Eight Irish survive PQ1

The dream is still alive for eight of the 37 Irishmen who entered Stage One of the European Tour Qualifying School.

Niall Kearney had to sweat in BerlinAll 12 entrants failed at Section A last week but eight of the 25 starters in Section B survived and will tee it up at one of four Stage Two venues in Spain in November.

St Margarets' John Kelly was the top man when he finished tied third on 12 under at The Oxfordshire after a closing 69. It was his fourth successive sub-par round at a venue where 28 qualified on four under par 284 or better.

They included Michael Collins (72) who was 13th on seven under and former tour player David Higgins of Waterville, who carded a gutsy 70 to make it with two shots to spare on 282.

Ulsterman Chris Devlin, a shock qualifier for last year's US Open at Torrey Pines, scraped in on the four under par cut off thanks to a superb 68 but Belfast’s Damian Mooney missed out by a single shot after a 71.

Peter O'Keeffe (71) and amateur Cian Curley (69) came up two shots short on two-under 286.

Walker Cup star Niall Kearney breathed a sigh of relief when he squeaked through by the skin of his teeth in Berlin.

The Royal Dublin amateur closed with a 74 at Fleesensee but snatched the last of 31 spots on three under par as Mallow’s Mervyn Owens shot 71 to finish a comfortable 13th on five under.

Limerick’s Cian McNamara and Ulsterman Eddie Barr were inside the top 26 and ties at Golf de Moliets in France but Paul O’Hanlon came up four shots short despite a final round 70.

A total of 115 of the 715 competitors who teed up at The European Tour Qualifying School First Qualifying Stage have progressed to Stage Two.

In Germany, a brilliant seven under par 65 from Ally Mellor saw the Englishman charge through the field to win on 14 under 274, with Norwegian Marius Thorp taking second spot. With the top 26 (plus ties) players from Fleesensee winning places at Stage Two, the qualifying mark came at three under par with 31 players making it through.

There was a mini Spanish invasion  at the Golf de Moliets as the top three spots on the leaderboard going to Carlos Balmaseda, who carded a final round 66 to post a winning score of 266 win by five from compatriot Raul Quiros and six from Borja Etchart. There were 26 players who qualified at Moilets with the cut-off point falling at five under par.

The Swiss Martin Romminger took the honours at Circolo Golf Bogogno in Italy with a 14 under par winning aggregate giving him a two stroke cushion over second placed Sebastian L Saavedra of Argentina. There were 30 qualifiers on two under par or better in Italy.

Of the 28 qualifiers at the Oxfordshire making it through to Stage Two on scores of four under par or better, American Ryan Blaum led the way with 17 under par 271 aggregate, three strokes clear of Englishman Graeme Clark.

The Oxfordshire GC, Thame, England - 28 qualified on 284 or better

Qualifiers

271 R Blaum (USA) 69 63 68 71,

274 G Clark (Eng) 68 67 69 70,

276 A Johnston (Eng) 73 69 68 66, John Kelly (Irl) 70 68 69 69, J Powell (Eng) 69 68 67 72,

277 J Heath (Eng) 72 67 71 67,

278 N McCarthy (Eng) 70 69 72 67,

279 P Doherty (Sco) 72 68 71 68, J Senior (am) (Eng) 74 71 66 68,

280 J Harris (Eng) 71 69 70 70, W Booth (Sco) 74 71 67 68, L Westerberg (Swe) 70 72 70 68, O Bekker (RSA) 69 68 69 74, M Haines (am) (Eng) 72 71 71 66,

281 J Moore (USA) 68 73 69 71, Michael Collins (Irl) 70 69 70 72,

282 S Whiffin (Eng) 74 71 66 71, A Frayne (Eng) 71 69 72 70, D Whitnell (Eng) 75 66 69 72, N Harris (Eng) 75 69 71 67, David Higgins (Irl) 68 71 73 70, S Hodgson (am) (Eng) 73 70 70 69,

283 P Richardson (Eng) 73 68 68 74, R Baca (USA) 72 67 74 70, P Jones (Eng) 68 73 73 69, C Paisley (am) (Eng) 70 69 73 71,

284 K McNicoll (Sco) 76 71 72 65, Chris Devlin (Nir) 73 70 73 68.

Non-qualifiers

285 J Bloomfield (Jam) 79 68 66 72, G Dear (Sco) 67 73 75 70, J Hepworth (Eng) 72 73 70 70, Damian Mooney (Nir) 73 70 71 71, B Britton (am) (Eng) 73 69 71 72, D Blair (am) (RSA) 74 73 71 67,

286 Peter O'Keeffe (Irl) 72 69 74 71, M Curtis (Zim) 74 66 72 74, Cian Curley (am) (Irl) 74 69 74 69,

287 G Lornie (Sco) 70 73 73 71, G Woolgar (Eng) 71 69 70 77, S Parry (Eng) 74 69 71 73,

288 L Saltman (Sco) 74 71 73 70,

289 J Cunliffe (RSA) 72 70 76 71, M Armitage (Eng) 72 72 74 71, M Cryer (Eng) 73 70 73 73, S Lilly (Eng) 76 70 72 71, A Carson (am) (Eng) 71 76 70 72,

290 R Wragg (Eng) 74 74 71 71, J Howarth (Eng) 76 71 73 70, E Thomson (Sco) 80 70 67 73, J Gidney (Eng) 73 74 71 72, Tim Rice (Irl) 72 70 75 73, S Uzzell (am) (Eng) 75 74 70 71,

291 P James (Eng) 72 74 67 78, A Hamilton (USA) 77 72 70 72, B Taylor (Eng) 70 74 72 75,

292 S Howarth (Eng) 71 73 73 75, J Conteh (Eng) 75 67 75 75, S Cowle (Eng) 74 73 72 73, J Mason (Eng) 71 71 74 76, Z Saltman (Sco) 75 73 71 73,

293 B Taylor (Eng) 70 76 69 78,

294 J Freeman (Eng) 70 68 80 76, A Wootton (am) (Eng) 74 73 72 75,

295 K Crossland (Eng) 74 70 74 77,

296 D Stein (Aus) 75 75 70 76,

** C Elliot (Eng) 74 73 68 DQ

Golf de Moliets, France - 26 qualified at five under 283 or better

Qualifiers

266 C Balmaseda (Esp) 69 63 68 66,

271 R Quiros (Esp) 65 67 68 71,

272 B Etchart (Esp) 66 68 69 69,

274 E De La Riva (Esp) 68 67 71 68, T Fournier (Fra) 67 69 70 68,

276 P Bocian (Swe) 67 70 70 69, T Leon (USA) 66 70 75 65, J Legarrea (Esp) 66 69 73 68,

277 O David (Fra) 64 71 74 68,

278 C Garcia (Esp) 68 70 71 69,

279 P Oriol (Esp) 67 69 72 71,

280 M Galdos (Esp) 66 69 68 77, Cian McNamara (Irl) 71 68 71 70, J Van Hauwe (Fra) 71 67 70 72,

281 G Watremez (Bel) 68 73 70 70, A Belt (Eng) 69 69 73 70, Eddie Barr (Irl) 68 70 70 73,

282 T Stewart (Aus) 73 71 69 69, B Mannix (Eng) 72 67 72 71, K Le Sager (Fra) 70 73 72 67, B Fowles (am) (Eng) 74 66 70 72,

283 L Portela (Esp) 67 72 76 68, D Quiros (Esp) 71 69 68 75, E Dubois (Fra) 72 68 70 73, N Walker (Eng) 72 71 72 68, J Mommo (Fin) 73 73 65 72,

Non-qualifiers

284 M Mills (Eng) 71 71 72 70, M Bosse (Ger) 71 72 74 67, S Arnold (Aus) 73 73 71 67, G Canizares (Esp) 72 72 69 71, J Ocejo (Esp) 68 71 73 72, P Hendriksen (Eng) 69 72 74 69, M Saiz (Esp) 71 73 70 70, M Cantero (Esp) 72 70 72 70, F Hammarberg (Swe) 73 72 70 69, T Reid (Eng) 66 75 73 70,

286 F Lagarto (Esp) 77 69 69 71, X Guzman (Esp) 73 72 69 72, B Lecuona (Fra) 67 71 75 73, D Perrier (Fra) 76 69 69 72,

287 V Blazquez (Esp) 70 74 70 73, A Matallana (Esp) 75 73 70 69, Paul O'Hanlon (Irl) 71 72 72 72, N Soto (Eng) 74 69 74 70,

288 I Del Castillo (Esp) 71 72 74 71, J Lorca (Esp) 68 68 79 73, G Gresse (Bel) 67 72 73 76, B Welch (Eng) 74 69 74 71, P Menjibar (Esp) 68 73 72 75,

289 J Rosillo (Esp) 71 72 70 76, J Daudignon (Fra) 71 75 69 74, C Bell (Eng) 74 73 69 73, J Belliard (Fra) 75 71 70 73, J Guillet (Fra) 71 69 74 75, D Antonelli (am) (Fra) 71 71 76 71,

290 S Mason (Eng) 71 77 70 72, C Aguilar (Esp) 69 71 73 77, M Raven (am) (Eng) 72 72 73 73,

291 R Thuillier (Fra) 75 72 71 73, F Keenan (Eng) 74 72 74 71,

292 S Seijo (Esp) 74 75 69 74, C Perez Barberan (Esp) 72 73 74 73, E Dominguez (Arg) 74 74 70 74, B Hemstock (am) (Eng) 75 73 71 73,

294 S Haywood (Eng) 76 73 70 75, F Vallet (Fra) 75 71 74 74, D Alonso (Esp) 69 71 75 79,

298 R Schilperoord (Ned) 76 73 71 78, J Palmer (Eng) 75 71 74 78,

** N Singer (am) (Fra) 71 79 70 WD,

Circolo Golf Bogogno, Italy - 30 qualified on two under par 286 or better

Qualifiers

274 M Rominger (Sui) 69 65 68 72,

276 S Saavedra (Arg) 69 70 67 70,

277 G Rosier (Fra) 70 70 69 68,

278 R Swane (Ned) 72 71 70 65, S Piaget (Mon) 70 73 66 69, N Sulzer (Sui) 71 72 67 68, C Ford (Eng) 70 73 70 65,

279 M Soffietti (Ita) 71 73 68 67, A Maestroni (Ita) 70 71 69 69, N Bertasio (am) (Ita) 70 70 72 67, J Kim (am) (Ita) 66 72 71 70,

280 N Bollini (USA) 69 70 72 69, J Maurer (Aut) 72 69 69 70,

281 J Fahrbring (Swe) 72 73 68 68, T Lambert (Aus) 69 73 72 67,

282 M Persson (Swe) 70 73 73 66,

283 K Sullivan (Wal) 74 68 68 73, G Slabe (Slo) 74 67 70 72, J Dusson (Fra) 72 70 66 75, H Bacher (Aut) 69 68 72 74,

284 T Weiss (Sui) 68 72 71 73, A Zanini (Ita) 70 75 70 69,

285 P Bech (Esp) 72 73 73 67, A Bihan (Fra) 75 73 68 69, D Ulrich (Sui) 72 73 72 68, A Christie (am) (Eng) 74 73 68 70,

286 J Camargo (Esp) 70 76 70 70, A Bruschi (Ita) 72 72 71 71, P Nilbrink (Nor) 71 73 68 74, N Ravano (am) (Ita) 73 67 74 72,

Non-qualifiers

287 M Delpodio (Ita) 73 71 70 73, C Blaesi (Sui) 75 66 73 73, R Treis (Ger) 80 70 68 69, S Wiedergruen (Ger) 72 73 71 71, C Prader (Aut) 72 75 73 67, K Samooja (am) (Fin) 73 75 70 69,

288 F Svanberg (Sui) 68 76 75 69, J Parron (Esp) 71 77 70 70, J Foret (Fra) 71 72 74 71, T Sluiter (am) (Ned) 72 75 69 72,

289 I Sanchez-Palencia (Esp) 73 73 73 70, A Napoleoni (Ita) 75 71 70 73, F Ojeda Racioppi (Arg) 70 71 72 76,

290 D Suazo (Esp) 71 72 70 77, E Lattanzi (Ita) 79 71 69 71, S Russi (Chi) 73 71 73 73, C Trunzer (Ger) 76 73 72 69, F Pasqualucci (Ita) 69 71 77 73, P Relecom (Bel) 73 72 75 70, M Choi (Aus) 75 72 74 69, F Figueroa (Esa) 75 73 70 72, J Theunis (Bel) 76 74 69 71, A Huber (USA) 75 72 72 71, Ruaidhri McGee (am) (Irl) 74 70 71 75,

291 T Laitto (Fin) 73 71 73 74, M Novy (Cze) 75 73 69 74, J San Sebastian (Esp) 73 74 73 71,

292 A Signor (Ita) 76 69 76 71, J Garcia Pinto (Esp) 71 76 70 75, A Chopard (Sui) 74 76 72 70, P Lepitschnik (Aut) 73 69 75 75,

293 S Reale (Ita) 74 72 74 73, G Andersson (Swe) 74 70 76 73,

294 P Terreni (Ita) 70 78 68 78, A Andersson (Swe) 74 73 75 72,

295 A Fabietti (Bra) 72 75 74 74,

296 J Adarraga Gomez (Esp) 75 71 75 75,

297 X Puig (am) (Esp) 72 76 73 76,

** C Pfau (Aut) 74 71 73 DISQ,

Fleesensee G&CC, Germany - 31 qualified on three under 285 or better

Qualifiers

274 A Mellor (Eng) 69 69 71 65,

276 M Thorp (Nor) 64 69 74 69,

277 J Gill (Nzl) 68 66 73 70,

278 M Kramer (Ger) 70 70 68 70, T Edlund (Swe) 67 70 70 71,

280 Z Scotland (Eng) 72 71 67 70, N Glans (Swe) 71 68 75 66, R Saxton (Ned) 72 69 71 68, A Rosado (Por) 73 70 68 69, J Hansen (am) (Den) 69 69 70 72,

281 R Sjöberg (Swe) 72 70 69 70,

282 J Sköld (Swe) 74 68 69 71,

283 Mervyn Owens (Irl) 67 72 73 71, S Forsstrom (Swe) 73 71 72 67, M Palm (Swe) 72 69 71 71, D Wardrop (Eng) 70 72 71 70, A Fischer (Ger) 72 70 69 72,

284 P Ankersoe (Den) 71 72 74 67, M Glauert (Ger) 71 71 73 69, F Becker (Ger) 76 71 72 65, J Roth (Den) 69 71 75 69, S Gross Jr (Ger) 68 72 74 70, M Johansson (am) (Swe) 72 71 69 72,

285 J Makitalo (Fin) 72 69 76 68, R Harris (Eng) 74 71 66 74, L Richard (Bel) 71 72 69 73, T Cruz (Por) 71 71 75 68, J Ruth (Eng) 73 72 70 70, L Corfield (Eng) 70 74 71 70, T Sundström (Fin) 67 76 74 68, Niall Kearney (am) (Irl) 71 72 68 74.

Non-qualifiers

286 J Drongstrup (Den) 71 72 71 72, T Tuovinen (Fin) 69 73 72 72, D Marmion (Eng) 71 74 73 68, J Lupprian (Ger) 71 70 74 71, T Schuster (Ger) 67 75 73 71, A Szappanos (am) (Ger) 70 71 74 71,

287 R Nielsen (Den) 72 75 70 70, D Klein (am) (Ger) 76 72 70 69,

288 P Purhonen (Fin) 74 72 75 67, R Golding (Eng) 67 76 73 72, B Guiney (Sco) 72 74 70 72, N Bruzelius (Swe) 74 71 70 73,

289 P Erofejeff (Fin) 73 73 72 71, R Schovanek (Cze) 73 73 73 70, D Wuensche (Ger) 72 70 76 71, J Martikainen (Fin) 70 74 71 74,

290 R Steele (Eng) 72 73 72 73, B Oliver (Aus) 72 75 70 73, K Jorgensen (Den) 71 74 74 71, B Miarka (Ger) 75 74 69 72, G Birch Jr (Ger) 71 71 76 72,

291 R Svensson (Swe) 71 72 77 71, B Mann (Ind) 70 71 75 75, F Bredin (Swe) 70 72 76 73, R Askstrand (Swe) 69 73 74 75, J Hall (Eng) 75 73 72 71, P Baunsoe (am) (Den) 76 75 68 72,

292 M Haremza (Ger) 72 74 71 75, F Ruprecht (Aut) 74 72 76 70, A John (am) (Ger) 74 76 68 74,

293 K Mortensen (Den) 75 71 75 72,

294 B Parker (Eng) 73 71 78 72, P Jacobsen (Den) 75 75 70 74, S Gundorph (Den) 74 69 74 77,

295 Mark Campbell (Irl) 74 71 75 75,

296 S Stefansson (Isl) 72 77 73 74,

299 J Fransson (Swe) 79 70 73 77, H Satama (am) (Fin) 72 75 75 77