Dubai: Course modifications at the Al Badia Golf Club will make the second Dubai Festival City Challenge Tour Grand Final even harder, according to golf club manager James Shippey.

The European Challenge Tour’s season-ender, from November 5-8, will feature the top 45 players in the rankings following the penultimate round of the 27-stage series in Oman on November 2. The top 15 players after Dubai will earn their card to play on the 2015 European Tour, but Shippey has vowed to make players work even harder for the event’s revised €350,000 (Dh1.68 million) prize purse.

“Course superintendent Patrick Ryan and his team have worked tirelessly over the summer in preparation for the tournament,” said Shippey. “They have enhanced the course by building new tee boxes on holes 11 and 17, extending those holes to 184 yards and 419 yards respectively.

“There’s also a new bunker on 11 and we have reworked the fairways and rough lines to test player’s shot making skills, because apparently last year’s event was too easy for them.

“One of the goals of the enhancement is to make sure we keep the course enjoyable for members and guests. We realise this event is just once a year, so, we want to maintain reasonable design features but also provide a test.”

Shippey added that Al Badia would seek to market the event to a wider audience this year, enticing new fans to the game through free entrance to the event, free golf lessons and complimentary food and beverage.

“The event obviously doesn’t have the profile of some of the other tournaments we are blessed to have in the region. But we are looking to grow the game within the UAE by looking outside the usual channels to try and attract non golfers, who maybe wouldn’t usually come, to experience something a little different.”

The Challenge Tour, which was founded in 1989, is the breeding ground for the next generation of European Tour talent and boasts a famous alumni, including five of the current European Ryder Cup team (not including captain’s picks).

Last year’s inaugural Grand Final winner Shiv Kapur of India is currently 72nd in the Race to Dubai. The current highest ranked graduate in the Race to Dubai from last year’s Challenge Tour is England’s Tyrell Hatton, who is 52nd. He finished tied for sixth at Al Badia last year.

America’s Brooks Koepka, who finished third in last year’s overall money-list, behind winner Andrea Pavan of Italy and second-placed Jose-Filipe Lima of Portugal, has also shone post graduation, finishing tied for fourth at this year’s US Open.