It’s the final countdown for Q School

After the Qualifying School Second Stage came to a dramatic end last weekend, a total of 69 have advanced to this week’s Final Stage, which returns to European Tour Destination PGA Catalunya Resort this week.<br /><br />The Girona resort will host the final leg of the Qualifying School marathon for the seventh successive year, having first taken up the responsibility in 2008.<br /><br />Last year saw Carlos Del Moral win the six round marathon, which is played over the Tour and Stadium courses, for a second time in his career, as he and 27 players from 15 different countries earned their stripes and became fully-fledged European Tour Members.<br /><br />The Qualifying School specialist will be back in familiar surroundings and hoping to make it a hat-trick of victories this time around, after missing out on securing his card for next season.<br /><br />This year’s instalment of the Qualifying School – which was first played at Foxhills and Walton Heath in 1976, four years after the birth of The European Tour – will see a minimum of 25 players advance from the ranks and take up a card on The European Tour, where a further golfing education awaits.<br /><br />Many of those graduates will be hopeful of enjoying further success, as many of Europe’s leading golfers passed the Qualifying School examination, with some even going on to win Major Championships and play in The Ryder Cup. Thus, the Qualifying School has developed a reputation as one of the most exacting methods of golfing selection.<br /><br />Some of that may be credited to its demanding process: a field of 156 players will play two rounds over each of the Tour and Stadium Courses. After 72 holes, the field will be cut to the leading 70 and ties, who will then play two further rounds.<br /><br />The Final Stage field is made up of the 69 progressing players from the Second Round and a further 87 players who were exempt for Final Stage.<br /><br />This exemption rule includes:<br />• 2014 European Tour players to narrowly miss out on their card for 2015 (111 to 145 place in the Race to Dubai Rankings)<br />• Challenge Tour players who qualified for the Grand Final but failed to snatch a top 15 place in the rankings (and the European Tour Membership that accompanies it)<br />• Past Qualifying School winners (e.g. David Dixon, 2011)<br />• European Tour event winners (post-2005)<br />• The 2013 Challenge Tour Rankings winner<br /><br />The scene for this finale is a fitting one, as PGA Catalunya Resort was recently awarded ‘European Golf Resort’ of the year – one of many accolades that the venue, which has held the Top100GolfCourses.co.uk ‘number one course in Spain’ title since 2012, has received.

Mike Stewart, Qualifying School Director, is thrilled to be returning to PGA Catalunya Resort. He said: “PGA Catalunya Resort is an excellent facility that year-on-year has welcomed the Qualifying School back with open arms, and this season promises to be yet another thrilling conclusion to the process as some of the newest and the most experienced players battle it out for their European Tour cards.

“Knowing that the players will be greeted by some of the best practice facilities around, as well as two stunning championship layouts, will no doubt help them get through what is bound to be a long and stressful week.”

Julio Delgado, Chief Executive of PGA Catalunya Resort, said: “The European Tour Qualifying School Final Stage is an important annual fixture at PGA Catalunya Resort and we are proud to be associated with an event that has a history of introducing the next generation of European Tour stars.

“We continue to invest significantly in our two courses, which are both used for the Qualifying School Final Stage, as well as our world-class practice facilities. The Stadium Course is recognised as the number one golf course in Spain by the Top 100 Golf Courses of the World website and is a fitting venue for such a high-calibre event.”

A big venue deserves big players, and there will be some household names in action next week.  The 2011 Madrid Masters winner Lee Slattery, who so narrowly missed out on retaining his card after the ISPS Handa Perth International, will fancy his chances of securing a swift return to The European Tour.

Similarly, Philip Price and Johan Edfors are other entrants who will be hoping to draw upon a wealth of European Tour experience in their efforts to return to the top tier.

Meanwhile, the likes of Andrea Pavan, who topped the Challenge Tour rankings in 2013, would have been hoping to follow in the footsteps of the likes of his compatriot Edoardo Molinari and Tommy Fleetwood, previous winners of the Challenge Tour; but a return to PGA Catalunya Resort at least presents the Italian with a shot at redemption.

For the likes of Price and Edfors, the Qualifying School is an opportunity to return to past European Tour glories and redeem themselves after recent blips in form, but for so many young hopefuls, the Final Stage is the last stepping stone to fulfilling a life-long ambition. Dreams will be made at PGA Catalunya Resort, but hearts will also be broken.

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