For many golfers worldwide, attaining Membership of The European Tour represents the fulfilment of an ambition. There is a special sense of excitement and anticipation at reaching this level of achievement, and in 2004 we welcome 23 players who will be competing for the first time on The European Tour International Schedule.
This offers us the opportunity to congratulate not only those who have graduated to full Membership through the European Challenge Tour and The European Tour Qualifying School Finals, but especially those who will experience life on Tour for the first time, imbued with a strong desire to put their own stamp on the world of professional golf.
The Challenge Tour continues to provide an excellent platform for success on The European Tour and we commend the effort of Sweden's Johan Edfors in topping the Rankings with €94,509, from a total prize fund of €4,675,314 from a 28 tournament schedule. Edfors and runner-up Martin LeMesurier of England, who earned €88,643 within 12 months of turning professional, are among eight Challenge Tour players from the top 15 who will be experiencing the unique flavour of The European Tour for the first time in 2004.
Others are Martin Wiegele of Austria (fourth), Martin Erlandsson of Sweden (sixth), Scott Drummond of Scotland (seventh), Sebastian Fernandez of Argentina (ninth), Jamie Elson of England (tenth) and James Hepworth, also from England, who finished 11th. They will be joined by José Manuel Carriles (Spain), Peter Hanson (Sweden), Stuart Little (England), Michael Jonzon (Sweden), Robert Coles (England), Ivo Giner (Spain) and Ben Mason (England), who are all making their return to the big stage.
A total of 35 players passed the six round examination of the Qualifying School Finals at Emporda GC and Golf Platja de Pals, Spain, to earn their place on The European Tour International Schedule in 2004, 15 of them for the first time. We therefore congratulate Ben Banks, Daniel Gaunt, Jeppe Huldahl, Steven Jeppesen, Paul Marantz, Richard McEvoy, Alan McLean, Cesar Monasterio, Steven O'Hara, Wade Ormsby, Louis Oosthuizen, Rob Rashell, Nobuhito Sato, Craig Spence and Tom Whitehouse in achieving their goal.
A total of 13 countries are represented between the 15 graduates from the Challenge Tour and 35 qualifiers for Category 10 and 11 Membership in 2004. The most successful nation was England, with 14 players graduating to the Tour, followed by Sweden with nine and Australia and Spain with five each.
We also congratulate the 16 players, led by Canada’’s Bruce Heuchan, who secured their cards at the European Seniors Tour Qualifying School at the Pinta Course, Pestana Golf Resort, Portugal, following a marvellous season in which England's Carl Mason won the Seniors Tour Order of Merit in his rookie season with record earnings of €350,241 - a clear indicator to next year's school 'intake' just what is possible on the Seniors Tour. In 2003, the Seniors Tour Schedule comprised 20 tournaments with a total prize fund of €6,041,827.
Already, a new season is upon us with the third playing of the Omega Hong Kong Open at the start of December, in which 26 of the Challenge Tour and Qualifying School graduates took advantage of the Tour's 'opportunity and incentive' dictum by making their seasonal debuts at Hong Kong Golf Club. We add our congratulations to Padraig Harrington, who, for a second successive year, launched the new season with a victory.
The 2004 European Tour International Schedule will resume on January 15 with our annual visit to South Africa for the South African Airways Open at Erinvale Golf Club, Somerset West, Western Cape, followed by the dunhill championship at Houghton Golf Club in Johannesburg. Thereafter, we can look forward to another eclectic and invigorating Schedule played in Asia, Australia, North America and Europe over the subsequent 11 months - many tournaments offering access to our Challenge Tour and Qualifying School graduates.
We offer warm thanks to all the Sponsors and Promoters who contribute to the successful development of all three arms of our umbrella organisation - The European Tour, the Seniors Tour and the Challenge Tour - and wish all our Members and everyone involved in the sport a Happy Christmas and a healthy and successful 2004.
Ken Schofield
Executive Director
The European Tour
