John Daniel Guiney produced an exceptional finish to four days of grueling play at Frilford Heath to move into the second stage of qualification for a European Tour card.
The Ballybunion man appeared to be in a hopeless position after rounds of 73 and 72 earlier in the week at the start of the first stage, but he roared into top gear to return 67 on Thursday and 69 yesterday for an aggregate of 281 seven-under-par.
In the end he was five strokes inside the cut-off point and can now look forward to heading to Spain next month for the second stage.
Liam Bond again found his name at the top of the leaderboard on the fourth and final day. The Welshman closed with a round of 71 to finish top of the pile on 12 under par alongside the overnight leader Laurie Canter (75) and his fellow Englishman Jack Senior, who signed off with a 70.
Perhaps the most eye-catching display of the day was that of English amateur Nathan Kimsey, who finished fourth on 11 under par after firing a flawless round of 65 in Oxfordshire.
Amateur Brian Casey, Shane Franklin, Mike Kelly and Thomas Conran were already out of contention having failed to make the cut after day three..
In France as Muskerry's Niall Turner flopped badly when it mattered most, slumping to a 77 for a 286 total, two strokes outside the cut-off point and 14 behind winner Wes Homan Jnr of the United States.
Homan Jnr coasted to victory in The European Tour’s Qualifying School First Stage Section D at Golf d’Hardelot, carding a closing round of 66 to finish five shots clear of the field on 12 under par.
The American led home a total of 27 qualifiers from the northern France venue thanks to a stunning back nine of 30 which included five unanswered birdies.
Homan Jnr was followed home by South African Louis De Jager and England’s Ben Evans, who carded respective rounds of 70 and 71 to finish tied second on seven under par.
The group of players finishing one shot back in a tie for fourth included Challenge Tour champion Floris De Vries of The Netherlands (70) and overnight leader Haydn Porteous of South African, who laboured to a round of 73 but still comfortably progressed to the Second Stage.
Other successful qualifiers include former European Tour stalwarts François Delamontagne of France and Welshman Garry Houston, who finished tied tenth and joint 17th respectively, whilst perhaps the performance of the day belonged to Ricki Neil-Jones, who squeezed in under the level par qualifying mark courtesy of a superb round of 66.
Limerick's Tim Rice was well down the field in joint 56th place after a 76 gave him a total of six -over-par 290.
Richard Kilptarick failed to make the round three cut.
A total of 29 qualifiers progressed to the Second Stage including South African Brandon Stone, who made a stunning start to his professional career with a top ten finish at the BMW International Open in June in what was his first appearance since leaving the amateur ranks.
