The Challenge Tour is not yet ready to leave the Balearic Islands. Indeed, the contract between the second division and Mallorca runs until 2026. As a result, the general classification will be called Road to Mallorca and the final will be held there for at least the next two seasons.
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The 2025 Challenge Tour final is looking for its route
This grand final has sailed since 1995, passing from Portugal (1995-1999), to Cuba (2000), to the Golf du Mdoc (2001-2004), to the San Domenico Golf in Italy (2005-2012) before alternating between Oman (2015-2017) and the United Arab Emirates (2013, 2014 and 2018). It was in 2019 that the tournament moved to the Balearic Islands. The initial contract was for four years, and it has already been renewed once.
We were in the Arabian Peninsula for several years, recalls Jamie Hodges, director of the Challenge Tour and successor to Alain de Soultrait. But I think it was important that the final was played in Europe. When we had the idea of a partnership with Mallorca, we went to see the courses and we felt very comfortable. We are very happy here, and the best proof is that we renewed the contract for four years.
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The event was first established at the Alcanada Golf Club before moving for two years to the T Golf & Country Club in the west of the island. It returned to the course owned by the Porsche family in 2022.
On paper, the tournament is to travel to different courses across the island, but the selection method reduces the possibilities. Indeed, only seven of the twenty courses that Mallorca has meet the standards of the Challenge Tour. Thus, these courses are surveyed each year to see if they want to host the tournament. If the Spanish and Balearic federations give their opinion, it is the board of directors of the Challenge Tour that has the final say among the candidates.
In recent years, the course for the final of the following edition was announced during the awards ceremony. This was not the case in 2024 since the host course for the Rolex Challenge Tour Grand Final 2025 has not yet been defined.
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The Alcanada Golf Club has already announced its desire to host the event for a fourth consecutive year. "It is obvious that we would be delighted to welcome this great tournament on our course again," confirms Kristoff Both, director of the site. We are proud to be part of the Tour family and to be part of the History of Golf. It is also a great motivation for our team to work to have a course and facilities that are worthy of this great tournament.
A second course, closer to the capital, Palma de Mallorca, has applied to host the event. The announcement will be made at the end of the year or in January. One reason for the delay is the change of president of the Balearic Federation earlier this week.
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Maybe we will come back here, Jamie Hodges says. We are talking to two golf courses. Of course, Alcanada is a great place to promote Mallorca. The views and the scenery are absolutely fantastic. The teams also do a great job, and that is really important when you organise a big event like this. The advantage of coming back to the same place is that you can build and improve on the previous year. Whereas if you change places, you start from scratch.
