Tag Archives: Challenge tour

European Tour Q-School – Final Stage Results

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19th November 2015

The Final Stage European Tour Qualifying School event was completed earlier today at the PGA Catalunya Resort in Gerona.

953 players entered the 2015 Q-School programme with 27, from 12 different countries, achieving the ultimate goal of a full European Tour card for the 2015/16 season.  To be precise they each have Category 16 membership of the European Tour and Category 5 membership of the Challenge Tour.

Seven of the successful group took the full Q-School journey starting out at the First Stage.  GB&I’s Matthew Southgate (ENG), Daniel Gavins (ENG), Paul Dunne (IRE) and Laurie Canter (ENG) were amongst them.  Three of the graduates started out at Second Stage with the remaining 17 being exempt into the Final Stage.

There was some consolation for the players that made the cut but missed out on a Top 25 and Ties place, namely Category 21 membership of the European Tour and Category 9 membership of the Challenge Tour.  The players that reached Final Stage but failed to make the cut received Category 15 membership of the Challenge Tour.

Ulrich Van Der Berg (RSA), aged 40, won the Final Stage event on count back from Adrian Otaegui (ESP) and Daniel Im (USA). Van Der Berg is the oldest ever winner of Q-School and was the oldest 2015 qualifier.

ETQ 2015 Winners

Im, Van Der Berg and Otaegui celebrate finishing T1 (Photo: @ETQSchool)

Marcus Kinhult (SWE) became the first amateur to graduate since Moritz Lambert in 2012.  At 19 he was also the youngest 2015 qualifier.  Kinhult, who will turn Pro immediately, won the Spirit International and Lytham Trophy before delivering some standout European Tour invite performances later in 2015. What a year and definitely one to watch next year.

12 GB&I players progressed – 10 from England, 1 from Ireland and 1 from Wales.  David Law was the highest Scottish finisher but unfortunately his -5 T32 result fell a couple of shots short.  Interestingly the average age of the 12 GB&I qualifiers was 30.

The highest GB&I finisher was Ross McGowan (ENG) who finished T4 on -15.  He secured his spot with a tremendous round 5 64 on the tough Stadium Course.

Matthew Southgate (ENG), Daniel Gavins (ENG), David Dixon (ENG), James Robinson (ENG), Laurie Canter (ENG) Richard Finch (ENG) got into position early and steadily saw the qualifier out.  Dixon did throw in a quality final round of 68 to finish the job off.

I was really impressed with Richard McEvoy (ENG), Stuart Manley (WAL) and Ryan Evans (ENG) who left themselves work to do when the pressure was at it’s highest and then delivered.  Final rounds of 68 69, 69 66 and 69 68 respectively saw all three impressively sprint through the finishing line.

It was also great to see Paul Dunne (IRE) finish off an outstanding year with a place in the big time too.  Dunno, beating Daniel Gavin’s by 2 years, was the youngest GB&I qualifier aged 22 (he is 23 next Thursday).  The amateur star of this year’s Open Championship comfortably qualified with rounds of 71, 68, 70, 68, 69, and 72 (-10).  It will be interesting to see how his consistently steady play will pan out on the European Tour where the money earners are more hit and miss, perhaps reflecting a more aggressive style of play.  I am sure he will continue to find a way.

Matters were a little more fraught for our final GB&I qualifier, Chris Hanson (ENG).  A final round 78, albeit finished off with two brave pars, saw him secure the final spot with a -7 total.

Former Ryder Cup player Edoardo Molinari (ITA) birdied four of his last eight holes to finish -7 T24 and claim one of the last cards.

Gary King (SCO) and Damian McGrane (IRE), who were within the Top 25 and Ties places after four rounds, will be disappointed to have fallen away on the final two days.  Rounds of 74 74 and 72 78 respectively saw them fall down the leaderboard and sadly off the European Tour bus having stood on the platform just days earlier.

Listed below are the complete Final Stage results for all of the GB&I players (and the three amateurs that were competing).

QUALIFIERS (TOP 25 & TIES)

T4 Ross McGowan ENG 69 69 64 73 64 74 (-15)
6th Matthew Southgate ENG 72 66 68 70 68 70 (-14)
T7 Daniel Gavins ENG 71 65 66 68 75 71 (-12)
T9 David Dixon ENG 72 68 64 71 74 68 (-11)
T9 Richard McEvoy ENG 66 74 69 71 68 69 (-11)
T13 Stuart Manley WAL 66 74 69 74 69 66 (-10)
T13 James Robinson ENG 72 69 64 71 72 70 (-10)
T13 Paul Dunne IRE 71 68 70 68 69 72 (-10)
T13 Marcus Kinhult (AM) SWE 66 67 65 76 72 72 (-10)
T19 Ryan Evans ENG 67 72 70 73 69 68 (-9)
T19 Laurie Canter ENG 67 69 68 74 68 73 (-9)
T22 Richard Finch ENG 69 66 70 73 71 71 (-8)
T24 Chris Hanson ENG 70 63 66 71 73 78 (-7)

European Tour QS

MADE CUT (BUT OUTSIDE TOP 25 & TIES)

T28 Gary King ENG 64 72 64 74 74 74 (-6)
T32 David Law SCO 67 72 68 72 72 72 (-5)
T32 Kenneth Ferrie ENG 70 69 64 77 74 69 (-5)
T40 Joshua White ENG 68 74 73 67 69 73 (-4)
T40 Mark Foster ENG 71 68 67 73 73 72 (-4)
T40 Peter Whiteford SCO 74 70 67 68 75 70 (-4)
T47 Paul Shields SCO 67 70 68 77 70 73 (-3)
T54 Josh Loughrey ENG 72 72 69 69 68 76 (-2)
T54 Damien McGrane IRE 71 68 66 71 72 78 (-2)
T60 Simon Thornton IRE 71 67 73 71 74 71 (-1)
T60 Scott Fernandez (AM) ESP 64 72 67 79 75 70 (-1)
T67 Kevin Phelan IRE 70 72 66 73 75 72 (E)
T67 Paul Howard ENG 73 67 68 75 76 69 (E)
T69 Charlie Ford ENG 71 71 73 67 72 75 (+1)
T69 Matthew Nixon ENG 72 76 68 67 72 74 (+1)

MISSED CUT

T79 Jordan Smith ENG 76 71 72 65 (E)
T85 Jordan Wrisdale ENG 74 72 74 65 (+1)
T92 Ashley Chesters ENG 73 69 74 70 (+2)
T92 Sam Walker ENG 68 76 74 68 (+2)
T92 Scott Henry SCO 71 69 70 76 (+2)
T92 Jimmy Mullen ENG 74 69 75 68 (+2)
T105 Robert Coles ENG 72 68 74 73 (+3)
T105 Jack Doherty SCO 69 73 75 70 (+3)
T105 Steven Brown ENG 73 71 71 72 (+3)
T105 Matt Wallace ENG 71 76 72 68 (+3)
T105 Ross Kellett SCO 75 65 70 77 (+3)
T115 Jack Senior ENG 74 68 74 72 (+4)
T115 Bradley Neil SCO 73 69 76 70 (+4)
T115 Robin Roussel (AM) FRA 70 72 74 72 (+4)
T121 Jamie Rutherford ENG 71 71 77 70 (+5)
T124 Tom Murray ENG 69 72 69 80 (+6)
T124 Ruaidhri McGee IRE 64 87 73 66 (+6)
T129 Brian Casey IRE 76 69 75 71 (+7)
T142 Peter Tarver-Jones ENG 74 75 76 71 (+12)
T142 Nick Dougherty ENG 76 74 75 71 (+12)
T145 Mark Laskey WAL 72 74 76 75 (+13)

WD George Murray SCO 76 70 79 WD
WD Max Orrin ENG 76 66 79 WD
DQ Peter Lawrie IRE 76 69 DQ

> Click Here For The Final Stage Q-School Results

For the full 2015 European Tour Q-School story – with a GB&I slant – please visit my ET Q-School page.

ME.

Copyright © 2015, Mark Eley. All rights reserved.

ET Final Stage Q-School 2014: Preview

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14 November 2014

European Tour QS

The Final Stage European Tour Qualifying School (Q-School) event starts tomorrow at the PGA Catalunya Resort near Girona in North East Spain. The Final has been held here since 2008.

By way of briefing I thought I would lay out some background information for you: –

1) The entry fee for the 2014 European Tour Q-School was €1,725 (c.£1,400).  All players who compete must pay this sum irrespective of their Qualifying entry point.

2) 737 players entered at the First Stage competing in eight 72-hole events across Europe between 9th September and 3rd October on eight different courses.  Each competition had a prize fund of €5,000.

3) Four Second Stage 72-hole events were held between the 7th and 10th November.  The field of 293 consisted of 191 First Stage qualifiers and a 102 exempt players who had earned the right to enter the process at this next level.  110 players from Great Britain & Ireland (GB&I) competed in these qualifiers.  Again the prize fund for each competition was €5,000.

4) A field of 156 golfers will compete in the 108-hole (6 rounds) Final Stage competition which starts tomorrow.  Two courses are used; the Stadium (7,333 yards / Par 72) and the Tour (6,610 yards / Par 70).  Prior to the 72-hole cut two rounds are played on each.  The final two rounds are played by the leading 70 players on the Stadium Course.

5) All players competing at the Final Stage will be ranked according to their score.  The leading 25 players (and ties) are eligible for Category 15 membership of the European Tour (and Category 5 membership of the Challenge Tour) for the 2015 season.  The remainder of those making the cut will be eligible for Category 20 membership of the European Tour (and Category 9 membership of the Challenge Tour).  Players who miss the cut will be eligible for Category 15 membership of the Challenge Tour.   Information on the European Tour membership categories can be found here.  The prize fund is yet to be confirmed but last year it was €150,000.

6) 28 different countries are represented in the Final Stage.  The standard is high – 29 players have previously won a European Tour event and between them they account for a total of 49 Tour victories.  Two players, Phillip Price and Ignacio Garrido have represented Europe in the Ryder Cup.

7) Out of the 156 players 87 were exempt into the Final Stage, 30 players were exempt into the Second Stage and 39 players started at the First Stage.  In total 926 players will have therefore entered the 2015 Q-School.  As this is the seventh successive year that the final has been held at PGA Catalunya the two courses will be familiar to many of the players.

8) England are the best represented country with 36 competitors. Sweden have 18 players, France 14, Spain 12, Australia 7, South Africa 6 and Germany 5.  Scotland 5, Wales 5, Ireland 4 and Northern Ireland 1 make up the home nations.

9) The GB&I competitors are listed below with their entry points.  I am particularly interested in the First Stage qualifiers as it is clearly some achievement to successfully negotiate all 252 Q-School holes and to secure a Card.  Good luck to all of our players but particularly this group.

Final Stage Qualifying Entrants – 25 Players

  • Phillip Archer (ENG)
  • Robert Coles (ENG)
  • Dave Coupland (ENG)
  • Rhys Davies (WAL)
  • David Dixon (ENG)
  • Stephen Dodd (WAL)
  • Nick Dougherty (ENG)
  • Ben Evans (ENG)
  • Kenneth Ferrie (ENG)
  • William Harrold (ENG)
  • Scott Henry (SCO)
  • Peter Lawrie (IRE)
  • Gareth Maybin (NI)
  • Stuart Manley (WAL)
  • Andrew Marshall (ENG)
  • Ross McGowen (ENG)
  • Max Orrin (ENG)
  • John Parry (ENG)
  • Kevin Phelan (IRE)
  • Phillip Price (WAL)
  • Callum Shinkwin (ENG)
  • Lee Slattery (ENG)
  • Simon Thornton (IRE)
  • Simon Wakefield (ENG)
  • Peter Whiteford (SCO)

Second Stage Qualifying Entrants – 14 players

  • Wallace Booth (SCO)
  • Jamie Elson (ENG)
  • Matthew Fitzpatrick (ENG)
  • Matt Ford (ENG)
  • Billy Hemstock (ENG)
  • Lloyd Kennedy (ENG)
  • Nathan Kimsey (ENG)
  • Gary Lockerbie (ENG)
  • Chris Lloyd (ENG)
  • Paul Maddy (ENG)
  • Richard McEvoy (ENG)
  • Chris Paisley (ENG)
  • Duncan Stewart (SCO)
  • Sam Walker (ENG)

First Stage Qualifying Entrants – 12 players

  • Neil Chaudhuri (ENG) – Frilford Heath – Blue
  • Scott Fallon (ENG) – The Roxburghe
  • Simon Griffiths (ENG) – Golf d’Hardelot
  • Garry Houston (WAL) – Golf d’Hardelot (17th Q-School app.)
  • Paul Howard (AM) (ENG) – Frilford Heath – Red
  • Ross Kellett (SCO) – Frilford Heath Blue
  • Michael McGeady (IRE) – Golf d’Hardelot
  • Tom Murray (ENG) – The Roxburghe
  • Ben Parker (ENG) – Fleesensee
  • Garrick Porteous (ENG) – The Roxburghe
  • Matthew Southgate (ENG) – Frilford Heath – Blue
  • Toby Tree (ENG) – Golf d’Hardelot

10) I am also keeping an eye on the overseas ‘Amateurs’ who are still in play, some of whom have turned Pro during the Q-School process: –

Other Overseas Notables

  • Emilio Cuartero Blanco (AM) (SPA) – 1st Stage (Bogogno)
  • Geoff Drakeford* (AUS) – 1st Stage (Frilford Heath – Red)
  • Zander Lombard~ (SA) -1st Stage (Ribagolfe)
  • Renato Paratore~ (ITA) – 2nd Stage (WAGR ranking exemption)

* Geoff turned Pro. ahead of competing at Second Stage Q-School.
~ Zander and Renato are turning Pro. ahead of playing in the Final Stage.

To follow the European Tour’s Final Stage Q-School Live Scoring link click here.

ME.

Copyright © 2014, Mark Eley. All rights reserved.