Q-School joy for Murphy and Thornton

Fairytale story for Simon ThorntonGary Murphy and adopted Irishman Simon Thornton survived a nerve racking final day to earn their tour cards at the European Tour Qualifying School finals at PGA Golf de Catalunya.

Murphy, 37, fired a brilliant four under par 68 to finish a shot inside the top 30 and ties on 11 under par and secure the 17th of 31 cards after six rounds.

But it was even tighter for former Royal County Down assistant Thornton, 32, who bogeyed the 18th at the impressive Stadium Course for a 71 but achieved his dream by finishing inside the magical top 30 and ties on the 10-under par limit.

While Niall Kearney was not too despondent after missing out by three shots after a 70, Murphy and Thornton were floating on air after 108-hole energy sapping holes at the stunning Catalan track near Girona.

Murphy was a brilliant ten under for his last 34 holes and after changing to the cack-handed putting style this week, he plans to stick with it when he begins the 2010 season at the Alfred Dunhill Championship in South Africa next week.

Murphy said: “It’s a relief to get through because it’s a horrible week but I was pretty pleased to shoot three under down the stretch when things were getting tight. 

“I changed to putting cross handed for the first time this week and if I had putted like that for the season I would have been comfortably in Dubai. 

"Padraig changed to the cack-handed style when he went to Q-School and hasn't done too badly.

Murphy has found a putting method that works“Putting has been my weakness but if I can break 29 putts a round I will be okay in future. I hit the same amount of greens as Lee Westwood this year I am in tour school and he has money coming out of his ears.

"I got a bit of bad luck yesterday and I haven’t really had a lot of breaks this year and I actually got a couple of breaks today and got away with a couple of iffy shots."

Huddersfield born Thornton, 32, clinched the 29th card to complete a fairy tale journey from humble assistant at Royal County Down to the European Tour in the space of just five years.

Playing off a seven handicap just 12 years ago, he said: "It feels surreal. It has been a dream of mine for the past six years. When I went over to Newcastle to work in the shop at Royal County Down, I could barely hit it out of my shadow.  Now I am on the tour and it fees great. 

"People ask me about being Irish but I feel Irish. It is home now and always will be. My wife is expecting a baby in April so it is going to be a great year."

England’s Simon Khan took the top card by a shot from Walker Cup star Sam Hutsby on 20 under par with Royal Dublin rookie Kearney looking forward to a season on the Challenge Tour after finishing 49th on seven under par.

Needing to play his last four holes in two under, the Dubliner’s hopes were dashed by three-putt bogey at the par-five seventh (his 16th).

Niall Kearney is looking forward to the Challenge TourBut he still earned a Challenge Tour card and a cheque for €700 - his first as a pro - and believes he has the game to make it.

“I am satisfied with my week and I am only 21 and I have plenty of time to get on tour,” said Kearney, whose signature is being chased by several management companies. “I am looking forward to having somewhere to play next year and it is going to be a fairly hectic schedule and  big change.” 

European Tour Qualifying School final, PGA Golf de Catalunya, Stadium course (par 72) & Tour course (par 70), Girona, Spain

Qualifiers (GB&I unless stated)
408 - S Khan 68 63 67 66 70 74
409 - S Hutsby 69 72 65 68 66 69
410 - S Gallacher 68 72 68 66 67 69
411 - M Ruiz (Par) 71 68 63 69 75 65, A Canizares (Spa) 74 67 61 65 75 69
412 - F Ohlsson (Swe) 68 70 68 69 71 66
413 - E Tage Johansen (Nor) 75 65 66 71 69 67, M Haastrup (Den) 69 71 68 68 67 70, S O'Hara 68 70 68 69 68 70, C Carranza (Arg) 65 73 68 68 67 72
414 - B Hebert (Fra) 69 71 69 71 67 67
415 - F Andersson Hed (Swe) 66 75 66 70 69 69, P Archer 68 70 67 72 69 69, C Suneson (Spa) 72 67 65 71 71 69, J Elson 68 65 66 73 71 72
417 - J Kamte (RSA) 67 73 69 70 71 67, Gary Murphy 69 67 70 74 69 68, A Coltart 71 71 69 68 70 68, S Jeppesen (Swe) 69 75 67 66 70 70, A Haig (RSA) 76 73 66 62 69 71, G Coetzee (RSA) 68 70 67 71 70 71, J Ruth 64 75 66 68 72 72, P Sjoland (Swe) 72 65 67 69 72 72, S Gross (Ger) 69 72 66 66 71 73, J Sandelin (Swe) 66 69 67 70 72 73
418 - R Kulacz (Aus) 72 70 69 70 73 64, J Baptise Gonnet (Fra) 67 74 67 70 71 69, J Guerrier (Fra) 60 75 70 72 71 70, S Thornton 67 75 69 69 67 71, S Drummond 69 69 69 70 70 71, L Gagli (Ita) 70 71 67 70 68 72

Irish non-qualifier
421 - Niall Kearney 72 68 68 69 74 70