Eyes down in Spain for six rounds that

will take 30 & ties to European Tour

FROM THE EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE
One hundred and fifty six hopefuls will be whittled down to just 30 and ties at PGA Golf de Catalunya in Girona, near Barcelona as the European Tour Qualifying School – Final Stage returns to Spain for what promises to be another fascinating – and nail-biting – week.
In all 913 players entered the 2009 Qualifying School, all with the same aim: to reach the promised land of the European Tour. Many have fallen by the wayside either at the First or Second Stages, which were played at various venues across Europe earlier in the season.
Only 186 of the 715 players who competed at the First Stage survived the cull, whilst just 77 were still standing after last week’s Second Stage.
Those 77 will now join the 79 exempt players at the Final Stage, where a minimum of 30 golden tickets for The 2010 Race to Dubai are up for grabs.
The gold rush starts this Saturday, and after four rounds – two each at the Stadium and Tour courses – that number will again be cut to 70 and ties, who will play a further two rounds over the Stadium course to determine the final 30.
Those hoping to emerge triumphant include England’s Philip Archer, who as recently as 2007 finished inside the top 30 on The European Tour money list.
A raft of European Tour champions are also in the field, including big-hitting Italian Emanuele Canonica, Ryder Cup player Joakim Haegmann of Sweden and veteran Spaniard Santiago Luna.
Luna’s compatriot Jesus Maria Arruti will be making a record 15th visit to the Final Stage, whilst others with previous experience of the unique demands of a trip to the Final include Brazilian Alexandre Rocha, who was the joint winner in 2006.
That same year England’s Oliver Fisher also earned his card through the Qualifying School and managed to keep it quite comfortably for the next two seasons, finishing 51st on the money list in 2008.
But a subsequent season of struggle this year has consigned him to a return to the Final Stage along with Scotland’s former Ryder Cup player Andrew Coltart, who like Fisher also finished just outside the top 120 players in The Race to Dubai, all of whom kept their cards.
Players at the other end of the experience spectrum include Germany’s Stephan Gross junior, winner of the 2008 European Amateur Championship, and England’s Sam Hutsby, the 2009 Amateur Championship finalist.
Hutsby, who turned professional after competing in this year’s Walker Cup, will be hoping to follow in the footsteps of his close friend and compatriot Chris Wood, the winner of the 2009 Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year Award. Wood enjoyed an exceptional season on The European Tour after graduating from the Qualifying School last year, as did Scotland’s David Drysdale and England’s Danny Willet, both of whom also recently qualified for the season-ending Dubai World Championship presented by: DP World.
Other Qualifying School graduates who thrived on the top tier last season include Sweden’s Oskar Henningsson, who won the Final Stage in 2008, and Northern Ireland’s Michael Hoey.
Both men entered the European Tour winner’s enclosure for the first time this year, with Henningsson capturing the Moravia Silesia Open presented by ALO Diamonds title, and Hoey holding off Spaniard Gonzalo Fernandez-Castaño in a play-off to win the Estoril Open de Portugal.
Other notable names in this year’s field include France’s Michael Lorenzo-Vera and Dutchman Joost Luiten, both of whom graduated onto the European Tour in 2008 after exceptional seasons on the Challenge Tour in 2007, with Lorenzo-Vera topping the final Rankings.
His fellow Frenchman Julien Guerrier is also heading to Girona, along with the man he beat to the 2006 Amateur Championship title, England’s Adam Gee.
The Stadium course at PGA Golf de Catalunya, which was co-designed by European Tour champions Neil Coles of England and Spain’s Angel Gallardo, opened in 1999 and hosted this year’s Open de España.
A European Golf Design course, it is notable for its tree-lined fairways, elevated tees and spectacular views of the Pyrenees mountain range. Enjoying the scenery will be the last thing on the minds of the competitors.