in Schaerbeek, Belgium. He turned professional in 2000, the day of his 18th birthday and went on to gain his European Tour card...  (2)	12
17–20 Sep	Kazakhstan Open Kazakhstan Open The Kazakhstan Open is a men's professional golf tournament on the Challenge Tour, the official developmental tour of the PGA European Tour. First played in 2005, it was held at the Nurtau Golf Club in Almaty, Kazakhstan for the first four editions before moving to the Zhailjau Golf Resort, also in...	Kazakhstan Kazakhstan Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...	Edoardo Molinari Edoardo Molinari Edoardo Molinari is an Italian professional golfer. He is a two-time winner on the European Tour, 2005 U.S. Amateur champion, 2009 Challenge Tour Rankings leader, winner, with his brother Francesco, of the 2009 World Cup and a member of the 2010 European Ryder Cup team...  (4)	12
1–4 Oct	ECCO Tour Championship ECCO Tour Championship The ECCO Tour Championship is the most prestigious golf tournament on the Denmark based ECCO Tour, being jointly sanctioned by Europe's second tier Challenge Tour. It has run annually since 2006...	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...	José-Filipe Lima José-Filipe Lima José-Filipe Lima is a professional golfer. He has Portuguese parents but was born and grew up mainly in France. His father worked at Saint-Nom-La-Bretèche, which was the host course of the Trophée Lancôme until that tournament ceased in 2003, and was his son's first coach...  (3)	12
8–11 Oct	Allianz Open du Grand Toulouse	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...	John Parry John Parry (golfer) John Anthony Parry is an English professional golfer.Parry was born in Harrogate. He won several high profile amateur tournaments including the Danish and Spanish Amateur Championships, and represented Great Britain and Ireland in the Walker Cup before turning professional at the end of 2007.Parry...  (1)	12
22–25 Oct	Italian Federation Cup	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...	Edoardo Molinari Edoardo Molinari Edoardo Molinari is an Italian professional golfer. He is a two-time winner on the European Tour, 2005 U.S. Amateur champion, 2009 Challenge Tour Rankings leader, winner, with his brother Francesco, of the 2009 World Cup and a member of the 2010 European Ryder Cup team...  (5)	12
28–31 Oct	Apulia San Domenico Grand Final	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...	Peter Whiteford Peter Whiteford Peter William Whiteford is a Scottish professional golfer.Whiteford was born in Kirkcaldy. He turned professional in 2002....  (3)	12

Rankings

For full rankings, see 2009 Challenge Tour graduates

2009 Challenge Tour graduates

This is a list of players who graduated from the Challenge Tour in 2009. The top 20 players on the Challenge Tour's money list in 2009 earned their European Tour card for 2010.*European Tour rookie in 2010T = Tied...

.

Rank	Player	Country	Prize money (€ Euro The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,... )
1	Edoardo Molinari Edoardo Molinari Edoardo Molinari is an Italian professional golfer. He is a two-time winner on the European Tour, 2005 U.S. Amateur champion, 2009 Challenge Tour Rankings leader, winner, with his brother Francesco, of the 2009 World Cup and a member of the 2010 European Ryder Cup team...		242,980
2	José-Filipe Lima José-Filipe Lima José-Filipe Lima is a professional golfer. He has Portuguese parents but was born and grew up mainly in France. His father worked at Saint-Nom-La-Bretèche, which was the host course of the Trophée Lancôme until that tournament ceased in 2003, and was his son's first coach...		134,622
3	Nicolas Colsaerts Nicolas Colsaerts Nicolas Colsaerts is a Belgian professional golfer.Colsaerts was born in Schaerbeek, Belgium. He turned professional in 2000, the day of his 18th birthday and went on to gain his European Tour card...		128,590
4	Rhys Davies Rhys Davies (golfer) Rhys Davies is a Welsh professional golfer.Davies was born in Edinburgh, Scotland but has lived in Wales for the majority of his life. He played collegiate golf in the United States at East Tennessee State University where he won ten times...		113,187
5	Peter Whiteford Peter Whiteford Peter William Whiteford is a Scottish professional golfer.Whiteford was born in Kirkcaldy. He turned professional in 2002....		110.593

External links

• Official homepage of the Challenge Tour