Horsfield Leads the Way as 33 Players Earn European Tour Cards

Sam Horsfield won the final stage of Qualifying School, beating the field by eight shots after six gruelling rounds  at Lumine Golf Club as 33 players earned precious European Tour cards. The Englishman finished in style, shooting an eight-under-par 63, the best round of his career, to reach 27 under par overall.

On another day of good scoring in Tarragona, the top 25 and ties earned European Tour cards. The mark fell at 13 under par, though it was a nervous wait for the nine players tied on that score – had one more player reached 14 under they would all have missed out.

Past European Tour winners Kristoffer Broberg, Gonzalo Fernandez-Castaño and Anders Hansen were among the qualifiers while youngsters Jazz Janewattananond, Connor Syme and Jonathan Thomson will embark on rookie years in the Race to Dubai.

James Heath was the first player to confirm his qualification. The Englishman was out in the first group of the day and birdied the ninth hole – his last – to reach 14 under par and prolong his professional career after a tough few years of questioning his future.

The 33 players who have earned a European Tour card after today ????#ETQSchool pic.twitter.com/tRX8q4pmdD

— European Tour Q-School (@ETQSchool) November 16, 2017

Horsfield was thrilled. He said: “All these experiences add up. Hopefully I will have the opportunity to one day win on the European Tour or the PGA Tour and I can look back on days like today where I came out here and shot 63 in the final round, while having a lead, which is something that you can’t teach and you have to learn by putting yourself in these positions.

“So next time when I have a lead in another tournament I can hopefully reflect on this memory. I am not sure I can say I envisaged being here when I first started this journey at First Stage but I feel as though my game has been good for a while and it really came together this week.

“I only missed one green in regulation today and I also managed to hole a lot of putts – which proved to be the difference.”

Super excited to get my 2018 @EuropeanTour card this week thru q-school. Can’t wait for 2018????. Thanks for all the messages and support!! pic.twitter.com/cx9FtZOdSV

— sam horsfield (@hr59sam) November 16, 2017

For Fernandez-Castano, the feelings were of relief. “It’s been a long week and I’m a little tired but it’s been an interesting day. I’ve been super relaxed all week long but today I could feel that tiredness but I managed to hang in there and I guess experience was a key factor.

“Having Alvaro [Quiros], my friend, on the bag helped a lot and we did it, so it’s been an amazing week. Believe it or not, I was a little nervous today and it’s good to have those butterflies again because it’s been a long time.

“It’s different to when you’re playing to win a tournament but it was a good thing – I’ve always enjoyed playing under pressure and today was one of those days. My only goal now is to win another European Tour event so that I can be one ahead of Alvaro!”

Heath has been through plenty of highs and lows. He summed it up thus: “This bloody game, eh! It’s just an emotional rollercoaster. I genuinely wasn’t going to come this week, I entered last minute and gave it one last push and now I’ve got my European Tour card!

“I don’t know if I’m disappointed now that I can’t give up! I’m half-joking, there’s 30 or 40% of me that thinks that, but it’s just this game, and this week – I’m taking a good bit of time off now because I’ve got another baby coming so I need to go and be a dad and a partner. Wow I felt pressure on the last putt! In my head I was going ‘just make contact, just make contact!’ because I couldn’t feel my hands. To birdie the last to get in was phenomenal but I just got it done so now it’s time to celebrate, take some time off and just enjoy this.”

The best of the action from the final day of @ETQSchool. pic.twitter.com/cSGyzT0cnn

— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) November 16, 2017

Thomson struggled to believe he had gained his card. “It’s not really hit home yet. It’s so emotional, it’s been such a long journey for us to get to this point and it’s hard to let it all sink in.

“My dad’s been here with me through it all. It’s been some tough times, but here we are and it’s great. We had a hug and a tear on 18 and I’m looking forward to getting a beer now.

“I’ve come through all three stages – I got in on the mark in First Stage and then a play-off in Second Stage and now I’m a European Tour member, so it’s been a hell of a journey.”

Some cannot wait to get out there with the big boys. He said: “It’s an amazing day and I’m absolutely delighted to earn full status on the European Tour. It’s been a brilliant week, the last few rounds have been awesome so I’m delighted with it.

“When you think about the fact I was playing Walker Cup two months ago, that is just mental! It’s been an amazing few weeks so I’m absolutely delighted to have the opportunity now to test myself against the best players in the world.”

Broberg has suffered more than his fair share of injuries and hopes to have turned the corner. “I felt pretty good out there, but a lot of the time when I was hitting the ball I wasn’t that great so I need to spend a few months off, working with a doctor on my left knee and my hip.

“I wasn’t hitting the ball that well this week but my short game was really good so I am really happy to have kept my card.

“If I can get can healthy I feel that I can return to the top of the game. There is a lot of good stuff in my game but I am still in a fair bit of pain so it is time to fix it now.”