AIG Irish Close champion Ronan Mullarney will tee it up in next month’s Second Stage of the European Tour Qualifying School after he tied for ninth in the First Stage Section E qualifier at Bom Sucesso in Portugal.

The Galway amateur (24) completed the final two holes of his fog-delayed third round early on Saturday, picking up a birdie at his final hole to card a 69 and go into the final round tied for 17th on one-under.

With only the top 20 and ties to qualify, he needed a solid final round to progress and had to dig deep to get the job done.

Scores

A double-bogey seven at the second was a set back but he made three birdies and a bogey to turn in level par, then followed a bogey at the 15th with birdies at the 16th and 17th for a one-under 71.

He qualified in ninth place on two-under par, nine strokes behind Mexico’s Rodolfo Cazaubon Jnr.

Donegal’s Brendan McCarroll finished tied 43rd on seven-over after rounds of 74, 75, 72 and 74.