The European Challenge Tour’s 2014 schedule has been strengthened further by the return of the Roma Challenge, which will take place from October 2-5.

This latest addition means the Challenge Tour will now take in 27 tournaments in 21 different countries this year.

Olgiata Golf Club will once again play host as the race for a European Tour card gathers pace, with the top 15 at the end of the season graduating to The Race to Dubai.

The stunning venue, located to the north of Rome, has undergone some major course changes since it last hosted a Challenge Tour event, and will pose a different test for the players having previously allowed for plenty of birdies.

Alain de Soultrait, Director of the Challenge Tour, said: “This is an exciting addition to the 2014 Challenge Tour schedule, which is now looking stronger than ever with more tournaments than 2013 and a record cumulative prize fund.

“Of course, our relationship with the Italian Golf Federation and Italian golf in general has always been an extremely strong one, going all the way back to the inception of the Challenge Tour in 1989, so it is very important to us to have at least one Italian event every year.

“Olgiata Golf Club has always been a hugely popular venue and with the recent changes implemented on the course, it is sure to provide a new and enjoyable challenge this year. We are thoroughly looking forward to returning.”

The Roma Challenge last took place in 2011, when Englishman Sam Little beat Sweden’s Pelle Edberg in a play-off to clinch a third victory of the season and automatic promotion to The European Tour.

The previous year’s tournament was also a career-changing one for Andreas Hartø who, having won his home Challenge Tour tournament as an amateur a month prior to visiting the Italian capital, continued his meteoric rise with a maiden professional victory at Olgiata.

That ultimately earned the Dane exemption for Qualifying School Final Stage, where he clinched his European Tour card two months later.

In 2009, Edoardo Molinari produced heroics on home soil when he holed a 30 foot putt at the 18^th to finish one shot clear of another player who would go on to Ryder Cup glory, Nicolas Colsaerts. Like Little in 2011, the Italian’s victory was his third of the season and also earned him an automatic place in The Race to Dubai.