New Oman ranking offers Kenya elite amateurs short cut to European Tour

By CHARLES GICHERU

In 2015, the European Challenge Tour renamed the Tour’s Rankings to the Road to Oman. This new ranking system, supported by the National Bank of Oman, included 25 tournaments in 19 different countries including the Barclays Kenya Open.

The new ranking system included a new bonus pool available for the top three players and a new bonus pool of 60,000 Euros (Sh6 million).

The Grand Final, played in Muscat sees the 45 highest-ranked players play for the coveted 15 European Tour Cards that mark their graduation into the main European Tour.

For the 2016 Challenge Tour season, the Road to Oman has been modified to allow amateur golfers to be included and thus potentially earn graduation to the European Tour.

This subtle change in the regulations has essentially increased the value of the six amateur slots into the Barclays Kenya Open 100-fold.

This change will see The Road to Oman ranking change from a money list to a points list to include amateurs who don’t win any prize money.

According to Alain de Soultrait, the European Challenge Tour Director, and a regular visitor to the Barclays Kenya Open, this move will help develop young golf stars.

“This will help to encourage ambitious amateur golfers by offering a clear route into the professional game. The main message is that if a player is good enough to compete with the professionals on the Challenge Tour, that player deserves an opportunity to progress through the ranks at a rate befitting his achievements,” he said.

“The move is designed to ease the transition of the most promising amateurs into the professional game and give them an opportunity to be rewarded for good performances, eradicating the requirement to start all over again once they join the paid ranks.”

Under the new regulations, amateurs who play a minimum of four events will be included in the ranking.

This new regulation offers an excellent opportunity for Kenya’s elite amateur golfers, especially those from the junior ranks, to cut a path to the extremely competitive world of professional golf.

The new Road to Oman is essentially a short cut to the European Tour, offering a smooth transition from elite amateur status to the paid ranks.
For Kenya’s elite amateur golfers, this subtle but significant change means two things; firstly, this is a golden opportunity to play competitively on the Challenge Tour and hopefully graduate into the European Tour.

Secondly, it also means that the six amateur slots into the Barclays Kenya Open will now attract international attention and it will no longer be business as usual.

Our top amateur golfers will now have to compete for these slots with European elite amateur golfers playing in the Road to Oman.

The 2016 Challenge Tour season will include 28 tournaments in 22 different countries, beginning with the Barclays Kenya Open in March and concluding in November with the NBO Golf Classic Grand Final in Muscat. Which Kenyan golfer, professional or amateur will be in competition in Muscat?