| Duration | 22 April 2021 – 7 November 2021 |
|---|---|
| Number of official events | 26 [a] |
| Most wins |  Marcus Helligkilde (3) |
| Rankings | Marcus Helligkilde |
← 2020 2022 → | |
The 2021 Challenge Tour was the 33rd season of the Challenge Tour, the official development tour to the European Tour.
Similarly to 2020, the season was due to begin in February with three tournaments in South Africa co-sanctioned with the Sunshine Tour, but in mid-January the South African swing was postponed to April/May because of COVID-19 pandemic concerns. [1] The official schedule announcement was made on 27 January 2021. [2] As well as the schedule release, it also confirmed that additional European Tour cards would be offered for the following season; being increased from 15 to 20. [3] In April two back-to-back events in Sweden in May were added. [4]
In August, it was announced that the Hainan Open and the Foshan Open; both played in China, were cancelled. [5] Later in the month, replacement tournaments were confirmed in Spain, both hosted at Empordà Golf on the Costa Brava. [6]
The following table lists official events during the 2021 season. [7]
| Date | Tournament | Host country | Purse (€) | Winner [b] | OWGR points | Other tours [c] | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 Apr | Limpopo Championship | South Africa | R3,000,000 |  Brandon Stone (1) | 13 | AFR | |
| 2 May | Bain's Whisky Cape Town Open | South Africa | R3,000,000 | J. C. Ritchie (2) | 13 | AFR | |
| 9 May | Dimension Data Pro-Am | South Africa | R6,000,000 | Wilco Nienaber (1) | 13 | AFR | Pro-Am |
| 16 May | Range Servant Challenge | Sweden | 200,000 |  Craig Howie (1) | 12 | New tournament | |
| 22 May | Dormy Open | Sweden | 200,000 |  Félix Mory (1) | 12 | New tournament | |
| 30 May | Irish Challenge | Ireland | 220,000 |  Daan Huizing (3) | 12 | ||
| 6 Jun | D+D Real Czech Challenge | Czech Republic | 200,000 |  Santiago Tarrío (1) | 12 | ||
| 13 Jun | Challenge de Cádiz | Spain | 200,000 |  Kristof Ulenaers (1) | 12 | ||
| 18 Jun | Challenge de España | Spain | 200,000 | Santiago Tarrío (2) | 12 | ||
| 27 Jun | Open de Bretagne | France | 200,000 | Julien Brun (2) | 12 | ||
| 4 Jul | Kaskáda Golf Challenge | Czech Republic | 200,000 |  Marcel Schneider (2) | 12 | ||
| 11 Jul | Le Vaudreuil Golf Challenge | France | 210,000 | Marcel Siem (1) | 12 | ||
| 18 Jul | Euram Bank Open | Austria | 190,000 |  Stuart Manley (3) | 12 | ||
| 25 Jul | Italian Challenge | Italy | 300,000 |  Ricardo Gouveia (4) | 12 | ||
| 8 Aug | Vierumäki Finnish Challenge | Finland | 200,000 | Marcus Helligkilde (1) | 12 | ||
| 14 Aug | Made in Esbjerg Challenge | Denmark | 200,000 | Ricardo Gouveia (5) | 9 | NGL | |
| 20 Aug | Sydbank Esbjerg Challenge | Denmark | 200,000 |  Espen Kofstad (4) | 9 | NGL | New tournament |
| Rolex Trophy | Switzerland | – | Removed [8] | – | |||
| 29 Aug | B-NL Challenge Trophy | Netherlands | 250,000 | Alfredo García-Heredia (1) | 12 | New tournament [d] | |
| 5 Sep | British Challenge | England | £180,000 |  Hugo León (1) | 12 | New tournament | |
| 12 Sep | Big Green Egg German Challenge | Germany | 200,000 | Ángel Hidalgo (1) | 12 | New tournament | |
| 19 Sep | Hopps Open de Provence | France | 200,000 |  Alfie Plant (1) | 12 | ||
| 26 Sep | Open de Portugal | Portugal | 200,000 | Marcel Schneider (3) | 12 | ||
| 3 Oct | Swiss Challenge | France | 200,000 | Marcus Helligkilde (2) | 12 | ||
| Hainan Open | China | – | Cancelled [5] | – | CHN | ||
| 17 Oct | Empordà Challenge | Spain | 200,000 | Julien Brun (3) | 13 | New tournament | |
| Foshan Open | China | – | Cancelled [5] | – | CHN | ||
| 22 Oct | Challenge Costa Brava | Spain | 200,000 |  Daniel Hillier (1) | 13 | New tournament | |
| 7 Nov | Rolex Challenge Tour Grand Final | Spain | 450,000 | Marcus Helligkilde (3) | 17 | Flagship event |
The rankings were titled as the Road to Mallorca and were based on tournament results during the season, calculated using a points-based system. [9] [10] The top 20 players on the rankings earned status to play on the 2022 European Tour (DP World Tour). [11]
| Rank | Player | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Marcus Helligkilde | 222,628 |
| 2 | Ricardo Gouveia | 188,291 |
| 3 | Santiago Tarrío | 173,938 |
| 4 | Julien Brun | 163,773 |
| 5 | Frédéric Lacroix | 120,334 |
Rolex's long-term commitment to the Challenge Tour began with the Rolex Trophy which has been part of the Challenge Tour's schedule since the inaugural season in 1989, however the support will now be concentrated on the Grand Final...