He didn’t move up at all in the grand finale in Dubai, but he didn’t have to. Henrik Stenson had such a big advantage that nobody could dethrone him in the last competition of the year. No matter what happened, he was going to be the champion. Stenson was crowned as the first Golden Graduate of the Challenge Tour in history, a classification put into effect by Tengolf in 2015 in order to honor the best golfer of those who had played in the European Tour each season through the Challenge since its start in 1989.
Stenson got a total of 333 points, a victory shaped by his incredible consistency, due to the fact that he did not take home any trophy this year, not in the European Tour, nor in the PGA Tour. That being said, he accumulated a total of five second place rankings, three of which were in the playoffs of the FedEX Cup. The Swedish native’s advantage above the second runner-up was significant.
– The first top ten of the Golden Graduate which stand for the annual report: Stenson, Koepka, Wiesberger, Byeong Hun An, Soren Kjeldsen, Martin Kaymer, Ross Fisher, Tyrrell Hatton, James Morrison y Eddie Pepperell.
– Six different nationalities in the six top spots. Thus, the Challenge Tour is becoming more and more international. Six countries and three continents. To our great surprise this year was Korean golfer, An.
– The best Spanish golfer was Rafa Cabrera Bello, sixteenth place with a total of 80.1 points. The Canary Island native finished just behind Kristoffer Broberg and ahead of Jamie Donaldson. Other Spanish golfers who have also moved up were: Jorge Campillo (29º), Álvaro Quirós (56º), Adrián Otaegui (57º), José Manuel Lara (61º) y Jordi García Pinto (89º).
– Throughout the season, at least 98 golfers moved up at least half a point. Johan Edfors, Jerome Lando Casanova and Jean Baptiste Gonnet were the last to make it in the rankings.
– The second edition of the Golden Graduate will begin this week with the Alfred Dunhill Championship and the tournaments played in the PGA Tour. In search of Stenson’s successor, although we have yet to see if anyone will be capable of dethroning him. Fifteen golfers have joined the graduates of the Challenge since 1989 this year, those who got into the European Tour through the Race to Omán. Keep in mind that the champion of the Challenge was Ricardo Gouveia and there were two Spanish golfers in the top 5: Borja Virto y Nacho Elvira.
