Kearney qualifies for Final Stage of Asian Tour Q-School
Finland's Janne Kaske. Picture: Asian Tour
Niall Kearney was one of 51 players to progress to the progress to the Final Stage Asian Tour Q-School when he closed with a level par 72 to make it with a shot to spare in Thailand.
Tied fifth on 14 under par after three rounds, the 28-year old Dubliner had one birdie and one bogey on his card at the Suvarnabhumi Golf and Country Club in Bangkok
As a result, he was quickly overtaken on the leaderboard, finishing tied for 19th on 14 under as 26 players made it through to next week’s Final Stage on 13 under or better.
Janne Kaske of Finland closed with three straight birdies for a flawless eight under par 64, topping the field by two shots alongside American Sejun Yoon (66) and Swiss amateur Michael Harradine (67) on 22 under par 266.
Wolmer Murillo of Venezuela signed for a 64 to take second place with overnight leader Junhyeok Park of Korea, who returned with a 70.
At the Windsor Park and Golf Club, overnight leader Songgyu Yoo of Korea topped the class by four shots following a closing 64 and a 20-under-par 268 total.
Japan’s Kento Nakai, American Ryan McCormick and Korea’s Youngjea Byun shared second place following rounds of 67, 67 and 69 respectively. They are amongst the 25 players to progress into the final stage of the Qualifying School from the Windsor Park Golf and Country Club.
The final stage will be held at Suvarnabhumi from January 11 to 14, where the top-35 and ties after four rounds will earn their Tour cards for 2017.
Rory McNamara and David Carey failed to make it through their Section A qualifiers last week while Kearney will be trying to win his card and join the exempt Niall Turner on the Asian Tour in 2017.
Muskerry player Turner kept his card in 2015 but was unable to play in 2016 due to a hip injury.
The Cork player has since discovered to the root of the problem and, feeling fit again, he will play on a medical exemption this year.
Asian Tour Qualifying School Section B – Final Results
