SIX SCOTS MAKE IT THROUGH TO STAGE
2 IN SPAIN BUT LOFTUS, URQUHART
MISS OUT AT ST ANNES OLD LINKS

Jason McCreadie, Craig Lee, Edward Thomson, Graeme Brown, Elliot Saltman and Jack Doherty were the Scots among the 36 players with totals of 287 or better who advanced today from the European Tour Qualifying School Stage 1 event at St Annes Old Links to Stage 2 at one of several venues in Spain next month.
McCreadie, Lee, Thomson, Brown and Doherty needed only to avoid a last round disaster to miss out but for Saltman it represented a tremendous surge up over the safety line on the last nine. Elliot shot a five-under-par 67 to qualify in joint 17th place on 286.
Spare a thought for Scottish professional champion Mark Loftus (Cowglen) who found his form too late - a 65 in the last round - for 288, which meant he failed by just one shot to board the plane for Spain.
Northern Open champion Murray Urquhart (Inverness) finished eight shots outside the safety line with a 75 for 295.
In his weekly column for the "Press and Journal" this week, Urquhart speculated that he might have to look for a job outwith golf if he did not make it even to the 2008 Challenge Tour (you have to make it to the Final Q School to have that as a fall-back position).
QUALIFIERS AT ST ANNES OLD LINKS
Par 288 (4 x 72)
275 D Horsey (Eng) 68 68 71 68.
278 J McCreadie (Sco) 68 70 70 70.
280 C Lee (Sco) 69 70 71 70.
282 R Davies (Wal) 67 72 74 69.
283 N Lemke (Swe) 68 74 75 66, M Ramsdale (Eng) 70 70 74 69, C Sands (Eng) 74 72 71 66.
Other Scots qualifiers for Stage 2 in Spain:
285 E Thomson 69 73 72 71 (jt 13th).
286 G Brown 70 74 70 72, E Saltman 69 73 77 67 (jt 17th).
287 J Doherty 68 72 74 73 (jt 27th).
MISSED CUT-OFF
288 M Loftus (Sco) 77 76 70 65 (jt 37th).
295 M Urquhart (Sco) 75 75 70 75 (jt 73rd).