In thrilling final rounds at DP World Tour Q-School Stage Two, four of the 10 Irish who remained on the final day earned their way into Final Qualifying in a fortnight’s time.
Max Kennedy, Cormac Sharvin, Mark Power and John Ross Galbraith all made it safely through, but there was no shortage of drama as it went right to the wire for one of the quartet.
After a successful maiden season as a pro on the HotelPlanner Tour, but narrowly missing out on a place in the Grand Final this week in Mallorca, Kennedy shrugged off any disappointment admirably and cruised through the four rounds, going 66, 67, 66, 67 to secure a share of third place at -18 in the Qualifier at Isla Canela Links in Huelva.
Along with his ticket to Final Stage, he picks up almost €1,000 in prizemoney to help cover the cost of Q-School entry.
Playing alongside Kennedy, Sharvin put back-to-back rounds of 68 on days one and two to move into position, but a level-par 71 in round three left him needing a low closing round to be guaranteed of advancing. And he duly delivered, firing seven birdies in a bogey-free round to shoot up the leaderboard and finish tied for 13th at -13 and two shots clear of the group who found themselves in a 10-for-6 playoff for the remaining spots.
At Desert Springs in Almería, John Ross Galbraith and Mark Power were on course to advance after three rounds, and Power saved his best round for last, carding a five-under 67 to finish tied for eighth, but Galbraith, who stormed into the top 10 with a 66 in round three, found the going tougher in the final round.
A bogey on the last dropped him back to level-par for the day and, tied for 24th, found himself in a two-for-one playoff but eventually saw off Argentina’s Julian Etulaine to secure his place at Final Stage.
Dermot McElroy and Hugh Foley both finished well down the field at Desert Springs, as did David Carey and Tom Dowdall at Fontanals, but at Golf Las Pinaillas, Paul McBride, who started the day in 31st, gave himself a fighting chance of squeezing his way into the top 24 with three birdies over the first nine holes.
His hopes ended in a hearbreaking two-hole stretch as he tripled the fourth – his 13th – and then bogeyed the fifth. He went down swinging, making birdies on each of the final two holes, but ultimately came up two shots shy with Robert Moran one further adrift after a closing 66.
The four qualifiers will not turn their attention to Infinitum in Costa Dorada where the Final Stage will be held in a fortnight’s time.
Desert Springs Leaderboard
Isla Canela Leaderboard
Fontanals Leaderboard
Las Pinaillas Leaderboard
