The Final Stage of DP World Tour Qualifying School is a unique and challenging week with a field that features multiple DP World Tour winners trying to regain their cards, and fresh faces vying to make it to the next stage of elite professional golf for the very first time.
It's a marathon six-day contest where 156 players are trying to finish inside the top 25 and ties to earn their cards for the following season, making for a week that requires players to be patient as they try to limit mistakes and pace themselves.
The first task is about making the cut after four rounds and finishing inside the top 70 following two rounds at the Lakes Course and two at the Hills Course at INFINITUM. From there, it's about pushing for one of the 25 spots.
The range and practice green are filled with an abundance of talent, and you only need to look at the tee times for the first two days to realise just how different each player's story is.
Jeunghun Wang, who finished 119th on the Race to Dubai in his first full season back on Tour following military service, is playing his first couple of rounds with multiple DP World Tour winner Gregory Havret, who has played just five events across the DP World Tour and Challenge Tour this season. The final person in their group? Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen, a 24-year-old Danish player who impressed during his first start on the DP World Tour stage with a top ten at the BMW International a month after graduating from college.
It's one of several examples that show that for as many players like Wang that are here this week hoping to regain status back, there are just as many - if not more - of players trying to break through the Final Stage of Qualifying School for the first time.
The list of up and coming players to watch out for this week are endless, but here are three to keep your eye on.
Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen
After representing his country in the amateur game, the Dane helped the International team win the 2022 Arnold Palmer Cup while studying in the United States and joins a long line of 'Pokes' to make their way in the professional game - like Rickie Fowler and Wyndham Clark. He only finished his collegiate career at Oklahoma State in May but looked confident in the paid ranks on his DP World Tour debut, finishing T7 at the BMW International Open.
By the end of the season he'd finished 64th in the Road to Mallorca Rankings thanks to nine starts that included three top tens, but needed to come through Second Stage of Qualifying School at Las Pinaillas to make it into this week's field.
Benjamin Follet-Smith
Formerly Zimbabwe's Number One amateur golfer, Follett-Smith turned professional in 2018 and until this year had played the majority of his career to date on the Sunshine Tour.
Playing on a national invite, Benjamin Follett-Smith broke through on the Challenge Tour with victory in the opening tournament on the 2023 Road to Mallorca to earn status on the Challenge Tour. Since his win at the Bain’s Whiskey Cape Town Open, he remained in the top 20 of the Rankings until the Challenge Tour Grand Final, but slipped down to 23rd after the week, narrowly missing promotion and instead coming to Final Stage.
Martin Couvra
The Frenchman had somewhat of a fairytale start to the year. After he became the first European to win all three of South Africa's major amateur titles at the beginning of the season, he broke through to become just the seventh amateur in history to claim victory on the Challenge Tour.
His win, which came at the Challenge de Espana, secured Challenge Tour playing privileges for the rest of the season before making it to the Challenge Tour Grand Final. He ended his year 46th on the Road to Mallorca Rankings, earning him a spot in this week's field.
