Clutch Pro Tour

Last updated

Clutch Pro Tour
Current season, competition or edition:
Golf current event.svg 2024 Clutch Pro Tour
Sport Golf
Founded2019
FounderTom Hayward
First season2020
CEO Tom Hayward
CountriesBased in England [lower-alpha 1]
Most titlesTournament wins:
Flag of England.svg Giles Evans (5)
Related
competitions		 Tartan Pro Tour
Official website https://www.clutchprotour.co.uk/

The Clutch Pro Tour, currently titled as the Mizuno Next Gen Series for sponsorships reasons, is a series of developmental golf tournaments played in England. The tour is open to both male and female professionals.

Contents

History

The tour was created in 2019 by Tom Hayward, a former professional golfer, to give lower level professionals more playing opportunities as well as helping progress their careers. The inaugural season took place after the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in June 2020. [1]

In May 2022, the tour undertook a sponsorship agreement with Mizuno Golf, being renamed as the Mizuno Next Gen Series. [2] [3]

In December 2022, it was announced that the Clutch Pro Tour and the Tartan Pro Tour would become official feeder tours to the Challenge Tour in place of the now-defunct PGA EuroPro Tour. The Clutch Pro Tour would offer Challenge Tour status to the top two players on the Order of Merit. [4] In December 2023, it was confirmed that an additional player (three in total) from the Order of Merit would be awarded Challenge Tour status for the following season. [5] Each event is a 54-hole tournament with a 36-hole cut for the 50 plus ties. Beginning in 2025, the tour also has a season-ending no-cut championship and a qualifying tournament.

In April 2024, it was announced that the tour would be included into the Official World Golf Ranking with immediate affect, having undergone a 17-month application process. [6] [7]

Order of Merit winners

YearWinnerPoints
2023 Flag of England.svg George Bloor 4,129
2022 Flag of England.svg Giles Evans 4,098
2021 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Daniel Gaunt 3,063
2020 Flag of England.svg Mitch Waite 5,228

Tier 2

In October 2022, the tour announced a new second-tier to their ecosystem. The tier 2 was added to increase playing opportunities and prize money for players, with the top 15 on the Tier 2 Order of Merit earning status to play on the main Clutch Pro Tour for the following season. [8] [9]

Tier 2 Order of Merit winners

YearWinnerPoints
2023 Flag of England.svg Conor White 3,567

Notes

  1. ↑ Schedules have also included events in Northern Ireland, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and Wales.

Related Research Articles

The Japan Golf Tour is a prominent professional golf tour. It was founded in 1973 and as of 2006 it offered the third-highest annual prize fund out of the regular men's professional tours after the PGA Tour and the European Tour. However, since the early 1990s, the growth in prize money has not kept pace with that on the two larger tours. Official events on the Japan Golf Tour count for Official World Golf Ranking points and success on the tour can also qualify members to play in the majors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Challenge Tour</span> Professional golf tour in Europe

The Challenge Tour, also sometimes referred to as the European Challenge Tour, is the second-tier men's professional golf tour in Europe. It is operated by the PGA European Tour and similarly with the main European Tour and the European Senior Tour, some of the events are played outside Europe.

PGA Tour Canada, commonly referred to as the Canadian Tour, was a men's professional golf tour headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. The United States based PGA Tour took over operation of the tour on November 1, 2012, at which time it was renamed PGA Tour Canada. In 2015, Mackenzie Investments became the umbrella sponsor of the tour, branding it as the Mackenzie Tour-PGA Tour Canada.

The PGA Tour of Australasia, currently titled as the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia for sponsorship reasons, is a professional golf tour for men, owned and operated by the PGA of Australia. Official events on the tour count for World Golf Ranking points. The tour is recognised as being founded in 1973 when the PGA of Australia instituted an Order of Merit. Despite always including at least one tournament in New Zealand, the tour was known as the PGA Tour of Australia until it adopted its current name in 1991 following the inclusion of three events in Asia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Lawrie</span> Scottish golfer

Paul Stewart Lawrie is a Scottish professional golfer who is best known for winning The Open Championship in 1999. He was a vice-captain for the European Ryder Cup team in 2016.

The Swedish Golf Tour, currently titled as the Cutter & Buck Tour for sponsorship reasons, is a developmental professional golf which was formerly operated by Svenska Golftourerna AB, as well as being owned equally by the Swedish Golf Federation and the PGA of Sweden. Since 2018 it has been operated by the Swedish Golf Federation.

The Korean Tour is a men's professional golf tour run by the Korea Professional Golfers' Association (KPGA) of South Korea. In 2011, it had total prize money of about US$14 million.

The Nordic Golf League is one of the third-tier men's professional golf tours, recognised by the European Tour, also known as the Satellite Tours. The top five players on the Order of Merit at the end of each season earn status to play on the second tier Challenge Tour for the following season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Craig Lee</span> Scottish professional golfer

Craig Andrew Lee is a Scottish professional golfer who played on the European Tour. He lost to Thomas Bjørn in a playoff for the 2013 Omega European Masters.

The 2015 Pro Golf Tour was the 19th season of the Pro Golf Tour, a third-tier tour recognised by the European Tour.

The 2015 Alps Tour was the 15th season of the Alps Tour, a third-tier tour recognised by the European Tour.

The 2015 PGA EuroPro Tour, titled as the 2015 HotelPlanner.com PGA EuroPro Tour for sponsorship reasons, was the 14th season of the PGA EuroPro Tour, a third-tier tour recognised by the European Tour.

The 2021–22 Sunshine Tour was the 51st season of the Sunshine Tour, the main professional golf tour in South Africa since it was formed in 1971.

The Tartan Pro Tour, currently titled as the Farmfoods Tartan Pro Tour for sponsorships reasons, is a series of developmental golf tournaments played in Scotland. The tour is open to both male and female professionals.

The 2022 Tartan Pro Tour, titled as the 2022 Farmfoods Tartan Pro Tour for sponsorships reasons, was the third season of the Tartan Pro Tour, a third-tier tour recognised by the European Tour.

The 2023 Tartan Pro Tour, titled as the 2023 Farmfoods Tartan Pro Tour for sponsorships reasons, was the fourth season of the Tartan Pro Tour, a third-tier tour recognised by the European Tour.

The 2022 Clutch Pro Tour, titled as the 2022 Mizuno Next Gen Series for sponsorships reasons, was the third season of the Clutch Pro Tour, a third-tier tour recognised by the European Tour.

The 2023 Clutch Pro Tour, titled as the 2023 Mizuno Next Gen Series for sponsorships reasons, was the fourth season of the Clutch Pro Tour, a third-tier tour recognised by the European Tour.

The 2024 Clutch Pro Tour, titled as the 2024 Mizuno Next Gen Series for sponsorships reasons, will be the fifth season of the Clutch Pro Tour, a third-tier tour recognised by the European Tour.

The 2024 Tartan Pro Tour, titled as the 2024 Farmfoods Tartan Pro Tour for sponsorships reasons, will be the fifth season of the Tartan Pro Tour, a third-tier tour recognised by the European Tour.

References

  1. ↑ Heath, Elliott (3 June 2020). "The Clutch Pro Tour - The New UK Golf Tour For Male and Female Pros". Golf Monthly. Retrieved 10 June 2023.
  2. ↑ "Mizuno 'Next Gen' Series Announced". Mizuno Golf. 31 May 2022. Retrieved 11 June 2023.
  3. ↑ "Mizuno backs Clutch Pro Tour's 'Next Gen' series". Golf Business News. 31 May 2022. Retrieved 11 June 2023.
  4. ↑ "Clutch Pro Tour to become Official Feeder Tour to the Challenge Tour". European Tour. 21 December 2022. Retrieved 10 June 2023.
  5. ↑ Dempster, Martin (13 December 2023). "Paul Lawrie delighted to see Tartan Pro Tour offer two Challenge Tour cards in 2024". The Scotsman. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
  6. ↑ "Clutch Pro Tour". Official World Golf Ranking. 25 April 2024. Retrieved 25 April 2024.
  7. ↑ McNamara, Ronan (26 April 2024). "OWGR announces ranking points for 54-hole Clutch Pro Tour". Irish Golfer. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
  8. ↑ Cradock, Matt (22 October 2022). "Clutch Pro Tour Unveils New Changes Ahead Of 2023 Season". Golf Monthly. Retrieved 15 October 2023.
  9. ↑ Clutch Pro Tour [@clutchprotour] (8 December 2022). "Proud to release the Tier 2 OOM on The Mizuno Next Gen Series 2023" (Tweet). Retrieved 15 October 2023– via Twitter.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.