Ruaidhri McGee lost out in a playoff as Gary Hurley and Kevin Phelan were among the 71 player who made it to the Final Stage of the European Tour Qualifying School after four Second Stage qualifiers in Spain

Starting on Saturday, the Waterford natives with be battling to play all six rounds at PGA Catalunya Resort near Girona and finish among the top 25 and ties who will be awarded European Tour cards for next season.

Michael Hoey is also eligible to tee it up at Denis O’Brien’s Catalan resort but for the rest of the young Irish pros and amateurs who entered Q-School, it’s time to make plans for next year and the next step on the road to tour success or look closely at alternative careers in golf.

Hurley closed with a one under 70 and tied for seventh on six under par at Las Colinas Golf & Country Club in Alicante with Phelan a shot further back in tied ninth after a 69.

Sweden’s Oscar Lengden finished top with a total of 15 under par, two strokes ahead of Welshman Stuart Manley while Scotland’s Bradley Neil went into the fourth round outside the top 18, but carded a final round 66 to secure his spot at PGA Catalunya.

Rosapenna’s McGee tied for 15th on six under after a two under 69 at Lumine Golf & Beach Club in Tarragona where David Law topped the leaderboard on 12 under par total.

But wiith just 18 spots available, the Challenge Tour regular ended up in an eight-man playoff for the last four spots and he came up empty-handed.

French duo Jérôme Lando-Casanova and Olivier Rozner navigated their way to Final Stage successfully alongside English pair Charlie Bull and Steve Surry.

Limerick’s Tim Rice finished five shots outside the playoff on one under after a 70 but it was the third round 76 that dashed his hopes while Castlebar’s Declan Loftus tied for 68th after failing to break par in any round.

England’s Paul Maddy carded a final round 65 to top the qualifiers at Panoramica in Castellón on 19 under par total as Headfort’s Brian Casey missed out on a four-man play-off for the last two spots by two shots.

Casey tied for 28th on six under after a 68 as Maddy won by  two strokes from compatriot Laurie Canter on 17 under par, with fellow Englishman Charlie Ford third on 15 under par as 18 players progressed.

In a dramatic play-off, Denmark’s Joachim B Hansen secured his spot in the Final Stage as he bettered Sweden’s Bjorn Pettersson on the fifth extra hole. Hansen birdied the par three fifth hole as Pettersson made par.

All 17 spots at Campo de Golf El Saler were decided in regulation play, with Frenchman Fabien Marty finishing with a total of 14 under par, one stroke ahead of Argentina’s Maximiliano Godoy with Daniel Gavins a shot further back.

Ardglass’ Cormac Sharvin came up one stroke shy of the mark there after a 70 with Niall Kearney a further shot back after a double bogey seven at the third and a bogey six at the fifth left him too much to do and he slipped to a 73.

The Final Stage will be played over six rounds, 108 holes, with the competitors playing two rounds on both the Stadium and Tour Courses at tPGA Catalunya Resort. 

After 72 holes, the field will be cut to the leading 70 players and ties who will play two further rounds over the Stadium Course.

From those 70, the top 25 and ties will securing playing rights for the 2017 season.

European Tour Qualifying School, Second Stage

Campo de Golf El Saler, Valencia, Spain 

Scores

Qualifiers (17 on -4 or better)

1 MARTY, Fabien FRA -14  64 72 70 68 274
2 GODOY, Maximiliano ARG -13  66 73 71 65 275
3 GAVINS, Daniel ENG -12 71 66 69 70 276
T4 FAHRBRING, Jens SWE -11 66 72 70 69 277
T4 BOUNIOL, Cyril FRA -11 67 70 69 71 277
6 GRIFFITHS, Curtis ENG -9 68 73 70 68 279
T7 CHESTERS, Ashley ENG -8 67 73 73 67 280
T7 SCIOT-SIEGRIST, Robin FRA -8 71 67 72 70 280
9 ECHENIQUE, Rafa ARG -7  69 70 70 72 281
T10 HUGO, Jean FRA -6 70 72 71 69 282
T10 BRAEUNIG, Christian GER -6 68 70 73 71 282
T10 BREMNER, Merrick RSA -6 73 67 71 71 282
T10 CARSTENSEN, Christopher GER -6  65 71 72 74 282
T14 GIRRBACH, Joel SUI -5  71 70 71 71 283
T14 SIMONSEN, Martin DEN -5 71 71 70 71 283
T16 VAN ROOYEN, Erik* RSA -4 72 70 76 66 284
T16 DELPODIO, Matteo ITA -4 68 74 71 71 284 

Irish

T18 SHARVIN, Cormac NIR -3 68 73 73 71 285 DID NOT QUALIFY
T24 KEARNEY, Niall IRE -2 70 71 72 73 286 DID NOT QUALIFY
W/D SELFRIDGE, Chris* NIR +5 75 75 71 221 DID NOT QUALIFY

Las Colinas Golf & Country Club, Alicante, Spain 

Scores

Qualifiers (18 on -2 or better)

1 LENGDEN, Oscar SWE -15 69 64 68 68 269
2 MANLEY, Stuart WAL -13  69 67 68 67 271
T3 SURI, Julian USA -11  67 70 69 67 273
T3 MCCARTHY, Ryan AUS -11 72 66 68 67 273
5 FORREST, Grant SCO -8 67 68 74 67 276
6 DEL MORAL, Carlos ESP -7  66 69 70 72 277
T7 HURLEY, Gary IRL -6 69 64 75 70 278
T7 CONNELLY, Austin USA -6 68 67 70 73 278
T9 NEIL, Bradley SCO -5 69 72 72 66 279
T9 PHELAN, Kevin IRL -5  68 69 73 69 279
T9 JOHANSSON, Niclas SWE -5 65 69 74 71 279
T9 ECCLES, Ben AUS -5  72 64 68 75 279
T13 WHITEFORD, Peter SCO -4 70 68 75 67 280
T13 KOPP, Patrick GER -4 66 68 76 70 280
T15 LAFEBER, Maarten NED -3 69 66 75 71 281
T15 MUNSON, Brett USA -3 67 68 72 74 281
T17 ALLAN, James ENG -2 67 68 76 71 282
T17 MAESTRONI, Andrea ITA -2  67 66 73 76 282 

Irish

T7 HURLEY, Gary Q -6 69 64 75 70 278 QUALIFIED
T9 PHELAN, Kevin Q -5  68 69 73 69 279 QUALIFIED
W/D GRANT, Stephen +6 73 75 DID NOT QUALIFY
W/D CALDWELL, Jonathan* +12 71 73 81 DID NOT QUALIFY

Lumine Golf & Beach Club, Tarragona, Spain 

Scores

Qualifiers (18 on -6 or better)

1 LAW, David* SCO -12 65 69 68 70 272
2 COLES, Robert* ENG -11 68 67 69 69 273
T3 HEMSTOCK, Billy* ENG -10 66 67 69 72 274
T3 KELLETT, Ross* SCO -10 66 69 69 70 274
T5 AXELL, Gabriel* SWE -8 71 66 68 71 276
T5 IMONDI, Paul* USA -8 67 70 65 74 276
T5 LOAR, Edward* USA -8 68 69 72 67 276
T5 ORIOL, Pedro* ESP -8 68 71 70 67 276
T9 EASTON, Bryce* RSA -7 70 69 70 68 277
T9 FENASSE, Mathieu* FRA -7 68 67 72 70 277
T9 FOSTER, Mark* ENG -7 66 71 71 69 277
T9 KIMSEY, Nathan* ENG -7 69 72 66 70 277
T9 TULLO, Mark* CHI -7 72 65 71 69 277
T9 WIDEGREN, Pontus* SWE -7 71 65 70 71 277
T15 BULL, Charlie* ENG -6 65 68 72 73 278
T15 LANDO CASANOVA, Jérôme* FRA -6 69 69 68 72 278
T15 ROZNER, Olivier* FRA -6 68 74 69 67 278
T15 SURRY, Steve* ENG -6 67 76 67 68 278

Irish

T15 MCGEE, Ruaidhri* -6 70 72 67 69 278 DID NOT QUALIFY (AFTER PLAYOFF)
T41 RICE, Tim* -1 69 68 76 70 283 DID NOT QUALIFY
T68 LOFTUS, Declan* +10 73 73 75 73 294 DID NOT QUALIFY
 

Panoramica Golf & Sport Resort, Castellón, Spain 

Scores

Qualifiers (18 on -8 or better)

1 MADDY, Paul* ENG -19 68 69 67 65 269
2 CANTER, Laurie* ENG -17 65 65 72 69 271
3 FORD, Charlie* ENG -15 64 72 66 71 273
T4 DE JAGER, Louis* RSA -12  69 67 71 69 276
T4 DI NITTO, Enrico* ITA -12  69 69 70 68 276
T4 ERIKSSON, Philip* SWE -12 65 68 74 69 276
T4 PERRY, Mathew* NZL -12 69 69 68 70 276
T4 PULKKANEN, Tapio* FIN -12 68 70 68 70 276
T4 RUTHERFORD, Jamie* ENG -12 68 67 74 67 276
10 LAIER, Max* GER -11 72 68 70 67 277
T11 KOEPKA, Chase* USA -10 68 70 72 68 278
T11 VAN DER SPUY, Rourke* RSA -10 64 74 70 70 278
T13 AHLERS, Jaco* RSA -9 66 68 74 71 279
T13 CHUAYPRAKONG, Thitiphun* THA -9 66 71 71 71 279
T13 ETCHART, Borja* ESP -9 64 67 75 73 279
T13 RIU, Victor* FRA -9  63 73 75 68 279
T17 HANSEN, Joachim B.* DEN -8  71 71 73 65 280
T17 HARRISON, Jack* ENG -8 69 69 75 67 280 

Irish

T28 CASEY, Brian* -6 71 73 70 68 282 DID NOT QUALIFY
W/D HUME, Jack +8 75 77 DID NOT QUALIFY