Players Corner November
26.11.2019

Challenge Tour: No Swiss at the Tour Final

The final of the Challenge Tour 2019 took place without Swiss participation. The top 45 of the season were qualified for Mallorca - Raphael de Sousa ranked as the best Swiss PGA representative in the Order of Merit 51st.

Q-School: Mathias Eggenberger fails in the final

However, Raphael de Sousa was qualified for the Second Stage of the Q-School. The Geneva had to compete in Almeria, but ranked 28th and missed to advance into the final stage - as well as his compatriots Benjamin Rusch (rank 22th) and Marco Iten (rank 54th) both playing in Tarragona. On the same course, Joel Girrbach and Jeremy Freiburghaus also competed. However, both of them missed the cut after the third round. In contrast, Mathias Eggenberger fought more successfully in Alicante. The 27-year-old fell back to 22th on the final day and lost the play-off for the final spot for the final round of the Q-School. However - due to some drop outs - Eggenberger ultimately made it to the final round as "second reserve".

At the Final Stage in Lumine, Eggenberger then started with a par round on the Hills Course and was able to deliver a 70 card (1 under par) on day two on the Lakes Course. After two days he was still playing around the cut line. However, in round three Eggenberger scored one over par and consequently dropped in the ranking clearly behind the cut. In the final round Eggenberger played his "best technical golf" in this final round, however missed to put a strong score on the leaderboard: Five bogeys and three birdies - two over par for the day also meant two over par for the tournament. The cut was -3. That was the end of the season for Mathias Eggenberger.

Pro Golf Tour: Benjamin Rusch advances to the Challenge Tour

Ultimately, there was good news for Benjamin Rusch. Because three players who ranked in the Top 5 in the Order of Merit of the Pro Golf Tour made the cut in the Q-School final of the European Tour and thus secured the eligibility to compete on the Challenge Tour 2020, Rusch secures playing rights at the two top European professional tours. He will be eligible to play in category 13b on the European Tour in 2020 and may plan a full season on the Challenge Tour.

Mena Tour: Marco Iten in the Emirates in 3rd place

The Mena Tour was hosted end-October at US$ 75'000 The Ras Al Khaima Open. Marco Iten successfully finished third overall with a total score of 15 under par (after three rounds). The Zurich missed the play-off for the tournament victory by only two strokes.

LPGA Q-School: Albane Valenzuela with 2020 LPGA Tour Card

Eight rounds - four on Pinehurst No. 6 and four on Pinehurst No. 9 - were on the program at the final stage of the LPGA-Q-School in late October and early November. The Geneva amateur Albane Valenzuela not only made the cut with flying colors, but was ranked sixth at the end of this Q-School marathon, being best European player. That means that the 21-year-old receives a CAT 14 tour card for the coming season. Shortly after this success, she announced her move to the Professionals. Valenzuela will graduate with a bachelor's degree in political science from Stanford University in the first half of 2020, but will no longer be able to play for the University's golf team. The Geneva wants to take advantage of her chance to collect points for the Olympic qualification in the first half of 2020 at the LPGA. Their goal is to represent Switzerland in Tokyo in the Olympic Golf Tournament.