The Club Colombia Masters was a
golf
Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible.
Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...
tournament co-sanctioned by the European
Challenge Tour
The Challenge Tour is the second-tier men's professional golf tour in Europe. It is operated by the PGA European Tour and, as with on the main European Tour and the European Senior Tour, some of the events are played outside Europe.
History
The ...
and the
Tour de las Américas
The Tour de las Américas (TLA) was the principal men's professional golf tour throughout Latin America and the Caribbean from 2000 through to 2012 when it was superseded by PGA Tour Latinoamérica.
History
Top level tournament golf in Latin Ameri ...
and was first played in 2007.
The event was held at the Country Club de Bogotá, in
Bogotá
Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city of Colombia, and one of the larges ...
,
Colombia
Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...
. The tournament was organized by the Corporacion Internacional de Golf, managed by German Calle Jr. and Jorge Muñoz. This was the first golf tournament ever to be sanctioned by the European
Challenge Tour
The Challenge Tour is the second-tier men's professional golf tour in Europe. It is operated by the PGA European Tour and, as with on the main European Tour and the European Senior Tour, some of the events are played outside Europe.
History
The ...
in
Colombia
Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...
. In 2010 it was replaced on the schedule by the
Copa Antioquia, held in
Medellín
Medellín ( or ), officially the Municipality of Medellín ( es, Municipio de Medellín), is the second-largest city in Colombia, after Bogotá, and the capital of the department of Antioquia. It is located in the Aburrá Valley, a central re ...
.
2007
The first tournament was won by
Edoardo Molinari
Edoardo Molinari (born 11 February 1981) is an Italian professional golfer who plays on the European Tour, where he is a three-time winner. He was also the 2005 U.S. Amateur champion; 2009 Challenge Tour Rankings leader; winner, with his brother ...
from
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
. Molinari, the 2005
U.S. Amateur
The United States Amateur Championship, commonly known as the U.S. Amateur, is the leading annual golf tournament in the United States for amateur golfers. It is organized by the United States Golf Association and is currently held each August ov ...
champion, had turned professional the year before and was trying to get onto a
tour
Tour or Tours may refer to:
Travel
* Tourism, travel for pleasure
* Tour of duty, a period of time spent in military service
* Campus tour, a journey through a college or university's campus
* Guided tour, a journey through a location, directed ...
when he was invited to play in Bogotá. Molinari and Gustavo Mendoza, a local player, entered a sudden-death play-off which was settled on the second extra hole after their fourth round scores left them tied at the top of the leaderboard on five under par (269).
For this first professional win Molinari received
€
The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone and unilaterally adopted by Kosovo and Montenegro. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists o ...
21,690 and the right to play on the European Challenge Tour, the lower tier of the
European Tour
The European Tour (currently known as the DP World Tour for sponsorship reasons), legally the PGA European Tour is the leading men's professional golf tour in Europe. The organisation also operates the European Senior Tour (for players aged fift ...
.
"This is incredible," Molinari smiled. "It was quite a spectacular week. I'm very happy about this victory, because I worked hard for it during the winter. I'm going to enjoy it."
2008
The second Club Colombia Masters was won by Dutchman Wil Besseling in a seven shot victory with a 16 under par total of 268. Besseling picked up the winner’s cheque for €18,303
which moved him from 41st to sixth place on the European Challenge Tour Rankings.
“I started very well and my swing felt good all day,” he said. “I struggled a little yesterday, but today it was really good. I didn’t make any mistakes and it feels great to be the winner. Although I had a lead, I just tried to keep playing one shot at a time,” he added. “The guys made some bogeys behind me and that made the gap even bigger but I just kept playing my own game and it all worked out perfectly. It feels awesome."
2009
The 2009 Colombia Masters was the only tournament of the season co-sanctioned by the European
Challenge Tour
The Challenge Tour is the second-tier men's professional golf tour in Europe. It is operated by the PGA European Tour and, as with on the main European Tour and the European Senior Tour, some of the events are played outside Europe.
History
The ...
and the
Tour de las Americas. Colombian golfer Camilo Villegas had a 9 hole demonstration on the Tuesday prior to the tournament where he played with his brother Manuel. Large crowds came to the Country Club de Bogota for Villegas only presentation of the year in his home country.
Teenager Alan Wagner from Argentina clinched his maiden Challenge Tour title on the final day when the lead changed hands several times. Wagner eventually emerged triumphant after a round of 68 to close on 13 under par.
The 19-year-old received a winner’s cheque for US$24,802 and finished at the top of the Challenge Tour Rankings and one shot in front of his nearest challenger Edoardo Molinari of Italy, the 2007 winner.
Winners
Notes
References
External links
Official coverage on the Challenge Tour's official site
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Golf tournaments in Colombia
Former Challenge Tour events
Tour de las Américas events
Recurring sporting events established in 2007
Recurring sporting events disestablished in 2009
2007 establishments in Colombia
2009 disestablishments in Colombia