Dec. 24, 2004 – The 2005 European Challenge Tour will resume at the beginning of February in Latin America with a further three co-sanctioned events with the Tour de las Americas before moving onto Africa for the Kenya Open.
After a hugely successful three legged tour of Mexico, Panama and Peru to open the 2005 Schedule, the Challenge Tour Members will have the opportunity to further their global golfing knowledge with visits to Costa Rica, Panama and Guatemala, before shifting continents to compete in Kenya.
The current Challenge Tour Number One, Rafael Gomez of Argentina, took the first title of the 2005 season – the 47th Abierto Mexicano de Golf – before England’s Richard McEvoy snapped up the Panasonic Panama Open. McEvoy was followed into the winners enclosure by America’s Brad Sutterfield, who took the third event of the 2005 Schedule – the TIM Peru Open.
The Costa Rica Open – to be played at the Cariari Country Club, San Jose, Costa Rica – will signal the resumption of the 2005 season from February 10-13. The Costa Rica Open is followed by the Panama Masters at the Summit Golf Club, Panama City, Panama, from February 17-20, with the Abierto Telefonica de Guatemala Open at the Hacienda Neuva Country Club, Guatemala City, Guatemala, the following week. All three Latin American events carry prize funds of $125,000.
The prize money for the Kenya Open will be set at €150,000, with the tournament being staged once more at the delightful Karen Country Club, Nairobi, Kenya, from March 10-13.
All four of these events were staged in 2004 when Italy’s Alessandro Tadini took the Costa Rica Open title, Miguel Fernandez of Argentina won the Panama Masters and Daniel Vancsik – also from Argentina – captured the Abierto Telefonica de Guatemala Open for the second consecutive season. Zimbabwe’s Marc Cayeux took the 2004 Kenya Open.
Both Tadini and Cayeux went onto graduate the Challenge Tour in second and fourth positions on the 2004 Rankings, highlighting the importance of these early season events as the Challenge Tour gets into full swing in the New Year.
Alain de Soultrait, Director of the European Challenge Tour said: “We are delighted to be able to co-host a further three tournaments with the Tour de las Americas on the 2005 Schedule. Our relationship with the Tour de las Americas has blossomed over the past three seasons, and that is reflected in the increase in events in the region on the 2005 Schedule.
“To be able to give our Members the chance to play in destinations such as Costa Rica, Panama and Guatemala can only enhance their knowledge of golf as a truly global sport, and that is one of the main objectives of the Challenge Tour – to educate and prepare the future stars of the European Tour.”
Source: The PGA European Tour
