Qualifying School 2024: Professional futures at stake with 156 players fighting for 20 cards

The DP World Tour Qualifying School reaches its conclusion in Spain.

It’s make-or-break time as the DP World Tour Qualifying School enters its final stages in Spain. Here’s everything you need to know about one of golf’s most competitive tests.

Since 1976, Q School has provided a pathway for professional and amateur golfers from across the globe to secure a Tour Card for Europe’s premier circuit – the DP World Tour.

With future livelihoods on the line and just 20 cards up for grabs – 5 less than 2023 – the Q School of 2024 is set to be the most pressurized and competitive yet.

Just to be in with a chance of playing for the privilege, players must come through two 72-hole stages to earn themselves a place in the 156-man field for the final stage at the INFINITUM Golf Resort in Tarragona, Spain – where a grueling six-round marathon decides who has what it takes.

And for those who prove worthy, a springboard to a potentially decorated and lucrative career awaits. Just ask previous alumni. Sandy Lyle, Jose Maria Olazabal, Colin Montgomerie, Jesper Parnevik, Retief Goosen, Padraig Harrington, Miguel Angel Jimenez, and Justin Rose are just a few of the star names to graduate from Q School.

How do players make it to the final round of Q School?

Q School’s first stage sees nine European venues host 72-hole strokeplay events, each sending roughly 15 players (depending on ties) through to the second stage in Spain. Here another series of four 72-hole tournaments dictate the 156 players that progress to the final stage of Q School.

To some extent – that was the easy part. Now the pressure ramps up again with the Tarragona field all tackling the Lakes Course and the Hills Course at INFINITUM twice before a cut is made and the top 65 players battle it out for 20 Tour Cards on the Lakes Course.

No less than 252 holes will have been played for those golfers required to compete from the very first stage of Q School who go on to achieve Tour Cards. Of the 156 players in the field for the Final Stage, most have come through the Second Stage, with the remainder fulfilling one of the exemption criteria below:

• DP World Tour members ranked 111th to 145th in the Race to Dubai Rankings.
• Challenge Tour members ranked 21st to 45th in the Road to Mallorca Rankings.
• Previous DP World Tour winners whose membership has expired in 2023 or 2024.
• Players in 75th or above in the DP World Tour Career Money List as of August 14, 2024.
• Leading three players as of August 14, 2024, to a limit of 20th place in these Orders or Merit: PGA Tour of Australasia, The Japan Golf Tour, The Sunshine Tour, and the Korean Tour.
• Leading entrant as of August 14, 2024, to a limit of 10th place in these Orders of Merit: China Tour and Professional Golf Tour of India.

Are any big names playing in Q School this year?

Quite a few! Current European Ryder Cup vice-captain and stats guru Edoardo Molinari will tee it up at Q School this year along with other former Ryder Cup players Stephen Gallacher, Oliver Wilson, and Chris Wood.

They’ll be joined by a host of DPWT winners including Marc Warren, James Morrison, Matthew Southgate, Kalle Samooja, David Law, Adri Arnaus, and Renato Paratore in what promises to be one of the most fiercely competitive weeks of the season.

The full field can be found here.

Where is Q School played?

For a sixth year in a row, the INFINITUM Golf Resort will host Qualifying School. This year, however, marks the first that DPWT hopefuls will experience the newly upgraded Lakes course following its 800,000 Euro renovation. The Greg Norman-designed layout has been elevated to new heights with pristine new Zoysia grass and reimagined bunkering to guarantee a gripping week of golf with potentially career-defining stakes. Similarly transformative work on the Hills course is set to commence shortly after the conclusion of Q-School.

Joaquín Mora Bertrán, Deputy General Manager of Golf, Beach Club, and F&B at INFINITUM, said: “While our courses are designed to be accessible for novices and Major winners alike, make no mistake – under tournament conditions, they are a serious challenge even for seasoned professionals. Players will have to be at their best to earn a DP World Tour card. We can’t wait to see who rises to the challenge!”

The Lakes and Hills courses will both be used this week. The Lakes – an inland links course – is the longer of the two, with the par-71 track measuring 7,001 yards. The Hills – a typical woodland track – is a par-72, but comes in slightly shorter than the Lakes course, measuring 6,944 yards.

Which tour pros lost their Tour Cards in the regular season?

The DP World Tour reached its regular season conclusion at the Genesis championship on Sunday 27 October with Byeong Hun An coming through a playoff with Tom Kim to win on home soil in South Korea. The day also marked the last opportunity for players to cement their position in the top 114 places of the Race to Dubai Rankings. The reward for doing so…a shiny new 2025 Tour Card.

And sneaking in at No.114, despite missing the cut, was five-time DPWT winner Ross Fisher. But while the Englishman was letting out Asia’s biggest sigh of relief, others were coming to terms that their professional careers were hanging on a knife edge.

Some of the more established names falling agonizingly short included:

No.115 – Ashun Wu

The 2022 Kenya Open Champion started the week in 113th position, but after finishing bottom of the leaderboard from those who made the cut, fell two places, resigning him to the unluckiest ranking possible.

No.119 – David Law

A strong T22 showing in Korea was still insufficient to lift the Scotsman into the top 114 places required to retain tour status. 13 missed cuts from 28 starts did the damage for Law who now heads Spain to battle for his professional future.

No.120 – Eddie Pepperell

Pepperell’s slow start to the season ultimately cost the two-time DPWT winner. He fell just short despite a season-best T12 at the BMW PGA Championship in September. Three missed cuts in his final five starts sealed his fate though, sending the popular Chipping Forecast podcast co-host back to Q School.

“I am not at all daunted by the prospect,” said Pepperell. “In fact, I am quite looking forward to it, to be honest, and having that mindset will help. I am quietly optimistic about it.”

No.127 – Rafa Cabrera Bello

Arguably the highest-profile casualty this year is 2016 Ryder Cup star Cabrera-Bello. The Spanish four-time DPWT winner has struggled for the last two seasons and with 18 missed cuts in 2024, there really can’t be many complaints.

Full results from the first two stages can be found here.

Who has won Q School?

Sandy Lyle (1977), José María Olazábal (1985), Jesper Parnevik (1988), Retief Goosen (1992), Adrián Otaegui (2015), and Sam Horsfield (2017), are all previous Qualifying School Champions. The most recent rollcall of winners include:

Who won Tour Cards from Q School in 2023?

Final Stage Qualifiers:

• Freddy Schott
• Filippo Celli
• Sebastian Friedrichsen
• Darius van Driel
• Matthis Besard
• Sam Jones
• Tom Lewis
• Sebastian Garcia
• Haydn Barron
• Kristian Krogh Johannessen
• Jack Davidson
• Jacques Kruyswijk
• Renato Paratore
• Andrew Wilson
• Kiradech Aphibarnrat
• David Ravetto
• Pieter Moolman
• Garrick Porteous
• Nicolo Galletti
• Joshua Berry
• Benjamin Rusch
• Jonathan Gøth-Rasmussen
• Kristoffer Broberg
• Rhys Enoch
• Darren Fichardt
• Jannik de Bruyn
• Pedro Figueiredo
• Søren Broholt Lind
• Nicolai von Dellingshausen
• Lauri Ruuska
• Alfredo Garcia-Heredia
• Joe Dean
• James Nicholas

About the author

Ross Tugwood – Senior Digital Writer

Ross Tugwood is a Senior Digital Writer for todays-golfer.com, specializing in data, analytics, science, and innovation.

Ross is passionate about optimizing sports performance and has a decade of experience working with professional athletes and coaches for British Athletics, the UK Sports Institute, and Team GB.

He is an NCTJ-accredited journalist with post-graduate degrees in Performance Analysis and Sports Journalism, enabling him to critically analyze and review the latest golf equipment and technology to help you make better-informed buying decisions.