With only the Challenge Tour Grand Final left after this week’s affair, the European Challenge Tour returns to China for the first time in four years with the Hainan Open taking place at Danzhou Ancient Saltern Golf Club this week and Conor Purcell and Jonathan Caldwell in action.
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 Grand Final, which is made up of the top 45 players on the Road to Mallorca Rankings.
Caldwell currently lies 71st in the Rankings, and is in need of a strong finish if he’s to have any chance of making his way to Clube de Golf Alcanada in November.
Purcell, ranked 37th, is well in the mix, but can’t afford any slips this week to secure his place in Mallorca and make a final push to play his way into the top-20 on the Rankings and secure a DP World Tour card for 2024.
There’s also the small matter of a $500,000 prize fund available at the Hainan Open, which is the biggest Challenge Tour prize pool this season excluding the Rolex Challenge Tour Grand Final, meaning that a strong performance this week could see a player make a significant climb up the Road to Mallorca Rankings ahead of the season finale.
Italian Francesco Laporta, who secured victory at the Hainan Open in 2019 on his way to being crowned Challenge Tour Number One, is looking to lean on those happy memories as he looks to secure a return to the DP World Tour.
“It has felt like a long time since 2019 but it is great to be back,” he said. “I always love coming to China because people are so kind.
“I have special memories from 2019 because it was my first win on the Challenge Tour and it gave me the opportunity to go straight to the DP World Tour.”
The Italian, who picked up his third Challenge Tour title at the Big Green Egg German Challenge powered by VcG earlier this season, is targeting another strong performance in China this week to cement his position in the top 20 on the Road to Mallorca Rankings.
“I’m currently 19th on the Road to Mallorca Rankings so this is a really important week for me,” he said. “I’m really looking forward to this test.
“I finished fifth last week in France to climb into the top 20 on the Rankings and now I need to maintain that position. My golf is feeling good, and I can’t wait to get going.”
Laporta, Purcell and Caldwell join a star-studded field in China this week which includes Road to Mallorca Number One Ugo Coussaud and four-time DP World Tour winner Matteo Manassero.
The first round will get under way on Friday at 7:10am local time, with Caldwell teeing it up alongside Chinese pair Jin Daxin and Tian Lang Guan. Guan, now 24, shot to fame when he became the youngest player to compete in the Masters back in 2013, and the 14-year-old sensation actually made the cut.
Purcell takes to the tee an hour before Caldwell, and the Portmarnock man has England’s Ashley Chesters and local Xinghyu Zhao for company.
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