Ricardo rock steady to qualify

Portuguese whiz Ricardo Gouveia completed his qualifying campaign with a rock steady level par 71 at Lumine Golf & Beach Club to stay at 18 under and to win the Second Stage event of The European Tour Qualifying School in Spain. A total of 17 players advanced from the ranks into the field at the Final Stage.

However the drama unfolded lower down the leaderboard as a quartet of four players, consisting of France’s Guillaume Cambis, Englishmen Garrick Porteous and Nathan Kimsey and American Wes Homan, all shared the last progression spaces at nine under par.

The latter three all shot very good rounds of four under par 67s to ensure qualification, but the Frenchman went even lower, carding a six under par 65 to rocket up twelve places and steal a spot at the Final Stage.

Gouveia, the vastly improving Challenge Tour player couldn't reproduce his form of the previous three days, but a level par round was sufficient to see him over the line in first place, one ahead of German Julian Kunzenbacher, who carded a two under round of 69 on the final day.

Across the four venues, a total of 69 players qualified to the Final Stage which takes place at European Tour Destination PGA Catalunya Resort in north-east Spain next week, where the top 25 players plus ties will earn their playing rights for The 2015 Race to Dubai.