The European Challenge Tour returns to China for the first time since 2019 for the Hainan Open at Danzhou Ancient Saltern Golf Club this week. Here’s everything you need to know…
One Last Chance
The Hainan Open will be co-sanctioned with the China Golf Association and 72 Challenge Tour players will be given a final chance to earn their spot in the season-ending Rolex Challenge Tour Grand Final supported by The R&A. There is a $500,000 prize fund available at Hainan Open, which is the biggest Challenge Tour prize pool this season excluding the Rolex Challenge Tour Grand Final. A good performance this week could see a player make a significant climb up the Road to Mallorca Rankings ahead of the season finale.
The top 20 players on the Road to Mallorca Rankings at the conclusion of the Rolex Challenge Tour Grand Final at Club de Golf Alcanada, Mallorca, will earn DP World Tour playing privileges for the 2024 season.
Danzhou Ancient Saltern Golf Club
Danzhou Ancient Saltern Golf Club, designed by ten-time DP World Tour winner Graham Marsh, is located along the coastline in the north-west of Hainan Island and offers spectacular views of the ocean.
Past Champions
The past four winners of the Hainan Open have gone on to play on the DP World Tour the following year. The tournament was last part of the Road to Mallorca schedule in 2019 as Italian Francesco Laporta secured victory at Sanya Luhuitou Golf Club on his way to being crowned Challenge Tour Number One. The Italian lost his DP World Tour playing privileges last season but returns to Hainan this week sitting in 19th position on the Road to Mallorca Rankings in a bid to secure promotion back to Europe’s top tier.
Erik van Rooyen, the 2017 Champion, and 2018 winner Kalle Samooja have both gone on to win on the DP World Tour. Van Rooyen won his maiden DP World Tour title at the 2019 Scandinavian Invitation, before picking up his first title on the PGA Tour at the 2021 Barracuda Championship. Samooja, meanwhile, secured his first DP World Tour title at last year’s Porsche European Open.
Germany’s Alexander Knappe won the Hainan Open in 2016 and he is currently plying his trade on the DP World Tour after securing promotion through the Challenge Tour in 2022.
