Al Zorah Golf Club to make Challenge Tour debut

Al Zorah Golf Club in Ajman is set to host a Challenge Tour event for the first time in April 2025, becoming part of the DP World Tour’s feeder circuit schedule, which boasts a record-breaking total prize fund of €9 million.

The club will take over hosting duties for the UAE Challenge, previously held at Saadiyat Beach Golf Club in Abu Dhabi for the past two years. This year’s tournament saw Denmark’s Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen claim victory, marking one of his three wins that season, which earned him automatic promotion to the DP World Tour.

The event also featured a memorable moment for Dubai-based amateur Oscar Craig, who made the cut on his Challenge Tour debut, with his stepfather, seven-time DP World Tour winner Tommy Fleetwood, caddying for him.

Following the UAE Challenge, the Abu Dhabi Challenge will return the next week at Al Ain Equestrian, Golf & Shooting Club. Earlier this year, Dubai-based professional Garrick Porteous triumphed at the event, overcoming the likes of Alex Levy and Wilco Nienaber.

These two tournaments are integral to the European Tour Group’s long-term partnership with the Emirates Golf Federation (EGF), aimed at fostering the growth of golf in the UAE over the next decade.

Each tournament will allocate 30 spots to the EGF to provide local players with opportunities to compete at the elite level. Additionally, the EGF has the option to exchange some of these spots with international federations, enabling UAE players to participate in Challenge Tour events worldwide.

29 tournaments across three continents 

The 2025 Challenge Tour schedule features 29 tournaments across 18 countries on three continents. It kicks off in South Africa for the fifth consecutive year, with the SDC Open in late January, the first of four co-sanctioned events with the Sunshine Tour.

In March, the tour heads to India for back-to-back events: the Kolkata Challenge at Royal Calcutta Golf Club - the oldest golf club in India and the first outside Great Britain - and the Delhi Challenge at Classic Golf & Country Club.

After the UAE double-header, the action moves to Spain in May for the 26th Challenge de España, which begins a busy stretch of 18 tournaments in 20 weeks across 14 European countries.

Highlights include the Italian Challenge Open at Golf Nazionale, a former Junior Ryder Cup venue, and the Swiss Challenge, returning to Golf Sempachersee after a hiatus since 2019.

The 2025 schedule also introduces several new venues: the Danish Golf Challenge at Bogense Golf Club, the Indoor Golf Group Challenge at Upsala Golf Club, and the Irish Challenge and Farmfoods Scottish Challenge supported by The R&A at Killeen Castle and SCHLOSS Roxburghe, respectively.

In October, the Road to Mallorca expands to China with the Hainan Open and the Hangzhou Open, offering players one final chance to secure a spot in the Rolex Challenge Tour Grand Final supported by The R&A.

The season concludes in Mallorca from October 30 to November 2, where the top 45 players on the rankings will compete for one of 20 life-changing DP World Tour cards.

These graduates will benefit from the DP World Tour’s Earnings Assurance Programme, guaranteeing minimum earnings of $150,000 for the 2026 season if they play 15 or more events.

The top five will also receive the John Jacobs Bursary, providing additional support as they step up to the European Tour group’s top tier.

Jamie Hodges, Challenge Tour Director, said: “I am incredibly proud to unveil our 2025 Road to Mallorca schedule, which boasts the biggest total prize fund since the Challenge Tour’s inception in 1989.

“The Challenge Tour continues to go from strength to strength and our 2025 schedule celebrates the truly global nature of the Tour and showcases the diversity of our membership and the places and cultures we visit.

“I would like to thank all our promoters, national Federations, tournament sponsors and partner Tours for their commitment to the Challenge Tour and for helping us to make this global schedule possible.

“We are also very grateful for the commitment of Rolex, The R&A, and DP World through their title partnership of the DP World Tour, all of which has helped us raise prize funds and increase playing opportunities for our members.

“The Challenge Tour continues to produce the next generation of golfing talent, and we were delighted with the success of our graduates on the 2024 Race to Dubai. We are looking forward to nurturing the stars of the future once again in 2025.”

Last season, 16 of the 21 Challenge Tour graduates kept their DP World Tour card and three of them, Matteo Manassero, Jesper Svensson and Frederic Lacroix, earned victories on the 2024 Race to Dubai.

Six of the 2023 Challenge Tour graduates also finished inside the top 50 on the Race to Dubai Rankings in Partnership with Rolex, while Manassero and Svensson earned dual membership with the PGA TOUR for 2025.