Joel Moscatel added this Sunday in Le Vaudreuil, in Normandy France, halfway between Paris and Rouen, his second victory of the season and, in the process, added one more to the notable record of Spain in the Challenge Tour.
Specifically, our country already has 70 victories in the 35-year history of the European second division (the Challenge was born in 1989). A round figure. After a first year in blank for ours, the counter started in May 1990, by the hand of one of the greatest, the Madrilenian Antonio Garrido. He won at the Club de Golf de Valrromanes. Since then, seventy victories already adorn Spain.
In the general record of the Challenge Tour, Spain occupies the fourth historical place in number of victories. Ahead are only England, Sweden, France and Spain. No one else even reaches half a hundred. Here we leave you broken down by countries all the victories in the history of the Challenge Tour:
– England: 230
– Sweden: 168
– France: 91
– Spain: 70
– Scotland: 46
– Italy: 44
– Germany: 41
– Wales: 37
– Denmark: 31
– Argentina: 28
– South Africa: 28
– United States: 27
– Australia: 23
– Finland: 19
– Netherlands: 18
– Ireland: 15
– Portugal: 15
– Norway: 11
– New Zealand: 10
– Belgium: 9
– Austria: 8
– Northern Ireland: 8
– Switzerland: 8
– Chile: 6
– Zimbabwe: 5
– India: 4
– Czech Republic: 3
– Korea: 2
– Paraguay: 2
– Poland: 2
– China: 1
– Colombia: 1
– Iceland: 1
– Mexico: 1
– Sierra Leone: 1
As for Spain, the 70 victories have been achieved through 41 different players. Carlos Suneson is the Spaniard with the most victories, a total of six, followed by Nacho Elvira with four and Nacho Feliú, Diego Borrego, Ivó Giner, Álvaro Salto and Álvaro Velasco with three. Up to eleven different players, including Moscatel, have managed to win twice. The last one who achieved two victories before Joel was Santi Tarrio in 2021.
Here is the complete list of Spanish victories in the history of the Challenge Tour. In brackets, the years of their conquests, and to the right, the total number of victories.
1.- Antonio Garrido (1990) 1
2.- Ignacio Feliu (1990, 1996, 1996) 3
3.- Juan Rosa (1990) 1
4.- Juan Carlos Piñero (1990, 1994) 2
5.- Jesús María Arruti (1992, 1997) 2
6.- Ignacio Garrido (1993) 1
7.- Francis Valera (1993, 1995) 2
8.- Diego Borrego (1993, 1995, 2002) 3
9.- José Salgado (1993) 1
10.- Pedro Linhart (1995) 1
11.- Carlos Suneson (1995, 1999, 1999, 1999, 2005, 2007) 6
12.- Francisco Cea (1996, 2006) 2
13.- José Antonio Sota (1996) 1
14.- Ivó Giner (1997, 2003, 2003) 3
15.- José Manuel Carriles (1997, 2003) 2
16.- José Manuel Lara (1998) 1
17.- Álvaro Salto (1998, 2000, 2006) 3
18.- Miguel Ángel Jiménez (2003) 1
19.- Tomás Jesús Muñoz (2005) 1
20.- Álvaro Quirós (2006) 1
21.- Juan Parrón (2006) 1
22.- Carlos del Moral (2006) 1
23.- Rafa Cabrera Bello (2006, 2008) 2
24.- Álvaro Velasco (2010, 2010, 2016) 3
25.- Carlos del Moral (2010) 1
26.- Eduardo de la Riva (2012) 1
27.- Jordi García Pinto (2013, 2014) 2
28.- Nacho Elvira (2013, 2015, 2015, 2015) 4
29.- Toño Hortal (2014) 1
30.- Borja Virto (2015, 2015) 2
31.- Pedro Oriol (2017) 1
32.- Adri Arnaus (2018) 1
33.- Emilio Cuartero (2019, 2022) 2
34.- Pep Anglés (2020) 1
35.- Santi Tarrio (2021, 2021) 2
36.- Alfredo García Heredia (2021) 1
37.- Ángel Hidalgo (2021) 1
38.- Javier Sainz (2022) 1
39.- Alex del Rey (2022) 1
40.- Lucas Vacarisas (2023) 1
41.- Joel Moscatel (2024, 2024) 2
Only 23 golfers have won three times or more in a single season on the Challenge Tour
As you can see, it is a significant number of players, but not so many. Even more exclusive is the club of golfers who have won three times or more on the Challenge Tour in a single season and who, therefore, have directly ascended to the DP World Tour without having to wait until the end of the season. Only 23 golfers have achieved it and Moscatel aspires to become number 24. He will have several opportunities to achieve it and, as he assured in his interview with the Provisional Ball podcast of Ten Golf, it is one of his objectives for the rest of the year. Also have the opportunity the Dane Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen and the veteran Englishman John Parry.
The last player who won three times in a year on the Challenge Tour was the Dane Marcus Helligkilde in 2021, a feat that was done, among others, by the five-time Grande champion Brooks Koepka. The only one who achieved it in two different seasons is the Frenchman Benjamin Hebert (2011 and 2014), curiously Moscatel’s rival in the playoff in France this Sunday. Meanwhile, in Spanish golf only can boast of having achieved this achievement Nacho Elvira (2015) and Carlos Suneson (1999).
The golfer who has added the most victories in a single season on the Challenge Tour has been the Englishman Warren Bennett, who reached five in 1998, while the Swede Kristoffer Broberg reached four in 2012.
