ONLY FOUR SCOTS STILL IN EUROPEAN Q SCHOOL HUNT

By COLIN FARQUHARSON

Colin@scottishgolfview.com

Only four Scots - Alastair Forsyth, Jack Doherty, Doug McGuigan and Andrew McArthur - out of the 10 who started in the field of 156 have made it through to the last two rounds of the 108-hole European Tour Final Qualifying School golfing marathon at PGA Catalunya, near Girona in north-east Spain.

The six failures - Raymond Russell, Neil Fenwick, George Murray, Duncan Stewart, Scott Henry and Scott Drummond - plus West Linton-based Welshman Gareth Wright now have no chance of recouping the £1,650 entry fee on next season's European Tour.

Forsyth headed the Scots qualifiers who now have to finish in the top 25 and ties at the end of play on Friday to gain playing rights in the Big League.

The Glasgow man shot a three-under-par 69 on the longer, tougher Stadium Course, over which the final 36 holes were be played, for a 72-hole yally of 10-under-par 274. He starts the fifth round in joint 11th position.

Doherty is in joint 13th position on 275 after a 71 over the Stadium Course for 275.

Clydeside-born, South Africa-based McGuigan had six birdies in his two-under 70 for a share of 57 place on 280.

Former Scottish amateur champion McArthur made it through by the skin of his teeth. He had to birdie one of his last five holes and par the rest to hit the limit mark of 282.

McArthur kept his nerve and birdied the 15th for a one-over 73 to be one of the 71 players who will play on.

Russell belatedly showed the form that made him one of the leading qualifiers from Stage 2 with a six-under 64 on the shorter Tour Course for a total of 285 - three shots to many.

Likewise, Fenwick, with no hope of qualifying, produced a four-under 666 for 286.

Murray shot a 72 for 288.

Stewart (69), Henry (72) and Wright (76) all finished on the 289 mark.

Drummond, one-time PGA championship winner at Wentworth, finished joint third last of the 151 who completed 72 holes. He signed off with a 73 for 296.

LEADING QUALIFIERS FOR LAST TWO ROUNDS

Par 284 (2x70. 2x72)

270 C Del Moral (Spa) 67 71 69 63.

271 F Zanotti (Para) 66 70 67 68, D Brooks (Eng) 65 71 69 676

272 E Espana (Fra) 62 74 69 67, J Morrison (Eng) 72 67 63 70, Sjoland (Swe) 66 72 67 67

273 L Bjerregaard (Den) 65 70 69 69, J Hahn (US) 66 66 73 68, B Paoloni (US) 70 71 68 64, S Wakefield (Eng) 69 68 67 69

274 A Forsyth (Sco) 65 70 70 69, J Dantorp (Swe) 66 68 68 72

OTHER SCOTTISH QUALIFIERS

275 J Doherty 68 70 66 71 (T13)

280 D McGuigan 71 68 71 70 (T47)

282 A McArthur 66 73 70 73 (T62)

SCOTTISH NON-QUALIFIERS

285 R Russell 76 78 77 64

286 N Fenwick 72 73 75 66

288 G Murray 67 77 72 72

289 D Stewart 68 77 75 69, S Henry 72 70 75 72.

296 S Drummond 75 71 77 73.

OTHER NON-QUALIFIER

289 G Wright (Wal) 72 65 76 76

REPORT FROM EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS
AND ALL THE SCORES

Patience the Moral of the story for Carlos at Q-School

European Tour Qualifying School Final Stage specialist Carlos Del Moral continued to revel in the pressurised atmosphere of the six-round epic after a superb nine under par round of 63 saw him storm into a one stroke lead at PGA Catalunya Resort.

That continued a fine run of form at this event, which has seen the man from Valencia claim his card here in three of the past five seasons, and he is once again ideally placed at 14 under par to claim a Race to Dubai berth for next season.

Seven birdies and an eagle on day four were what did it for Del Moral, who prefers playing the supposedly tougher Stadium Course upon which he played so well on day four.

A three on the par five 15^th typified his love for the Neil Coles and Angel Gallardo-designed lay-out, firing a pin-point five iron on the 492 yard hole to a mere 12 feet before rolling in the putt to rubber stamp an exemplary day.

With the final 36 holes set to be played on the same course, the Spaniard is clearly looking forward to the task at hand, and to continuing the form that has seen him hurtle once again into contention for a European Tour card in Girona.

“I was talking to my girlfriend and saying that I feel much more comfortable playing this tougher Stadium Course,” said the 28 year old, having earned his card at this event in 2008, 2010 and 2012. “I just feel a lot looser playing it. The Tour course feels a little small so now I can just enjoy the next two rounds, which is nice.

“My play at this event is something that I have never understood as patience isn’t one of my best qualities, so it doesn’t make a lot of sense that I play really good Q-Schools because you need a lot of that for six rounds of golf. I’ve just been staying really calm, trying to focus on every shot, and today felt a lot freer so I’m really happy and I’ll try to do more of the same.

“I’m just going to try and do the same, to stay very level as there are so many emotions out here. You don’t want to go too up and down, up and down because then you will go mad. You just need to stay low key for every shot.”

One stroke adrift of the leading Spaniard are England’s Daniel Brooks and Fabrizio Zanotti of Paraguay who both went low on day four, after rounds of 66 and 68 respectively on the Stadium Course.

They are one ahead of a further trio of talent, with overnight leader James Morrison (70) alongside first round pace-setter Edouard Espana (67) and two time European Tour winner Patrik Sjöland (67) in a tie for fourth.

Aside from the battle for top spot, there was also plenty of movement further down the field as players duked it out for a share of 70^th place and better in order to qualify for the final two rounds at PGA Catalunya Resort.

The cut eventually came at two under par, seeing 71 players advance to the final 36 holes in Spain, with Niccolo Quintarelli making one of the biggest moves of the day having started one stroke outside the eventual cut mark.

Playing the Tour Course, the Italian took full advantage of the apparently easier setup to card 11 birdies, a bogey and a double en route to the joint low round of the week after Espana also shot 62 on day one.

Such scintillating play saw the Italian rocket up the leaderboard, leaping a total of 44 places and into a tie for 14^th place, with the top 25 and ties claiming a European Tour card come week’s end.

Another man to have made a big move in the past two rounds is American Brinson Paolini, who finished on 11 under after 72 holes thanks to rounds of 68 and 64 on the Stadium and Tour Courses, respectively. Compatriot Tain Lee also made a big jump, carding a 64 of his own to move up 48 places and into a share of 18^th place.

As a result Lee, Paolini and Quintarelli are all in an extremely strong position, as is Daniel Im, who made serious gains of his own on Friday thanks to a six under par round of 64 on the Tour Course to climb into a tie for 41^st.

It was heartbreak though for the likes of European Tour winner Anton Haig (74) and Tom Whitehouse (75), with both falling below the cut mark on day four, while Bjorn Åkesson (67), 2011 Qualifying School Final Stage winner David Dixon (71) and Joakim Lagergren (74) all bogeyed their final hole to miss by a single stroke.

 

QUALIFIERS FOR FINAL TWO ROUNDS

OVER THE STADIUM COURSE (par 72)

Par 284 (2x70, 2x72)

270 C Del Moral (Esp) 67 71 69 63;

271 F Zanotti (Par) 66 70 67 68; D Brooks (Eng) 65 71 69 66;

272 E Espana (Fra) 62 74 69 67; J Morrison  (Eng) 72 67 63 70; P Sjöland (Swe) 66 72 67 67;

273 J Hahn (USA) 66 66 73 68; L Bjerregaard  (Den) 65 70 69 69; S Wakefield (Eng) 69 68 67 69; B Paolini (USA) 70 71 68 64;

274 J Dantorp (Swe) 66 68 68 72; A Forsyth (Sco) 65 70 70 69;

275 O Stark (Swe) 66 71 67 71; W Ormsby (Aus) 69 67 70 69; J Doherty  (Sco) 68 70 66 71; S Manley (Wal) 68 71 67 69; N Quintarelli (Ita) 68 74 71 62;

276 E Goya (Arg) 66 70 67 73; D Kemmer (USA) 67 70 67 72; T Lee (USA) 64 75 73 64; M Crespi  (Ita) 71 70 67 68; A Gee  (Eng) 66 70 71 69; G Stal  (Fra) 71 68 69 68; M Tullo (Chi) 67 70 68 71;

277 M Lafeber (Ned) 71 68 67 71; T Pieters  (Bel) 64 73 72 68; B Dredge (Wal) 68 71 70 68; C Paisley  (Eng) 67 70 70 70; F Andersson Hed (Swe) 69 68 71 69; R Finch  (Eng) 64 71 70 72; G Lockerbie  (Eng) 72 65 67 73; E Kofstad (Nor) 70 68 67 72; B Stone (RSA) 69 66 70 72; A Saddier (Fra) 71 66 69 71; M Jonzon (Swe) 64 72 70 71;

278 C Arendell (USA) 72 70 71 65; M Lundberg (Swe) 69 68 70 71; O Wilson (Eng) 69 67 74 68; M Korhonen (Fin) 69 71 68 70; A Hartø  (Den) 67 70 69 72;

279 J Heath  (Eng) 69 71 70 69; J Barnes (Eng) 66 72 72 69; D Im (USA) 70 73 72 64; B Henson (USA) 71 70 70 68; K Phelan (Irl) 73 67 68 71; J Knutzon (USA) 70 69 71 69;

280 T Van Der Walt (RSA) 72 69 68 71; J Lando Casanova  (Fra) 76 65 69 70; A Marshall (Eng) 71 70 70 69; C Bouniol (Fra) 73 70 71 66; A Johnston (Eng) 67 73 69 71; R Karlberg  (Swe) 66 77 72 65; O Fisher  (Eng) 72 69 72 67; D McGuigan (Sco) 71 68 71 70; H Leon (Chi) 68 70 70 72; K Horne (RSA) 72 68 72 68; C Hanson (Eng) 66 77 71 66; M Lorenzo-Vera  (Fra) 67 73 69 71;

281 M Grönberg (Swe) 75 67 73 66; Z Scotland  (Eng) 71 74 69 67; A Dodt (Aus) 71 71 72 67;

282 B Evans  (Eng) 71 77 69 65; L Gagli  (Ita) 74 66 72 70; K Pratt (Aus) 71 66 70 75; J Huldahl (Den) 72 68 70 72; R McGee (Irl) 70 66 72 74; A McArthur  (Sco) 66 73 70 73; D Higgins (Irl) 67 73 72 70; M Hensby (Aus) 69 77 69 67; J Elson  (Eng) 64 74 72 72; C Shinkwin (am) (Eng) 68 70 71 73;

 

MISSED THE CUT

 

283 J Lagergren (Swe) 65 74 70 74; B Åkesson (Swe) 75 71 70 67; J Robinson (Eng) 71 71 71 70; A Björk (Swe) 74 65 72 72; D Dixon (Eng) 73 68 71 71; M Delpodio  (Ita) 70 71 72 70; O Floren  (Swe) 72 67 72 72;

284 J Fahrbring (Swe) 71 64 76 73; T Whitehouse  (Eng) 68 69 72 75; W Harrold (Eng) 65 73 76 70; N Nissen (Den) 73 73 71 67; A Domingo (Esp) 66 73 73 72; J Lara (Esp) 74 72 72 66; W Besseling  (Ned) 68 73 75 68; S Hodgson (Eng) 71 69 68 76;

285 A McLardy (RSA) 77 65 74 69; P Martin Benavides (Esp) 73 69 78 65; K Benz (Sui) 69 76 73 67; J Lucquin (Fra) 68 73 75 69; L Bond (Wal) 69 74 80 62; E Dubois (Fra) 75 65 73 72; J Timmis (Eng) 67 78 76 64; Y Tsukada (Jpn) 75 70 73 67; R Russell (Sco) 76 68 77 64;

286 P Edberg (Swe) 73 69 74 70; F Fritsch  (Ger) 72 70 79 65; N Fenwick (Sco) 72 73 75 66; P Hedblom (Swe) 69 74 76 67; R Davies (Wal) 71 76 71 68; C Monasterio (Arg) 67 78 73 68; B An (Kor) 71 73 75 67; S Arnold  (Aus) 75 71 75 65; M Orrin (Eng) 71 71 77 67; P Archer (Eng) 72 70 74 70; A Maestroni  (Ita) 73 72 75 66; A Garcia-Heredia (Esp) 72 70 73 71; G Main (USA) 73 72 77 64; T Nørret (Den) 71 71 76 68; D McElroy (am) (Nir) 68 74 76 68;

287 B Ritthammer (Ger) 76 70 73 68; P Price (Wal) 74 67 74 72; C Ortiz  (Mex) 73 68 75 71; J Ahlers (RSA) 73 72 75 67; A Haig (RSA) 68 74 71 74; J Sjöholm (Swe) 77 73 70 67; D Vancsik (Arg) 69 78 71 69;

288 N Lemke (Swe) 66 75 74 73; G Murray  (Sco) 67 77 72 72; M Wiegele  (Aut) 71 73 73 71; C Suneson (Esp) 72 73 74 69; J Watts (Eng) 68 71 73 76;

289 S Henry  (Sco) 72 70 75 72; G Wright  (Wal) 72 65 76 76; D Gavins (Eng) 69 72 72 76; D Stewart (Sco) 68 77 75 69; T Sluiter  (Ned) 68 75 75 71; A Bernadet  (Fra) 74 74 75 66; O Lieser (Cze) 74 70 74 71; M Zions (Aus) 72 71 75 71;

290 D Ulrich (Sui) 77 69 76 68; G Cambis  (Fra) 71 72 78 69; J Rask (Swe) 77 69 73 71; R Steiner (Aut) 74 74 74 68;

291 J Edfors (Swe) 69 73 79 70;

292 R Pettersson (Swe) 70 69 83 70; O Bekker (RSA) 73 76 74 69; T Linard (Fra) 69 77 79 67; V Phillips (Eng) 72 71 72 77; O Henningsson  (Swe) 77 70 76 69; M Brier (Aut) 74 71 76 71;

293 N Dougherty  (Eng) 73 74 73 73; N Ravano (Ita) 69 81 75 68; J Guerrier  (Fra) 73 68 73 79;

294 K Ferrie (Eng) 71 78 76 69; J Granberg  (Fin) 73 76 77 68;

295 L Goddard  (Eng) 75 74 77 69;

296 S Drummond (Sco) 75 71 77 73; J Fly (USA) 72 76 76 72;

299 E Cole (USA) 71 78 81 69;

302 C Dammert (am) (Ger) 70 76 88 68;

Withdrew: R McGowan  (Eng) 77 71 81 WD; A Kaleka  (Fra) 79 73 W/D 0; I Garrido (Esp) 72 75 W/D 0; J Bäckström (Swe) 76 84 W/D 

Retired: D Popovic (Aus) 73 RT  0 0;

 

 

EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS