Chapman Joins the Next Generation in Morocco

As a Member of The European Tour’s Board of Directors, as well as The Tour’s Tournament Committee, England’s Roger Chapman holds the strong belief that the Challenge Tour deserves greater recognition.

This week he has the opportunity to endorse that personal view of Europe’s next generation of top players when he makes his first ever European Challenge Tour appearance at the Riu Tikida Moroccan Classic at Golf du Soleil in Agadir.

The Englishman, who made a 615 European Tour appearances between 1982 and 2005, making him the second most experienced player in European Tour history, has played golf at the highest level throughout the game’s most radical period of evolution and has seen the professional game develop at a frightening rate.

When he started his career, Chapman and his fellow Tour professionals used to hit their own golf balls at their caddies on Europe’s practice ranges, while the thought of staying at a five star hotel was merely a pipe dream.

Nowadays, the top professionals enjoy the privileges of top quality hotels,  courtesy cars,  players’ lounges, and so many other benefits that come from being a leading Tour player.

The Challenge Tour gives many of the game’s most promising talent’s the chance to enter into that world, and Chapman will encounter a feeling of camaraderie and community more in keeping with his early days as a Tour professional than what he has come to expect in the modern era when he tees up on Europe’s second Tour.

“The Challenge Tour is the breeding ground for the future, there can be little doubt about that,” said Chapman, who has a special place in his mind for Morocco, having won the King Hassan II Trophy there in 2000. “It is certainly acknowledged as the breeding ground by the Committee and I think it should get more recognition and support.

“To have produced true class players like Thomas Björn, Michael Campbell and HenrikStenson means that the system is a good one and it should be supported to allow the great players to come through.

“This is a whole new experience for me and I am looking forward to getting out on the Challenge Tour and seeing what these young guys are doing in the game. From what I gather the Challenge Tour is very competitive but there is a great bond between the players which will be great to see.”

Chapman is acutely aware of how lucky he has been to play and compete at such a high level of such a wonderful sport from almost a quarter of a century.

Over the last six months he has been able to take a break from the game which has, quite understandably, been so refreshing for the 47 year old. He has played just once since The European Tour Qualifying School Final Stage last November, in Morocco at the King Hassan II Trophy which was won by Scotland’s Sam Torrance, the only player to have played more Tour events than Chapman.

While Chapman had opportunities to win more than his single Tour title in his 615 attempts, he is a fantastic role model for any of the new breed of professional making their way on the Challenge Tour.

He is certainly looking forward to returning to Morocco and stepping onto the fairways of the Golf du Soleil to test himself against a group of players from which the next Björn, Campbell or Stenson might well emerge.