Hopefuls of playing in the top tier of the European men’s circuit next season will gather in Spain this week to take part in the six-round DP World Tour’s Qualifying School Stage.
Set over the Lakes and the Hills courses at Infinitum, a resort on the Costa Dorada formerly known as Lumine, the main field of 156 players will fight for just 20 cards on next season’s DP World Tour – five fewer than last year’s Q School.
The field will play four alternating rounds – two each on the Hills and Lakes courses – before being cut, after which the remaining players will compete in the final two rounds on the Lakes course.
The field is full of familiar names and past DP World Tour winners whose form hasn’t quite reached their peak, including four former Ryder Cup winners in Edoardo Molinari, Stephen Gallacher, Oliver Wilson, and Chris Wood.
Multiple DP World Tour winner Eddie Pepperell will also be hoping to earn one of the prized cards on offer as he forfeited his full playing rights after finishing just outside the top 114 in this season’s Race to Dubai standings.
The 33-year-old from Oxfordshire will be fighting for his card alongside a host of past DPWT winners, including Rafa Cabrera Bello, Marc Warren, James Morrison, Matthew Southgate, Kalle Samooja, David Law, Adri Arnaus, Renato Paratore, George. Coetzee, Lee Slattery and Tom Lewis.
At the other end of the experience scale will be three uneducated players in the field – Denmark’s Jacob Skov Olesen, winner of this year’s Amateur Championship; Ireland’s Max Kennedy, who finished tied for 14th in the second division qualifier in Spain last week; and 20-year-old Tiger Christensen from Germany, who also came out of the second qualifying round.
The tournament will mark the first time that the newly developed Infinitum Lakes course has welcomed the stars for competitive play following an €800,000 refurbishment earlier this year.
The Greg Norman designed facility has been upgraded with new pristine Zoysia grass and a bunker renovation project that promises to bring new challenges to players.
Lakes is the longer of the two tracks, with a par-71 that measures over 7,00 yards. The Hills is a par-72 but comes up a little short at 6,944 yards.
Joaquín Mora Bertrán, Deputy General Manager at INFINITUM, said: “It is a pleasure to welcome the DP World Tour and to host the Qualifying School Final Stage here for the sixth year in a row and we are excited to have another exciting week of golf. it continues.
“While our courses are designed to be accessible to beginners and high achievers alike, make no mistake – under competitive conditions, they are a huge challenge even for the most experienced practitioners. Players will have to do their best to earn a DP World Tour card. We are waiting to see who will face the challenge.”
For the latest scores from the DP World Tour Qualifying School Stage Final, which starts on November 8, click here.
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