As the wintery Spanish sun sets on a most dramatic of fourth days at the Qualifying School Final Stage being held this week at PGA Catalunya Resort in Girona, there have – as is often the case at this crucial juncture in the six day marathon to claim a much sought-after card for The European Tour – been numerous stories of both triumph but also of heartbreak.
By the close of play on Tuesday, 70 players from across the globe had secured a coveted place in the final two rounds over Catalunya’s spectacular Stadium Course, and with it a shot at the top 30 finish needed on Thursday to either become, or indeed remain, a European Tour Member.
While it was England’s Sam Hutsby - leading the final 70 at 16 under par - it was a back-and-forth tussle between three under par and four under par down at the cut-line, a battle that continued until the conclusion of the very final group on the Stadium Course and made for a nerve-wrecking wait for those already in the clubhouse.
On Tuesday morning, 148 players teed it up in northern Spain meaning 78 in the field suffered a painful exit, and no story was more agonising than that of Englishmen James Ruth and Chris Lloyd.
After both started the day at three over par and tied for 105th place, the fellow countrymen knew they would need an incredible turn of fortunes to have a chance of making the cut. Yet both set about the shorter Tour Course with great gusto and carded superb six under par rounds of 64, meaning a total score for the four days of three under par – a mark that would have seen them safely through to the event’s climax in any other year.
Teenager Lloyd, who finished 28th in the Challenge Tour Rankings this year, covered the back nine in a mere 30 blows, while 26 year old Ruth carded seven birdies on the way to his own 64.
However, their fine efforts eventually fell an excruciating one shot short thanks to Austria’s HP Bacher, who birdied two of his last three holes on the Stadium Course to move to five under par and take the cut-line to a record low of four under par.
Since the Final Stage moved to PGA Catalunya Resort in 2008, three under par would have been enough to proceed to the climactic two rounds at every other event; but despite their valiant efforts it was ultimately not enough on this occasion.
Of the other six men to narrowly drop out of the Final Stage reckoning in the last-gasp cut-change drama there were some notable names, including three-time Challenge Tour winner Philip Archer and Scotland’s Callum Macaulay, who finished 49th in the 2011 Challenge Tour Rankings. Former European Tour player John Morgan, meanwhile, sadly bogeyed three of the last six holes to miss out by three shots at one under par.
But while there were undeniably stories of distress, there were equally also tales of triumph, including Englishman Jamie Elson who began the day at one over par and in dire need of a birdie-strewn fourth round to progress.
Elson, who finished 27th in the Challenge Tour Rankings this year, made a birdie at the first hole on the Tour Course, before making another gain at the fourth hole and adding a further five coming home to sign for a best-of-the-day round of 63 which moved him to six under par.
Elson, a former Walker Cup player, said: “I needed a low one today, and that’s exactly what I got. To be honest I wasn’t really taking much notice of what the cut might be because I’ve got my category 12 card for next year already, so it’s either finish inside the top 30 or bust for me. I got off to a good start and just kept it going really. I missed a few chances but also holed some nice putts, so it was good to post a low one because I’d played poorly for the previous three days.
“I’ve been struggling with my game for a while now, but I had a good chat with my coach last night and we managed to sort a few things out, and it clicked into place today. I had no choice other than to attack from the start, and that probably helped me focus and be aggressive. You’ve got a lot of irons in your hand for your approach shots on the Tour Course, so if you can find the fairways you’ve got a good chance of hitting it close and holing some putts, especially as the greens are so good.
“The Stadium Course is the harder of the two and I haven’t played it well so far, so I’ll have to do better for the final two days if I’ve got any chance of getting my card. It’s a long week but I’ve been here before and done the business [in 2009], so I know what it takes.”
Denmark’s Mark Haastrap also posted a fine six under par round of 64 on the Tour Course, while Dutchman Taco Remkes made a five under par 65 to make respective surges up the leaderboard and into the top 70 to continue their individual quests for a European Tour card for next season.
For the Irish golf the past four days were not good news with Waterville's David Higgins faltering in the end despite a blistering start start on Saturday by the former Tour card holder carded a 65. On Tuesday his fourth round 71 disappointingly left on the cut-line in a share of 71st place and one shot off the mark.
Chris Devlin finished in 101st place after his round of 68 on Tuesday, well out of contention, with Cian McNamara and Jonathan Caldwell in a tie for 139th.
Daniel Gaunt of Australia lost his playing rights also in Catalunya having failed to make an impact in his limited starts this season.
And so, four days gone, and two to go. The race for the top 30 starts here.