Extra European Tour cards on offer during 2021 Challenge Tour season
Challenge Tour campaign to begin in April with 25 tournaments across 15 countries all part of an international 2021 schedule; top-20 in the season-long standings will then graduate to the European Tour in 2022
By Ali Stafford
Last Updated: 27/01/21 10:18am
Challenge Tour players will get more opportunities to qualify for the European Tour as part of the new Road to Mallorca schedule in 2021.
The leading 20 players in this year's season-long standings will secure full playing privileges on the European Tour in 2022 - an increase of five from the last full Challenge Tour season in 2019.
A new UK-based event will be part of an international 2021 campaign, covering 15 different countries and containing a mixture of long-standing and new tournaments.
The 25-tournament schedule will begin in April with three co-sanctioned events in South Africa, which were all postponed in their original February spot because of coronavirus restrictions, with the seven-month season running until the Challenge Tour Grand Final in Mallorca in November.
Jamie Hodges, head of Challenge Tour, said: "I am thrilled to be able to unveil our global schedule for 2021 which sees us return to the number of events we had prior to last season.
"There were 20 wins by former Challenge Tour players on the European Tour in 2020, which shows how important our Tour is in preparing the next generation of stars for the biggest stage and we're excited to give our current Membership more opportunities to follow in their footsteps."
The Irish Challenge will take place at Portmarnock Links in County Dublin from May 27-30, while a venue has yet to be announced for the UK tournament that will be held from September 2-5.
All events on the Challenge Tour schedule will be played under the auspices of the European Tour's health strategy which will continue to evolve in line with government guidance in the countries where tournaments are played.
