There is still time for a couple of new Scottish faces to emerge on to the European Tour next season. The second stage of the circuit’s qualifying school concluded in Spain last night with five home hopefuls passing the examination and ploughing on to the rigorous, six-round final test at PGA Catalunya in Girona this weekend.
Paul Shields, the former Scotland amateur cap from Kirkhill, led the quintet in a share of third place at one of the four venues while Blairgowrie rookie Bradley Neil, David Law and Ross Kellett also progressed to a Q-School shoot-out debut. Jack Doherty, who had one season on the main European Tour in 2014, kept his hopes of a return to the top table alive as he eased through to the final.
Shields confirmed his spot with a rousing seven-under 64 which left him in a tie for third at the Lumine club. Doherty, meanwhile, birdied his first three holes in a 67 to safely qualify in eighth place on a 271. Irish rookie Paul Dunne, who led July’s Open with a round to play as an amateur, edged through in a play-off.
At El Saler, Law, the former Scottish Amateur champion, gave himself an opportunity to step up to the main circuit as he shared fifth on an eight-under 280 after a final round of 73. Law, finished eight shots behind eventual winner Jimmy Mullen, the English rookie who won all four of his matches in September’s Walker Cup.
Neil, the highly-rated Perthshire teenager who has endured a tough introduction to the paid ranks, took another important step towards gaining a foothold on the professional ladder with a tidy 67 at Panoramica as he finished in a share of 11th with a 14-under 274. Neil, the former Amateur champion, confirmed his place with a telling burst of five birdies in 10 holes from the fifth as he cantered home. Craig Lawrie, the son of fomrer Open champion Paul, finished well down the order on 295.
There was a nail-nibbling conclusion for Motherwell man Kellett at Las Colinas as he grabbed one of the last qualifying spots on offer.
Kellett, a winner on the third-tier Alps Tour back in 2012, had been making steady progress in the safety zone until a potentially disastrous double-bogey on the 16th led to a jittery finale. Kellett held his nerve though and, when it came to the crunch, he pulled a birdie out of the bag on the very last hole in a battling level-par 71. That was enough for him to scrape through with nothing to spare on a six-under 278.
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