Egypt/Morocco − As in the last two years, the Pro Golf Tour is starting the new tournament season at the Sokhna Golf Club in Egypt. The Red Sea Egyptian Classic (17 to 19 January 2017) and Red Sea Ain Sokhna Classic (23 to 25 January 2017) tournaments always paved the way for the players later promotion to the European Challenge Tour. For example, the professionals who celebrated tournament wins by the Red Sea in 2015 and 2016 also secured a Top 5 position in the final ranking for that year: the Dutchman Reinier Saxton, Philipp Mejow from Berlin, the Frenchman Antoine Schwartz and Christopher Mivis from Belgium all received playing rights for the Challenge Tour.

The two tournaments at the magical Sokhna Golf Club are in any case far more than just a sporting benchmark: they are the basis for promotion, the golfers lay the foundation stone there for the course of the rest of the entire season. It’s therefore not surprising that the starting places which are limited to 90 due to daylight are highly sought after. The challenging par 72 golf course demands everything of players, only the best come out on top. And all in front of stunning scenery: lakes and streams run through the course, palm tress line the banks and fairways and the sea is always present on the horizon. The club’s 27 fairways are combined into two completely individual courses.

Six tournaments in Morocco

The six tournaments in the Morocco series immediately follow the two Egypt events. The Pro Golf Tour and Moroccan Association du Trophée Hassan II de Golf celebrate a partnership with tradition: the tour has been a guest in the westernmost region of Maghreb since 2010. Magnificent golf courses, guaranteed sun and the constantly breathtaking scenery of the mountains and sea provide the perfect conditions for professional golf tournaments. The 2017 Morocco tournaments start on 9 February with the The Tony Jacklin 2017 Open in Casablanca. The Irishman Rory McNamara won the cup there last year, which was the first professional title of his career at the same time. The Casa Green Golf Open also takes place in Casablanca a few days later from 15 to 17 February. The Frenchman Johann Lopez Lazaro also established himself as a rookie here in 2016.

The Madaef Open (2 to 4 March) starts in El Jadida on 2 March, the second Morocco block which includes the Royal Golf Anfa Mohammedia Open from 8 to 10 March. The winners last year were the Frenchman Stanislas Gautier and Ben Parker from England. Part 3 of the Morocco programme is finally the Ocean Open (23 to 25 March) and the Tazegzout Open (29 to 31 March), both in respectively near Agadir. There were two winners from Germany here in 2016 with Moritz Lampert and Martin Keskari.