McGee and Phelan in position

Ruaidhri McGee in action in round three at Las Colinas. Picture courtesy https://twitter.com/gmacespanyaRosapenna’s Ruaidhri McGee and Waterford Castle’s Kevin Phelan are inside the magic number with a round to go at the European Tour Qualifying School Second Stage in Spain.

But while Niall Kearney, Dermot McElroy, Colm Moriarty, Damian Mooney and Stephen Grant all have a realistic chance of making it to next week’s Final Stage, Gareth Shaw will have to wait until Wednesday to see if he progresses after high winds force play to be suspended at his qualifying venue in Malaga, allowing him to play just four holes.

The bad news is that the dream of making it onto the European Tour through this year’s Q-School looks over for former British Amateur champion Alan Dunbar as he shot a one over 73 at El Saler to languish nine shots outside the top 17 who qualify on 10 over par.

The race also appears over for Ballyliffin’s Brendan McCarroll whose third round 72 left him 11 shots adrift of the top 17 at El Saler in Valencia, where Ballybunion’s JD Guiney withdrew after a 75 left him on 19 over.

The Island’s David Rawluk retired with a bad back after playing nine holes of his third round in one over at Las Colinas in Alicante (he was eight over in total).

Enough was enough today after 9 holes of the third round, even though I was -1…was in so much pain I couldn’t even bend down to put the tee in the ground!” Rawluk told his Twitter followers.

“My heels are covered in blisters from trying to walk without hurting my back any further. I gave it my best, but never stood a chance with how much pain I was playing in. Obviously really disappointed to end my season like this.”

But while Rawluk was limping off, McGee motored to another impressive performance at Las Colinas, carding a bogey free, four under 67 that left him tied for fifth and four shots inside the top 17 who progress on nine under par.

The Ulsterman’s card featured three birdie twos amongst his four birdies and there was also an encouraging performance from Royal Dublin man Kearney, whose error-free 69 left him just a shot outside 17th place on three under.

Mooney is tied for 40th, four shots outside the mark on level par after making two eagles in a 70 while former professional footballer Grant still has a glimmer of hope at two over after a 70.

At El Saler in Valencia, former Walker Cup man Phelan gained ground despite shooting a two over par 74 and shares 16th place on one-over in what is sure to be a nerve-wracking battle for just 17 places.

Moriarty’s four over 76 at the same venue left him tied for 31st on four over, just three shots outside the top 17 and in need of a low final round to keep his hopes alive.

Things look just as tough for Ballymena amateur McElroy at Lumine Golf and Beach Club in Tarragona, where 48 players are in red figures.

With just 17 places up for grabs, 24 players are on six under or better with McElroy just a shot outside the qualifying mark on five under after carding five birdies and two bogeys in a 69.

Shaw played just four holes at Valle Romano in Estepona near Malaga before play was suspended due to high winds.

He made four pars, single putting each time, but at one-under par he has a lot of work to do to grab one of 18 spots on offer.

Scoring has been impressive from the leaders at all four venues with England’s James Heath taking seven stroke lead into the final round at Las Colinas following a seven under par 64.

At El Saler, Spaniard Carlos Del Moral and Italian Niccolo Quintarelli both posted rounds of 72 to share the lead on seven under par, with Scotland’s Neil Fenwick two shots back on five under par following a 73.

At Lumine Golf & Beach Club, England’s Chris Hanson has a two stroke lead heading into the final round following a four under par round 67 for a 12 under total of 201.

Hanson has fellow Englishman Daniel Gavins on his tail on five under par, with the pair hoping to seal among the 17 player to progress to the Final Stage in two weeks. Currently, nine players are in a tied for 16th position on six under par, including English pair Zane Scotland and Tom Murray, son of former European Tour winner Andrew.

Meanwhile, at Valle Romano play was suspended due to high winds, with 14 groups still yet to start their third rounds.

Play will resume at 9am on Tuesday morning with round four now schedule to get underway on Wednesday, with 18 spots at Final Stage available.

Third round scores from Las Colinas

194 J Heath (Eng) 64 66 64,

201 L Bond (Wal) 67 67 67, B Stone (RSA) 64 69 68,

202 G Cambis (Fra) 64 73 65,

204 J Knutzon (USA) 67 69 68, Ruaidhri McGee (Irl) 67 70 67, J Ruth (Eng) 67 70 67,

206 W Homan Jnr (USA) 71 66 69, J Hahn (USA) 69 68 69, G Cunningham (am) (USA) 69 69 68,

207 G Porteous (am) (Eng) 69 71 67, D Kemmer (USA) 69 70 68,

208 D Ulrich (Sui) 70 69 69, C Griffiths (Eng) 71 70 67, S Hodgson (Eng) 72 69 67, J Robinson (Eng) 69 68 71,

209 S Allan (Aus) 66 75 68, J Kelly (USA) 70 70 69, G Wright (Wal) 69 71 69, A Wrigley (Eng) 68 70 71, N Henriques (Por) 72 69 68, M Richardson (Eng) 69 73 67, N Ravano (Ita) 70 71 68,

210 M Lorenzo-Vera (Fra) 73 68 69, Niall Kearney (Irl) 70 71 69, M Clemens (Mex) 70 71 69, M Glauert (Ger) 73 70 67, R Coles (Eng) 72 68 70, C Dammert (am) (Ger) 74 69 67,

211 O Floren (Swe) 71 72 68, M Sell (Eng) 73 70 68, T Sherreard (Eng) 70 71 70, L Astl (Aut) 66 71 74, D Lokke (Den) 66 76 69, J Webber (Eng) 73 70 68,

212 R Busher (am) (Eng) 74 72 66, M Rominger (Sui) 74 70 68, F Eriksson (Swe) 67 73 72, P Relecom (Bel) 66 75 71,

213 R Prophet (Eng) 72 70 71, Damian Mooney (Nir) 74 69 70, J Rask (Swe) 75 69 69, N Bruzelius (Swe) 75 71 67, K Borsheim (Nor) 69 72 72, A Garcia-Heredia (Esp) 72 71 70,

214 H Leon (Chi) 72 69 73, J Kaske (Fin) 68 74 72, M Van Dijk (Ned) 71 74 69, S Jeppesen (Swe) 74 72 68,

215 J Kennegard (Swe) 69 75 71, Stephen Grant (Irl) 67 78 70, B Chapellan (Fra) 74 71 70,

216 H Joannes (Bel) 72 70 74, P Maddy (Eng) 71 70 75, F Bergamaschi (Ita) 73 74 69, J Camargo (Esp) 72 71 73, P Williamson (USA) 70 77 69,

217 F Laporta (Ita) 72 74 71, J Sloan (Eng) 72 74 71, V Blazquez (Esp) 68 75 74, K Samooja (Fin) 73 76 68,

218 P Erofejeff (Fin) 71 77 70, S McNamara (USA) 73 76 69, M Jensen (USA) 68 79 71, A Kirstein (Ger) 71 76 71,

219 M Jager (Aus) 76 76 67, R Goger (am) (Aut) 80 71 68, D Booth (Eng) 74 74 71,

220 D Balin (USA) 73 77 70, G Schultes (Ger) 74 69 77, Brendan McCarroll (Irl) 69 79 72,

221 A Bolognesi (Ita) 71 75 75,

222 M Jedrzeyczyk (Pol) 72 76 74, G Axell (Swe) 72 75 75,

223 J Banbury (Eng) 74 77 72,

226 S Robertshawe (Eng) 73 76 77,

** David Rawluk (Irl) 75 76 RT,

Third round scores from Lumine Golf & Beach Club

201 C Hanson (Eng) 64 70 67,

203 D Gavins (Eng) 67 68 68,

204 B Evans (Eng) 70 66 68, J Glennemo (Swe) 68 71 65, L Goddard (Eng) 70 68 66, C Shinkwin (am) (Eng) 68 71 65,

205 T Cruz (Por) 67 70 68, T Lee (USA) 70 69 66, J Doherty (Sco) 69 69 67, R Russell (Sco) 67 68 70,

206 A Marshall (Eng) 70 68 68, S Dartnall (Aus) 69 71 66, O Farr (Wal) 73 67 66, D Brooks (Eng) 69 69 68, A McLardy (RSA) 71 68 67,

207 J Timmis (Eng) 69 69 69, L Nemecz (Aut) 64 72 71, K Benz (Sui) 69 74 64, Z Scotland (Eng) 67 74 66, S Archibald (Eng) 67 75 65, P Sjöland (Swe) 66 71 70, T Murray (Eng) 66 71 70, A Cooley (Eng) 68 70 69, C Bouniol (Fra) 70 68 69,

208 R Kind (Ned) 70 70 68, G O’Mahony (USA) 73 70 65, M Haastrup (Den) 69 70 69, J Hepworth (Eng) 67 73 68, Dermot McElroy (am) (Nir) 71 68 69,

209 S Fallon (Eng) 68 77 64, A Zemmer (Ita) 71 65 73, E Johansen (Nor) 70 69 70, K Eriksson (Swe) 70 72 67, J Senior (Eng) 74 70 65,

210 D Law (Sco) 70 73 67, O Stark (Swe) 71 70 69, S Hutsby (Eng) 66 76 68, M Southgate (Eng) 70 72 68, G Woolgar (Eng) 71 70 69, D Griffiths (Eng) 71 69 70,

211 J Mommo (Fin) 70 74 67, C Dennis (USA) 69 69 73, J McLister (USA) 65 70 76, B Hafthorsson (Isl) 70 71 70,

212 J Palmer (Eng) 71 73 68, J Frazer (Wal) 67 76 69, D Antonelli (Fra) 69 69 74, S Schwind (am) (Ger) 71 73 68,

213 P Doherty (Sco) 72 69 72, H Porteous (RSA) 68 72 73, L De Jager (RSA) 72 67 74, J Billing (Swe) 74 68 71, R Brown (Eng) 70 74 69,

214 Å Nilsson (Swe) 73 70 71,

215 B Etchart (Esp) 75 69 71, J Dransfield (Eng) 70 70 75, A Hansen (Den) 72 70 73, H Bacher (Aut) 73 74 68, G Houston (Wal) 71 74 70,

216 T Petersson (Swe) 73 74 69, D Palm (Swe) 73 73 70, N Kimsey (am) (Eng) 73 70 73,

217 A Smith (Eng) 75 68 74, J Sandelin (Swe) 73 70 74, D Geminiani (Ita) 72 72 73, A Cheese (Eng) 73 72 72, P Eriksson (Swe) 74 70 73, X Guzman (Esp) 72 73 72, S Matton (Eng) 73 76 68,

218 E Saltman (Sco) 74 71 73, J Rutherford (Eng) 71 79 68,

219 M Hoffman (Can) 71 71 77, S Anderson (USA) 73 77 69,

223 M Soegaard (am) (Den) 72 73 78,

226 M Wallace (Eng) 76 78 72, J Girrbach (am) (Sui) 76 74 76,

228 T Smith (USA) 73 78 77, S Forgan (Eng) 74 79 75,

Third round scores from Campo de Golf El Saler

209 C Del Moral (Esp) 70 67 72, N Quintarelli (Ita) 67 70 72,

211 N Fenwick (Sco) 70 68 73,

212 T Linard (Fra) 68 72 72,

213 J Barnes (Eng) 71 72 70, F Fritsch (Ger) 75 67 71,

214 A Saddier (Fra) 69 74 71, E Cole (USA) 72 70 72,

215 P Edberg (Swe) 66 74 75, J Ahlers (RSA) 68 72 75, W Roebuck (Eng) 72 73 70, G Murray (Sco) 73 70 72,

216 V Phillips (Eng) 70 74 72, W Harrold (Eng) 70 70 76, C Brazillier (Fra) 72 70 74,

217 J Howarth (Eng) 74 71 72, R McEvoy (Eng) 71 68 78, R Han (Chn) 73 73 71, B Hopfinger (USA) 72 67 78, A Bruschi (Ita) 70 72 75, Kevin Phelan (Irl) 71 72 74, T Pieters (Bel) 71 75 71,

218 J Lando Casanova (Fra) 71 73 74, L Lee (Bra) 69 74 75, J Moul (Eng) 72 75 71, C Ortiz (Mex) 69 70 79,

219 M Grönberg (Swe) 73 71 75, L Saltman (Sco) 73 72 74, A Pavlov (Rus) 71 73 75, P Ferrier (Sco) 76 71 72,

220 Colm Moriarty (Irl) 73 71 76, S Heisele (Ger) 71 69 80, J Westwood (Eng) 71 73 76, C Lloyd (Eng) 69 73 78, C Rodiles (Esp) 78 70 72,

221 M Veijalainen (Fin) 75 72 74, L Canter (Eng) 71 71 79, S Crichton (am) (Sco) 71 73 77, P Oriol (Esp) 76 72 73, R Evans (am) (Eng) 71 70 80, A Belt (Eng) 72 78 71, P Francis (USA) 74 68 79,

222 P Couvert (Fra) 72 73 77, D Callaway (Eng) 74 70 78, A Velasco (Esp) 73 72 77, F Adarraga (Esp) 76 72 74, L Claverie (Esp) 75 75 72,

223 A Snobeck (Fra) 72 75 76, P Reed (Eng) 71 74 78, F De Vries (Ned) 68 76 79,

224 R Wallis (Eng) 69 75 80, J Abbott (Eng) 73 79 72, M Pastor (Esp) 72 74 78, N Bjorling (Swe) 76 72 76,

225 A Jacobsson (Swe) 77 71 77, D Wuensche (Ger) 78 71 76, C Batut (Fra) 78 72 75, F Jahn (Ger) 73 76 76, Z Blair (am) (USA) 74 75 76, D Lloyd (RSA) 81 70 74,

226 Alan Dunbar (Nir) 73 80 73,

227 A Rai (Eng) 81 68 78,

228 K Crossland (Eng) 80 71 77, M Lampert (Ger) 73 76 79,

229 W Booth (Sco) 76 75 78, K Ichihara (Jpn) 82 72 75, F Figueroa (Esa) 84 70 75, K Thompson (USA) 74 73 82, J Winther (Den) 75 75 79,

230 G Boyd (Eng) 79 75 76, N Johansson (Swe) 76 73 81, S Campbell (Eng) 78 75 77,

231 J Legarrea (Esp) 84 74 73, Y Benson (Can) 73 74 84, F Praegant (Aut) 77 74 80,

235 JD Guiney (Irl) 82 75 78,

244 J Chamberlain (Eng) 83 79 82,