Papadatos and Geary improve Challenge Tour standing
Dimi Papadatos- file photo Bruce Young
Last weekend’s runner-up finishes by both Dimi Papadatos and New Zealander Josh Geary at the European Challenge Tour’s event in the Czech Republic assisted their cause as they chase a full European Tour card in 2022.
Papadatos moved to 30th in the Race to Mallorca points standings while Geary is now in 34th place and with the leading 20 at season’s end earning a European Tour card they still have work to do but their efforts at the Kaskada Open in Brno have improved their standings significantly.
Both Papadatos and Geary finished one shot behind the winner, Marcel Schneider of Germany, a former Australian Amateur Champion, who not only won a second Challenge Tour title, he earned a place in the Open Championship field as a result of his victory.
The leading Australasian on this year’s Challenge Tour is Newcastle’s Blake Windred who sits one place above Papadatos in 29th position.
For both Papadatos and Geary, it was their best finish of the year to date on the Challenge Tour although Geary did finish 6th in a European Tour event in Denmark in late May.
Geary has limited status on the European Tour having finished just outside the full qualifying criteria at the most recent Tour School but has managed to play five events there this season while Papadatos has his Challenge Tour status courtesy of his finish at the European Tour Q School in 2019.
The Challenge Tour still has 14 events remaining on the 2021 schedule although with two of those in China it may be that there are only 12 remaining but certainly enough time for any of the three Australians in contention for a full European Tour card in 2022 to make their move.
