16th November 2017

Sam HORSFIELD (21) won the 2017 Final Stage of the European Tour Qualifying School at Lumine Golf & Beach Club in Tarragona, Spain.

The Florida-based Englishman was simply too good for Lumine’s Hills and Lakes courses and for that matter the rest of the field.

His final -27 score, with all six rounds in the 60’s and a best of the day final round of 63 (-8), saw him win the 108 hole event by an impressive 8 shots.

Following in the footsteps of Nathan KIMSEY last year he becomes the second player in a row and the third in total to come through all three stages of Q-School and win.

Horsfield left the University of Florida in May 2017 after his sophomore year had concluded. He had enjoyed a superb freshman year in US College golf in 2015/16 but had been inconsistent in this his second year, distracted by trialling equipment ahead of his move into the paid ranks.

A former amateur world number 1 and arguably Britain’s strongest golfing prospect in the last few years this victory should come as no surprise to anyone.

After a few starts on the PGA Tour Sam chose to try his hand in Europe this summer and received invitations to three late season tournaments. He made the cut at both the Made in Denmark (T49 -3) and Portugal Masters (T59 -4) but missed out at the KLM Open (T99 +3). In summary a steady if unspectacular start to his pro career.

His 2017 European Tour year to date earnings of €12,800 have now been more than doubled by the Final Q-School winner’s cheque of €16,000.

Sam Horsfield – Winner of the European Tour’s 2017 Q-School (Photo: @hr59sam)

Connor SYME (22) finished tied 9th on -17, continuing his seamless transition over the last 2 months from amateur golf and the 2017 Walker Cup match to the professional game.

Jonathan THOMSON (21) finished tied 18th on -14 capping a great season for the Yorkshireman. He finished 9th on the PGA EuroPro Tour Order of Merit and also showed he belonged on the European Tour with strong performances at both the D+D REAL Czech Masters (T54) and Portugal Masters (T25).

It was also good to see Gavin MOYNIHAN (23) progress. The Irishman, who played in both the 2013 and 2015 Walker Cups finished tied 25th on -13. After finishing 19th on the Challenge Tour’s 2017 Order of Merit he has clearly taken another important step forward this week.

English pair James HEATH and Ben EVANS should also be congratulated too, having fought their way into the Top 25 and ties on the final day. They both shot 66 (-5) when it mattered most in Round 6.

Horsfield, and the other players who finished in the top 25 and tied for 25th place, can now look forward to 2018 with confidence and the foundation of Category 17 and 5 cards for the European Tour and Challenge Tour respectively.

156 golfers started out in the Final Stage marathon with 49 from Great Britain and Ireland (GB&I) – 31.4% of the field.

After a 72 holes cut, following two rounds on each of Lumine’s courses, 74 players remained representing those that had finished 70th and tied.

27 GB&I players made the cut with 12 going on to achieve 2018 European Tour Category 17 playing privileges. In total 33 players finished in the Top 25 and tied places.

Here is a summary of the GB&I results showing each player’s Q-School entry point, finishing place and score as well as their 2018 European Tour (ET) and Challenge Tour (CT) categories: –

Results

Click here to view the European Tour’s – Lumine Final Stage Results

Top 25 – ET cat. 17 / CT cat. 5

Sam HORSFIELD (ENG) – First Stage  1st (-27)
Charlie FORD (ENG) – Final Stage  T2 (-19)
Mark FOSTER (ENG) – Second Stage  T9 (-17)
Connor SYME (SCO) – Second Stage  T9 (-17)
Laurie CANTER (ENG) – Second Stage  T12 (-16)
Ross MCGOWAN (ENG) – Final Stage  T15 (-15)
James HEATH (ENG) – Final Stage  T18 (-14)
Jonathan THOMSON (ENG) – First Stage  T18 (-14)
Matthew BALDWIN (ENG) – Second Stage  T18 (-14)
Ben EVANS (ENG) – Final Stage  T25 (-13)
Gavin MOYNIHAN (IRE) – Final Stage  T25 (-13)
Matthew NIXON (ENG) – Final Stage  T25 (-13)

72 Hole Cut Made (Top 70 and Ties) – ET cat. 22 / CT cat. 9

Marcus ARMITAGE (ENG) – Second Stage  T34 (-12)
Tom MURRAY (ENG) – Final Stage  T37 (-11)
Chris LLOYD (ENG) – Second Stage  T37 (-11)
Robert MACINTYRE (SCO) – Second Stage  T37 (-11)
David LAW (SCO) – Second Stage  T42 (-10)
Tom LEWIS (ENG) – Final Stage  T42 (-10)
Paul HOWARD (ENG) – Final Stage  T42 (-10)
Nathan KIMSEY (ENG) – Final Stage  T50 (-9)
Scott HENRY (SCO) – Second Stage  T54 (-8)
Steve WEBSTER (ENG) – Final Stage  T54 (-8)
Stuart MANLEY (WAL) – Second Stage  T58 (-7)
Steven TILEY (ENG) – Second Stage  T58 (-7)
Ruaidhri MCGEE (IRE) – Second Stage  T62 (-6)
Simon KHAN (ENG) – Final Stage  T68 (-2)
Paul MADDY (ENG) – Second Stage  T68 (-2)

Amateurs
Adri ARNAUS (ESP) – First Stage  T65 (-5)  – Adri turned pro after the 4th round
Kim KOIVU (FIN) – First Stage  T68 (-2)

Missed Cut – CT cat. 15 (72 holes played)

Ewen FERGUSON (SCO) – Second Stage  T75 (-1)
Ross KELLETT (SCO) – Second Stage  T75 (-1)
Jamie RUTHERFORD (ENG) – Second Stage  T82 (Ev)
Matt FORD (ENG) – Final Stage  T82 (Ev)
Grant FORREST (SCO) – Final Stage  T82 (Ev)
Oliver WILSON (ENG) – Final Stage  T82 (Ev)
Joe DEAN (ENG) – First Stage  T94 (+1)
Toby TREE (ENG) – Second Stage  T94 (+1)
Cormac SHARVIN (N.I.) – Second Stage  T94 (+1)
John PARRY (ENG) – Second Stage  T103 (+2)
Scott GREGORY (ENG) – Second Stage  T103 (+2)
Max ORRIN (ENG) – Second Stage  T112 (+3)
Simon DYSON (ENG) – Final Stage  T112 (+3)
Dan BROWN (ENG) – First Stage  T112 (+3)
Dermot MCELROY (N.I.) – First Stage  T121 (+5)
Chris DOAK (SCO) – Second Stage  T121 (+5)
Richard MCEVOY (ENG) – Final Stage  T121 (+5)
Sam HUTSBY (ENG) – Second Stage  T132 (+7)
Rhys ENOCH (WAL) – Second Stage  T136 (+8)
Robert DINWIDDIE (ENG) – Second Stage  T144 (+11)
Duncan STEWART (SCO) – Final Stage  T147 (+13)
Garrick PORTEOUS (ENG) – Final Stage  WD (+11, after 3 rounds)

Amateurs
Oliver GILLBERG (SWE) – First Stage  T94 (+1)

FINAL STAGE Q-SCHOOL REWARDS

At the conclusion of play the leading 25 players (and ties) were eligible for Category 17 membership of the European Tour and Category 5 membership of the Challenge Tour for the 2018 season.

With regard to Category 17 the European Tour will be adopting a new structure in 2018. The Top 10 Q-School finishers will be ranked first, followed by those players who finished 101st-110th in the 2017 Race To Dubai and finally the 11th-25th Q-School leading finishers.

The leading 70 players (and ties) who made the 72-hole cut will be handed Category 22 membership of the European Tour and Category 9 membership of the Challenge Tour.

Those who missed the cut will receive Category 15 membership of the Challenge Tour.

The final Q-School finishing positions are important when it comes to determining each player’s standing in each Category and as such their actual playing opportunities next season.

The 2017 Final Q-School has a total prize fund of €150,000. The winner receives €16,000 with those finishing in the Top 25 (and ties) reducing amounts down to €1,860.

FINAL STAGE Q-SCHOOL BACKGROUND

The competition was played over 108 holes on Lumine’s Lakes (6,909 yards, par 71) and Hills (6,975 yards, par 72) Courses.

Whilst Lumine’s Lakes Course has hosted one of the Second Stage events for some time this is the first time the Club has been used for Final Stage Qualifying. The PGA Catalunya Resort in Girona has hosted the Finals for the last 9 years.

Lumine Beach & Golf Club – 18th hole, Hills Course (Photo: http://www.lumine.com)

70 players were exempted into the Q-School process at the Final Stage. Amongst this number are many experienced pros and previous European Tour winners. If reaching this Stage isn’t hard enough make no mistake the bar is once again raised at the Finals.

Eight First Stage and four Second Stage events were completed in recent months in the 2017 Q-School series. 176 players progressed from the former to Second Stage whilst 86 advanced from the latter to the Finals.

For a recap on these 2017 Q-School competitions please read my earlier articles: –

European Tour Q-School – 2017 First Stage Preview & Results

European Tour Q-School – 2017 Second Stage Preview & Results

Last year England’s Nathan KIMSEY (-13) won the Final Stage of the European Tour’s Qualifying School series at the PGA Catalunya Resort.

Nathan was just the second player to come right through from First Stage to win Q-School outright.