Dear misses out by one but McNicoll

shoots 65 to join Booth at Stage 2

Gavin Dear, ranked No 12 in the R&A WAGR only two or three weeks ago, failed to clear the first hurdle in his bid to gain playing rights for the European Tour with effect from the 2010 season.

Competing at The Oxfordshire Golf Club in Section B of the Qualifying School Stage 1 process, the Walker Cup player from Scone came up one stroke on the wrong side of the cut-off point of four-under-par 284, which his golfing pal Keir McNicoll (pictured right by Cal Carson Golf Agency) from Carnoustie hit, thanks to a brilliant final round of 65 for 284.

Dear finished with a 70 for 285. Gavin turned professional a few days before going to the English venue. He had made up his mind previously that if he failed to make the grade at the Q School, then he would go to the United States, where he has many contacts from his four years at Lynn University, Florida, and play on the mini-tours there until the next chance to make it to European Tour came up in 2010.

Fellow Walker Cup player from Perthshire, Wallace Booth (Comrie) made it ease, returning an eight-under-par total of 280 after great closing rounds of 67 and 68.

Former Scottish boys match-play champion Paul Doherty, who has competing on the EuroPro Tour for several years was the top Scots qualifier among the 27 who advanced to Stage 2 from The Oxfordshire eliminator.

Dear was not the only big name "failure" - one-time stand-out amateur Lloyd Saltman continues to play to only 50 per cent of his star potential. He missed qualifying by four shots after a final round of 70 for level par 288. Younger brother Zack missed by miles - a 73 for 292.

Aberdeen's Graeme Lornie of the Paul Lawrie Foundation will also return to the Tartan Tour after a 71 for 287.

A total of 115 of the 715 competitors who teed up at The European Tour Qualifying School First Qualifying Stage have progressed to Stage Two in Spain.
Following last week’s Section A of the First Qualifying Stage, another four venues across Europe – The Oxfordshire Golf Club in England, Golf de Moliets in France, Circolo Golf Bogogno in Italy and Fleesensee Golf and Country Club in Germany – hosted aspiring professionals from around the world looking to win a dream ticket to The 2010 European Tour.
In Germany, a brilliant seven under par 65 from Ally Mellor saw the Englishman charge through the field to win on 14 under 274, with Norwegian Marius Thorp taking second spot. With the top 26 (plus ties) players from Fleesensee winning places at Stage Two, the qualifying mark came at three under par with 31 players making it through.
There was a mini Spanish invasion in France at the Golf de Moliets as the top three spots on the leaderboard going to Carlos Balmaseda, who carded a final round 66 to post a winning score of 266 win by five from compatriot Raul Quiros and six from Borja Etchart. There were 26 players who qualified at Moilets with the cut-off point falling at five under par.
The Swiss Martin Romminger took the honours at Circolo Golf Bogogno in Italy with a 14 under par winning aggregate giving him a two stroke cushion over second placed Sebastian L Saavedra of Argentina. There were 30 qualifiers on two under par or better in Italy.
Of the 28 qualifiers at the Oxfordshire making it through to Stage Two on scores of four under par or better, American Ryan Blaum led the way with 17 under par 271 aggregate, three strokes clear of Englishman Graeme Clark.

SCOREBOARD
THE OXFORDSHIRE, THAME.
271 R Blaum (USA) 69 63 68 71
274 G Clark (Eng) 68 67 69 70
276 A Johnston (Eng) 73 69 68 66, J Kelly (Irl) 70 68 69 69, J Powell (Eng) 69 68 67 72
277 J Heath (Eng) 72 67 71 67
278 N McCarthy (Eng) 70 69 72 67,
279 P Doherty (Sco) 72 68 71 68, J Senior (am) (Eng) 74 71 66 68,
280 J Harris (Eng) 71 69 70 70, W Booth (Sco) 74 71 67 68, L Westerberg (Swe) 70 72 70 68, O Bekker (RSA) 69 68 69 74, M Haines (am) (Eng) 72 71 71 66,
281 J Moore (USA) 68 73 69 71, M Collins (Irl) 70 69 70 72,
282 S Whiffin (Eng) 74 71 66 71, A Frayne (Eng) 71 69 72 70, D Whitnell (Eng) 75 66 69 72, N Harris (Eng) 75 69 71 67, D Higgins (Irl) 68 71 73 70, S Hodgson (am) (Eng) 73 70 70 69
283 P Richardson (Eng) 73 68 68 74, R Baca (USA) 72 67 74 70, P Jones (Eng) 68 73 73 69, C Paisley (am) (Eng) 70 69 73 71
284 K McNicoll (Sco) 76 71 72 65, C Devlin (Nir) 73 70 73 68
FAILED TO QUALIFY
285 J Bloomfield (Jam) 79 68 66 72, G Dear (Sco) 67 73 75 70, J Hepworth (Eng) 72 73 70 70, D Mooney (Nir) 73 70 71 71, B Britton (am) (Eng) 73 69 71 72, D Blair (am) (RSA) 74 73 71 67
286 P O'Keeffe (Irl) 72 69 74 71, M Curtis (Zim) 74 66 72 74, C Curley (am) (Irl) 74 69 74 69
287 G Lornie (Sco) 70 73 73 71, G Woolgar (Eng) 71 69 70 77, S Parry (Eng) 74 69 71 73
288 L Saltman (Sco) 74 71 73 70
289 J Cunliffe (RSA) 72 70 76 71, M Armitage (Eng) 72 72 74 71, M Cryer (Eng) 73 70 73 73, S Lilly (Eng) 76 70 72 71, A Carson (am) (Eng) 71 76 70 72
290 R Wragg (Eng) 74 74 71 71, J Howarth (Eng) 76 71 73 70, E Thomson (Sco) 80 70 67 73, J Gidney (Eng) 73 74 71 72, T Rice (Irl) 72 70 75 73, S Uzzell (am) (Eng) 75 74 70 71
291 P James (Eng) 72 74 67 78, A Hamilton (USA) 77 72 70 72, B Taylor (Eng) 70 74 72 75
292 S Howarth (Eng) 71 73 73 75, J Conteh (Eng) 75 67 75 75, S Cowle (Eng) 74 73 72 73, J Mason (Eng) 71 71 74 76, Z Saltman (Sco) 75 73 71 73,
293 B Taylor (Eng) 70 76 69 78,
294 J Freeman (Eng) 70 68 80 76, A Wootton (am) (Eng) 74 73 72 75,
295 K Crossland (Eng) 74 70 74 77,
296 D Stein (Aus) 75 75 70 76,
** C Elliot (Eng) 74 73 68 DQ,

GOLF DE MOLIETS, FRANCE
266 C Balmaseda (Esp) 69 63 68 66
271 R Quiros (Esp) 65 67 68 71
272 B Etchart (Esp) 66 68 69 69
274 E De La Riva (Esp) 68 67 71 68, T Fournier (Fra) 67 69 70 68
276 P Bocian (Swe) 67 70 70 69, T Leon (USA) 66 70 75 65, J Legarrea (Esp) 66 69 73 68
277 O David (Fra) 64 71 74 68
278 C Garcia (Esp) 68 70 71 69
279 P Oriol (Esp) 67 69 72 71
280 M Galdos (Esp) 66 69 68 77, C McNamara (Irl) 71 68 71 70, J Van Hauwe (Fra) 71 67 70 72
281 G Watremez (Bel) 68 73 70 70, A Belt (Eng) 69 69 73 70, E Barr (Irl) 68 70 70 73
282 T Stewart (Aus) 73 71 69 69, B Mannix (Eng) 72 67 72 71, K Le Sager (Fra) 70 73 72 67, B Fowles (am) (Eng) 74 66 70 72
283 L Portela (Esp) 67 72 76 68, D Quiros (Esp) 71 69 68 75, E Dubois (Fra) 72 68 70 73, N Walker (Eng) 72 71 72 68, J Mommo (Fin) 73 73 65 72
FAILED TO QUALIFY
284 M Mills (Eng) 71 71 72 70, M Bosse (Ger) 71 72 74 67, S Arnold (Aus) 73 73 71 67, G Canizares (Esp) 72 72 69 71, J Ocejo (Esp) 68 71 73 72, P Hendriksen (Eng) 69 72 74 69, M Saiz (Esp) 71 73 70 70, M Cantero (Esp) 72 70 72 70, F Hammarberg (Swe) 73 72 70 69, T Reid (Eng) 66 75 73 70
286 F Lagarto (Esp) 77 69 69 71, X Guzman (Esp) 73 72 69 72, B Lecuona (Fra) 67 71 75 73, D Perrier (Fra) 76 69 69 72
287 V Blazquez (Esp) 70 74 70 73, A Matallana (Esp) 75 73 70 69, P O'Hanlon (Irl) 71 72 72 72, N Soto (Eng) 74 69 74 70
288 I Del Castillo (Esp) 71 72 74 71, J Lorca (Esp) 68 68 79 73, G Gresse (Bel) 67 72 73 76, B Welch (Eng) 74 69 74 71, P Menjibar (Esp) 68 73 72 75
289 J Rosillo (Esp) 71 72 70 76, J Daudignon (Fra) 71 75 69 74, C Bell (Eng) 74 73 69 73, J Belliard (Fra) 75 71 70 73, J Guillet (Fra) 71 69 74 75, D Antonelli (am) (Fra) 71 71 76 71
290 S Mason (Eng) 71 77 70 72, C Aguilar (Esp) 69 71 73 77, M Raven (am) (Eng) 72 72 73 73
291 R Thuillier (Fra) 75 72 71 73, F Keenan (Eng) 74 72 74 71,
292 S Seijo (Esp) 74 75 69 74, C Perez Barberan (Esp) 72 73 74 73, E Dominguez (Arg) 74 74 70 74, B Hemstock (am) (Eng) 75 73 71 73,
294 S Haywood (Eng) 76 73 70 75, F Vallet (Fra) 75 71 74 74, D Alonso (Esp) 69 71 75 79
298 R Schilperoord (Ned) 76 73 71 78, J Palmer (Eng) 75 71 74 78,
** N Singer (am) (Fra) 71 79 70 WD,

CIRCOLO BOGOGNO, ITALY
274 M Rominger (Sui) 69 65 68 72
276 S Saavedra (Arg) 69 70 67 70
277 G Rosier (Fra) 70 70 69 68
278 R Swane (Ned) 72 71 70 65, S Piaget (Mon) 70 73 66 69, N Sulzer (Sui) 71 72 67 68, C Ford (Eng) 70 73 70 65
279 M Soffietti (Ita) 71 73 68 67, A Maestroni (Ita) 70 71 69 69, N Bertasio (am) (Ita) 70 70 72 67, J Kim (am) (Ita) 66 72 71 70
280 N Bollini (USA) 69 70 72 69, J Maurer (Aut) 72 69 69 70
281 J Fahrbring (Swe) 72 73 68 68, T Lambert (Aus) 69 73 72 67
282 M Persson (Swe) 70 73 73 66
283 K Sullivan (Wal) 74 68 68 73, G Slabe (Slo) 74 67 70 72, J Dusson (Fra) 72 70 66 75, H Bacher (Aut) 69 68 72 74
284 T Weiss (Sui) 68 72 71 73, A Zanini (Ita) 70 75 70 69
285 P Bech (Esp) 72 73 73 67, A Bihan (Fra) 75 73 68 69, D Ulrich (Sui) 72 73 72 68, A Christie (am) (Eng) 74 73 68 70
286 J Camargo (Esp) 70 76 70 70, A Bruschi (Ita) 72 72 71 71, P Nilbrink (Nor) 71 73 68 74, N Ravano (am) (Ita) 73 67 74 72

FAILED TO QUALIFY
287 M Delpodio (Ita) 73 71 70 73, C Blaesi (Sui) 75 66 73 73, R Treis (Ger) 80 70 68 69, S Wiedergruen (Ger) 72 73 71 71, C Prader (Aut) 72 75 73 67, K Samooja (am) (Fin) 73 75 70 69,
288 F Svanberg (Sui) 68 76 75 69, J Parron (Esp) 71 77 70 70, J Foret (Fra) 71 72 74 71, T Sluiter (am) (Ned) 72 75 69 72,
289 I Sanchez-Palencia (Esp) 73 73 73 70, A Napoleoni (Ita) 75 71 70 73, F Ojeda Racioppi (Arg) 70 71 72 76,
290 D Suazo (Esp) 71 72 70 77, E Lattanzi (Ita) 79 71 69 71, S Russi (Chi) 73 71 73 73, C Trunzer (Ger) 76 73 72 69, F Pasqualucci (Ita) 69 71 77 73, P Relecom (Bel) 73 72 75 70, M Choi (Aus) 75 72 74 69, F Figueroa (Esa) 75 73 70 72, J Theunis (Bel) 76 74 69 71, A Huber (USA) 75 72 72 71, R McGee (am) (Irl) 74 70 71 75,
291 T Laitto (Fin) 73 71 73 74, M Novy (Cze) 75 73 69 74, J San Sebastian (Esp) 73 74 73 71,
292 A Signor (Ita) 76 69 76 71, J Garcia Pinto (Esp) 71 76 70 75, A Chopard (Sui) 74 76 72 70, P Lepitschnik (Aut) 73 69 75 75,
293 S Reale (Ita) 74 72 74 73, G Andersson (Swe) 74 70 76 73,
294 P Terreni (Ita) 70 78 68 78, A Andersson (Swe) 74 73 75 72,
295 A Fabietti (Bra) 72 75 74 74,
296 J Adarraga Gomez (Esp) 75 71 75 75,
297 X Puig (am) (Esp) 72 76 73 76,
** C Pfau (Aut) 74 71 73 DISQ,

FLEESENSEE G&CC, GERMANY
274 A Mellor (Eng) 69 69 71 65
276 M Thorp (Nor) 64 69 74 69
277 J Gill (Nzl) 68 66 73 70
278 M Kramer (Ger) 70 70 68 70, T Edlund (Swe) 67 70 70 71
280 Z Scotland (Eng) 72 71 67 70, N Glans (Swe) 71 68 75 66, R Saxton (Ned) 72 69 71 68, A Rosado (Por) 73 70 68 69, J Hansen (am) (Den) 69 69 70 72
281 R Sjöberg (Swe) 72 70 69 70
282 J Sköld (Swe) 74 68 69 71
283 M Owens (Irl) 67 72 73 71, S Forsstrom (Swe) 73 71 72 67, M Palm (Swe) 72 69 71 71, D Wardrop (Eng) 70 72 71 70, A Fischer (Ger) 72 70 69 72
284 P Ankersoe (Den) 71 72 74 67, M Glauert (Ger) 71 71 73 69, F Becker (Ger) 76 71 72 65, J Roth (Den) 69 71 75 69, S Gross Jr (Ger) 68 72 74 70, M Johansson (am) (Swe) 72 71 69 72
285 J Makitalo (Fin) 72 69 76 68, R Harris (Eng) 74 71 66 74, L Richard (Bel) 71 72 69 73, T Cruz (Por) 71 71 75 68, J Ruth (Eng) 73 72 70 70, L Corfield (Eng) 70 74 71 70, T Sundström (Fin) 67 76 74 68, N Kearney (am) (Irl) 71 72 68 74

FAILED TO QUALIFY
286 J Drongstrup (Den) 71 72 71 72, T Tuovinen (Fin) 69 73 72 72, D Marmion (Eng) 71 74 73 68, J Lupprian (Ger) 71 70 74 71, T Schuster (Ger) 67 75 73 71, A Szappanos (am) (Ger) 70 71 74 71
287 R Nielsen (Den) 72 75 70 70, D Klein (am) (Ger) 76 72 70 69,
288 P Purhonen (Fin) 74 72 75 67, R Golding (Eng) 67 76 73 72, B Guiney (Sco) 72 74 70 72, N Bruzelius (Swe) 74 71 70 73,
289 P Erofejeff (Fin) 73 73 72 71, R Schovanek (Cze) 73 73 73 70, D Wuensche (Ger) 72 70 76 71, J Martikainen (Fin) 70 74 71 74,
290 R Steele (Eng) 72 73 72 73, B Oliver (Aus) 72 75 70 73, K Jorgensen (Den) 71 74 74 71, B Miarka (Ger) 75 74 69 72, G Birch Jr (Ger) 71 71 76 72,
291 R Svensson (Swe) 71 72 77 71, B Mann (Ind) 70 71 75 75, F Bredin (Swe) 70 72 76 73, R Askstrand (Swe) 69 73 74 75, J Hall (Eng) 75 73 72 71, P Baunsoe (am) (Den) 76 75 68 72
292 M Haremza (Ger) 72 74 71 75, F Ruprecht (Aut) 74 72 76 70, A John (am) (Ger) 74 76 68 74
293 K Mortensen (Den) 75 71 75 72,
294 B Parker (Eng) 73 71 78 72, P Jacobsen (Den) 75 75 70 74, S Gundorph (Den) 74 69 74 77
295 M Campbell (Irl) 74 71 75 75,
296 S Stefansson (Isl) 72 77 73 74,
299 J Fransson (Swe) 79 70 73 77, H Satama (am) (Fin) 72 75 75 77