There will be no new Scottish faces on the European Tour next season after David Law, Peter Whiteford and Paul Shields all failed to make the grade in the Qualifying School Final at PGA Catalunya in Girona.
Law, who needed to break 70 to have a chance of barging into the card-winning places of the top 25 and ties, endured a frustrating day and after nine straight pars going out, a topsy-turvy run of two birdies and two bogeys in five holes from the 10th left him treading water.
Law, the former Scottish Amateur champion, finished with a level-par 72 for a five-under aggregate of 423 and came in two shots shy of the qualifying mark. The Aberdonian will remain on the second-tier Challenge Tour next season.
Whiteford also came up short in his bid to return to the main circuit and despite covering 14 holes in four-under, his late push was thwarted on the run-in as he leaked a couple of shots in a two-under 70 for a 424. Shields signed off with a one-over 73 for a 425 but the Kirkhill youngster, who has been plying his professional trade on the third-tier PGA EuroPro Tour, has at least earned a step up to the Challenge Tour in 2016.
On a tense and emotional final day in north east Spain, there were plenty of tales of triumph. Edoardo Molinari, the former Scottish Open champion and Ryder Cup player, regained his tour card after an injury ravaged spell with nothing to spare as he edged in on the seven-under limit. Paul Dunne, the Irish rookie who led July’s Open as an amateur heading into the final round, gave his fledgling professional career a huge lift by easing through on a 10-under tally while Englishman Matthew Southgate, who was diagnosed with testicular cancer in the summer, ended a turbulent year on a high by finishing sixth on 14-under. Daniel Im of the US, South Africa’s Ulrich van den Berg and Spain’s Adrian Otaegui, a winner of the British Boys’ Championship at Barassie in 2010, led the 27 qualifiers with 18-under totals of 410.
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