Justin Walters was today announced as the winner of the inaugural European Challenge Tour Graduate of the Year Award.
The 33 year old South African was presented with the award by European Tour Tournament Committee Chairman Thomas Björn at a ceremony at Wentworth Club also attended by Keith Waters, The European Tour’s Chief Operating Officer and Director of International Policy, and Alain De Soultrait, Director of the European Challenge Tour.
The new award is given to the highest ranked player in The Race to Dubai to have graduated via the Challenge Tour’s top 15 the previous season, and celebrates the growing success of the Challenge Tour and its graduation system, which provides the crucial link between the grassroots of golf in Europe and The European Tour.
In his maiden season on The European Tour in 2013, Walters provided one of the most dramatic and heart-warming moments of the season when, just two weeks after his mother passed away, he holed a monster putt at the final hole of the Portugal Masters to secure runner-up spot behind David Lynn and, in the process, seal his European Tour playing rights for the 2014 season.
The Johannesburg man finished 64th in The 2013 Race to Dubai to beat fellow 2012 Challenge Tour Graduates Maximilian Kieffer (73rd), Eddie Pepperell (76th) and JB Hansen (79th), amongst others, to the 2013 award.
“I'm absolutely delighted to be the very first winner of the Challenge Tour Graduate of the Year Award,” said Walters, who graduated from the Challenge Tour in 2012 thanks to an impressively consistent rookie season, finishing in 15th position on the Rankings.
“In so many ways, the 2012 season on the Challenge Tour was a career-changer for me. Having experienced success on the Sunshine Tour in 2011, I took that confidence with me to The European Tour’s Qualifying School and then to the Challenge Tour in 2012.
“Not only did the Challenge Tour give me a much more rounded game, playing some incredible course all around the world, but I also learned a lot about myself and I think a strong start to my European Tour career had a lot to do with my experiences on the Challenge Tour.
“The standard of player on the Challenge Tour nowadays is so strong that I knew graduating from it meant I was more than good enough for The European Tour. To win this award makes me extremely proud and hopefully it is the first of many trophies I will win as a European Tour player.”
Thomas Björn, who was number one on the Challenge Tour Rankings in 1995, said: “I am huge advocate of the Challenge Tour and everything it represents. It gave me my first opportunity to break through to The European Tour and it has played a big part in the development of so many top players.
“The Challenge Tour has come a long way since I was there and the standard is improving every year. The quality of some of the players coming through now is extremely impressive and Justin is a perfect example of that. Congratulations to him on being the inaugural winner of this award.”
Keith Waters said: ““In the last two years, Justin has shown just what can be achieved through our Challenge Tour graduation system, so he is a most fitting winner of this award.
“The Challenge Tour is integral to The European Tour’s success. It provides a perfect stage of development for talented young players hoping to make it big in the game, while also giving those players who suffer a loss of form on the top tier an opportunity to rebuild their confidence.
“I believe it is only right that we celebrate the achievements of those who make their way through the Challenge Tour before using all that experience and confidence to achieve immediate success on The European Tour.”
Having celebrated its 25th anniversary last year, the Challenge Tour has entered a new era as an increasing amount of players from the United States and all around the world travel to Europe’s second tier in an attempt to climb the Official World Golf Ranking by making the breakthrough to The European Tour.
An influx of players from the American collegiate system, and beyond, have begun their professional careers on the Challenge Tour, with many citing the recent successes of both Brooks Koepka and Peter Uihlein as one of the main factors in their decision.
Martin Kaymer, Edoardo Molinari, Thorbjørn Olesen and Björn are among many players who experienced immediate success on The European Tour having graduated from the Challenge Tour the previous season.
