No joy for Kearney in Asia

American Chan Kim won the Asian Tour Qualifying School final stage with a closing 65. Niall Kearney missed out, finishing tied 62nd on one under.Royal Dublin’s Niall Kearney caressed his Asian Tour card only to kiss it goodbye with two late bogeys at the Q-School final stage in Thailand.

The 24-year old went into the final round at Springfield Royal Country Club in Hua Hin tied for 75th and three shots outside the top 40 and ties who would earn full playing privileges for the 2013 season. Hole-by-hole scoreboard

But it turned out to be a frustrating day for the 2009 Walker Cup player who carded a level par 71 to finish tied for 62nd on one under par as 41 players earned their cards on four under or better.

Kearney would have needed a three under 68 to attain his goal but after opening with a run of eleven successive pars, he having moved to within a shot of his target with birdies at the 12th and 14th, he bogeyed the par-four 15th and 16th holes and could only par the last two.

American Chan Kim took the top card when he closed with a six under 65 to win the event by a stroke from overnight leader Richard Lee of Canada (74) on 15 under par.

England’s Miles Tunnicliff (71) and Steve Lewton (73) were tied sixth on eight under as Sweden Peter Gustafson and Spain’s Carlos Pigem finished tied 11th. In total, 11 Europeans won cards.

South Africa’s Anton Haig took the final card, finishing in an 11-man logjam for 31st place on four under despite bogeying the par-five last for a four over 75.

China’s Hu Mu, who was eighth overnight, shot a 78 to miss out by two shots.