The final stage of the European Tour’s Qualifying School in Spain went to a three-way tie between Ulrich van den Berg of South Africa, Spaniard Adrian Otaegui and the USA’s Daniel Im – with the first, second and third European Tour cards going in that respective order.
The six-round marathon at the PGA Catalunya Resort provided plenty of drama, much of it further down the field, where the cut fell at seven under par, with four players climbing inside the crucial top 25, and eight falling the other way during the tense final round.
Among the 27 to have claimed their cards were former Ryder Cup hero Edoardo Molinari, who had to endure a long wait before finishing right on the mark, as well as Swedish teenage sensation Marcus Kinhult and Irishman Paul Dunne – who led the Open Championship as an amateur after the third round earlier this year.
For van den Berg, it was also an emotional moment as he made a return to the top tier of European golf for the first time since earning his card here in 2007, before quitting the game in his rookie season following the death of his father. “It was a long, hard slog for a 40 year old today,” said the Johannesburg player, who carded a final round 68. “I last did Q-School in 2007, and I got through then, but I forgot how difficult it is. Unfortunately, I missed a seven-footer on the last to win the event outright, but it’s not about winning. It’s more about getting your card and I did what I could to get round here this week.”
As emotions ran high, one of the coolest customers on the final day was also one of the youngest – Ireland’s Walker Cup hero Paul Dunne. “It means more to me now than St Andrews, because I’ve got something out of it,” said the 22 year old. “I played better at St Andrews, but I was happy with how I grinded my way through this week and stayed patient and kept things together. It’s a great step, because turning pro straight away is something I always wanted to do, but you never know how long it’s going to take. I’m just happy to do it first time and hopefully never have to come back here!”
The biggest movers on an enthralling day on northern Spain were Welshman Stuart Manley, whose six under par 66 was the best round of the day and earned the 13th card, and South African Justin Walters, who climbed from outside the cut line to claim the ninth card courtesy of a five under 67.
Fifth round leader Ross McGowan from Surrey carded a final round 74, which was good enough to see him take joint fourth place following his earlier good work, while fellow Englishman Matthew Southgate closed with a 70 to finish on his own in sixth to earn himself promotion to the tour’s top rank.
Results:
410 U Van Den Berg (RSA) 72 64 66 71 69 68; A Otaegui (Esp) 74 63 62 72 71 68; D Im (USA) 70 68 65 70 66 71;
413 J Hugo (RSA) 65 71 67 67 72 71; R McGowan (Eng) 69 69 64 73 64 74;
414 M Southgate (Eng) 72 66 68 70 68 70;
416 J Scrivener (Aus) 65 72 70 71 67 71; D Gavins (Eng) 71 65 66 68 75 71;
417 J Walters (RSA) 68 73 69 73 67 67; D Dixon (Eng) 72 68 64 71 74 68; R McEvoy (Eng) 66 74 69 71 68 69; L Jensen (Den) 70 66 67 72 72 70;
418 S Manley (Wal) 66 74 69 74 69 66; J Robinson (Eng) 72 69 64 71 72 70; F Laporta (Ita) 69 68 67 74 69 71; P Dunne (Irl) 71 68 70 68 69 72; M Kinhult (am) (Swe) 66 67 65 76 72 72; J Knutzon (USA) 67 68 66 72 71 74;
419 R Evans (Eng) 67 72 70 73 69 68; L Canter (Eng) 67 69 68 74 68 73; N Bertasio (Ita) 71 68 66 71 69 74;
420 C Berardo (Fra) 76 64 63 77 69 71; R Finch (Eng) 69 66 70 73 71 71;
421 E Molinari (Ita) 66 77 71 68 70 69; L Nemecz (Aut) 67 65 66 80 72 71; N Ravano (Ita) 75 65 65 72 71 73; C Hanson (Eng) 70 63 66 71 73 78;