Finland will make a welcome return to the Challenge Tour Schedule in 2012 when Kytäjä Golf Club hosts the Finnish Challenge from 2-5 August.
The acclaimed South East course at Kytäjä Golf Club, located 50km north of the Finnish capital Helsinki, came 72nd in Golf World magazine’s recent ranking of the top 100 courses in continental Europe.
The club boasts two 18-hole championship courses, both of which were designed by renowned Canadian architect Thomas McBroom.
Alain de Soultrait, Director of the Challenge Tour, said: “Our Members have always relished playing in Finland, and with the fantastic reputation which Kytäjä Golf Club has built up, I am sure they will enjoy the Finnish Challenge in August. We should thank this magnificent club for agreeing to host the tournament, and also the Finnish Golf Union for organizing and promoting the event. Without their sterling efforts, the tournament would not have been able to take place.”
Petri Peltoniemi, General Secretary of the Finnish Golf Union and promoter of the event, said: “The Finnish Golf Union is proud to be hosting this event, and we hope we can follow up the great work the previous promoters have done with Challenge Tour events inFinland. We are thrilled to have Kytäjä Golf Club as the host venue – the players are in for a treat and an experience to remember.”
The last time Finland hosted a Challenge Tour event was in 2009, when the SK Golf Challenge was held at Linna Golf Club, in Vanajanlinna.
On that occasion Belgian Nicolas Colsaerts defeated Welshman Rhys Davies and Frenchman Julien Guerrier in a three-man play-off to take the title, before entering the winner’s enclosure on The European Tour at the 2011 Volvo China Open.
The last Finnish winner on the Challenge Tour was Antti Ahokas, who triumphed twice in 2008, firstly in Argentina and later in Denmark.
Ahokas is expected to lead the home nation’s challenge at Kytäjä Golf Club alongside his fellow Finn Mikko Korhonen.
Kytäjä Golf Club www.kytajagolf.fi