A stage for future stars
For many players, the European Challenge Tour is a springboard to a major career. Wild cards give the next generation of professional golfers the chance to make the leap into the international elite. These invitations are granted by the tournament organizer according to clearly-defined performance criteria.
The European Challenge Tour as a career springboard
There is a long list of former European Challenge Tour participants who have since gained fame. They include German golf star Martin Kaymer as well as 2005 US Open Champion Michael Campbell and former Crans Montana winners Mathias Grönberg, Costantino Rocca, Sven Strüver, Ricardo Gonzalez and Bradley Dredge. They all benefited from the European Challenge Tour serving as a stage on which the future stars of the international golfing world can forge a successful career.
Since the European Challenge Tour first came to Golf Sempach in 2010, the Swiss Challenge has been a breeding ground for talent. “The Swiss Challenge is the tournament of tomorrow’s golf stars,” stresses Daniel Weber, the Swiss Challenge Tournament Director. Top stars such as the Italian Matteo Manassero and the Dane Thorbjörn Olesen played at the Swiss Challenge before setting their sights on the world’s elite. Other former Swiss Challenge participants include Englishman Nick Dougherty, who has already won several European Tour events, and his compatriot Oliver Wilson, the former Ryder Cup player and winner of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.
Wild cards for the next generation of Swiss professionals
Alongside professionals who have qualified by their official ranking, players are also granted wild cards to participate in a European Challenge Tour event. These wild cards are exchanged between tournament organizers. Some 35 wild cards for the Swiss Challenge will be allocated to foreign organizers. In return, the Swiss organizers receive the same number of invitations to tournaments in each of the respective countries. These are awarded in accordance with clearly-defined performance criteria. This arrangement offers Swiss players valuable starts in international tournaments. A wild card offers them an opportunity to make the leap to the international elite.
The very best Swiss golfers at Golf Saint Apollinaire
With around 12 participants, the Swiss Challenge 2022 presents the best that Swiss golf has to offer. The best Swiss professionals in the Order of Merit as well as four amateurs will face a top-class international field of participants at Golf Saint Apollinaire.