The European Tour Qualifying School Finals at San Roque Club, San Roque, Cadiz, Spain, this week brings together a diverse group of golfers – from a former Ryder Cup winner to young Amateurs – all of whom are set to go through one of the toughest tests in golf at the six round Finals as they attempt to win one of the 35 available cards for The 2005 European Tour International Schedule.
The field of 168 is made up of 78 exempt players, who are joined by the 90 who qualified from the three Stage Two venues in Spain last week – Club de Golf Oliva Nova, Oliva, Valencia (29 qualifiers), El Bosque Golf and Country Club, Chiva, Valencia, (31), and Emporda Golf Club, Girona (30).
The Qualifying School Finals create a unique tension among players, many of whom feel they are playing for their very livelihoods. Such an environment provides as serious a test of strength, skill and mental toughness as you will find in golf, no matter how much experience or ability you possess.
Ireland’s Philip Walton may have holed the winning putt at The Ryder Cup in 1995, but he will be experiencing many of the same emotions as the three amateur players who have made it through to the Finals, Lars Petter Brovol of Norway, Sweden’s Oskar Henningsson or England’s Sam Osborne.
Englishman Roger Chapman’s observation that playing at The European Tour Qualifying School Finals is “like 108 first holes of the Open Championship” goes some way to describing the six round Finals. Chapman made his comments after winning his card at the 1999 Qualifying School Finals having played 18 consecutive seasons on Tour.
Chapman, who won the 2000 Brazil Rio de Janeiro 500 years Open, will be trying to repeat his success of 1999 this week at San Roque Club. The 45 year old will be joined by 25 other former European Tour Champions in the starting field, as well as the winners of the last three Qualifying School Finals – the Swedish duo of Johan Skold (2001 winner) and Per Nyman (2002), as well as England’s Richard McEvoy (2003).
Every competitor will play two rounds each over San Roque’s Old and New Courses, after which the field will be cut to 75 players and ties for the final two rounds.
After six rounds the leading 35 players and ties will be ranked according to scores in Category 11 for The 2005 European Tour. Players making the cut beyond 35th place will be ranked in Category 14 on The European Tour and in Category Eight on the Challenge Tour.
The only guarantee the Qualifying School Finals can provide is that there will be high drama followed by equal measures of joy and heartache when the 108 holes have been completed and the top 35 players have been decided
