Simon Forsström secured a two-stroke victory at the Final Stage of Qualifying School to become one of 28 players to earn their DP World Tour cards at INFINITUM in Spain.

The Swede posted a closing 69 to finish on 29 under par, two shots ahead of Frenchman David Ravetto, who carded a 64 to climb into second place. Forsström was delighted to come out on top at the marathon six-round Final Stage event and admits earning top tier privileges means everything to him.

“It feels amazing,” he said. “Today was tough because it has been such a long week and the nerves started to kick in, especially when the wind picked up. I have been hitting it so well all week and now I need to take my game to the next level on the DP World Tour. This win is so important for my career.”

Englishman Daniel Brown finished third on 26 under par, while four-time DP World Tour winner Kiradech Aphibarnrat was a shot further back in fourth. Aphibarnrat was pleased to reclaim his top tier playing privileges after producing a grandstand finish in Tarragona and he is now targeting a climb up the world rankings and more victories on Europe’s top tier tour.

“I’m exhausted right now,” the Thai player said. “I feel like I’ve been playing for two weeks straight to earn this card. There are so many talented players ready to shine on the DP World Tour and I think six rounds at Qualifying School provides the perfect test to distinguish who is ready to compete with the best players. Now I have secured my card I am looking to get my fifth DP World Tour title. My goal is to get back into the top 50 in the world again and eventually get to double figures with wins. I only need six more!”

There were storylines aplenty on the final day in Tarragona, as Denmark’s Christoffer Bring, Englishman Sam Hutsby, American Gunner Wiebe and Swede Tobias Edén each completed all three stages of Qualifying School to earn their cards. Marcel Siem and David Horsey secured their return to the top tier, while Spaniard Alejandro Del Rey posted a sensational closing 63 to claim his our card after narrowly missing out at the Rolex Challenge Tour Grand Final just over a week ago.

Spain’s Mike Lorenzo-Vera also reclaimed his card, while Irishman John Murphy birdied two of the last three holes in his final round 65 to jump into the all-important top 25 in dramatic fashion.

The three unlucky players to miss out by just one shot were Italy’s Renate Paratore, Welshman Oliver Farr and Denmark’s Nicolai Kristensen. Paratore eagled the par-5th 18th to finished tied 29th.  The final leaderboard can be found here.

Final Stage Qualifiers
Simon Forsström, David Ravetto, Daniel Brown, Kiradech Aphibarnrat, Alejandro Del Rey, Nick Bachem, Pedro Figueiredo, Christoffer Bring, John Axelsen, Ryo Hisatsune, Tobias Edén, Joël Stalter, Mike Lorenzo-Vera, Marcel Siem, Joshua Lee, Gary Hurley, Gunner Wiebe, Sam Hutsby, Gary Stal, Gudmundur Kristjansson, David Horsey, Jens Fahrbring, Niklas Lemke, Andrew Wilson, Ricardo Santos, Garrick Porteous, John Murphy and Adrien Saddier.

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Sweden’s Simon Forsström will take a two-shot lead over England’s Daniel Brown into the sixth and last round of Final Stage DP World Tour Qualifying School, which is being held at INFINITUM in Spain.

Forsström, who has led since the third round, and led by two after the fourth round, carded six birdies in his five-under-par 66 on day five to move to 26 under par for 90 holes.

The 33-year-old is in a fantastic position heading into the final round, with the top 25 and ties earning DP World Tour playing privileges.

“I’m very pleased with today because I played solid and made some putts,” he said. “My ball striking wasn’t as good as the previous rounds, but I still gave myself a lot of chances to make birdies. I’m probably feeling less pressure being at the top heading into the final round this week because I know I just need to finish in the top 25, but I just need to keep playing well tomorrow.”

Portugal’s Pedro Figueiredo signed for a seven-under 64 to move into a tie for third on 22 under, alongside four-time DP World Tour winner Kiradech Aphibarnrat.

A host of players are still in the hunt for top tier playing privileges with 18 holes remaining, including Spaniard Alejandro Del Rey, who sits in a tie for 20th on 16 under par. The 24-year-old is determined to get the job done this week after narrowly missing out on his DP World Tour card at the Rolex Challenge Tour Grand Final just over a week ago.

“It was very tough to come down here after the Rolex Challenge Tour Grand Final,” he said. “It was a tough week after a good year and I was disappointed not to finish it off. I  was feeling a bit down on myself and I didn’t have time to really process what happened that week, so it has been more mental than physical for me. It would mean everything for me to earn a DP World Tour card because it is something I had in mind the whole year, especially after winning on the Challenge Tour. I would love to go out there and play against the best in the world.”

Those currently hovering around the 25th placed-mark include the English sextet of Sam Hutsby (T20th), David Horsey (T24th), OJ Russell (T24th), Garrick Porteous (T28th), Marco Penge (T28th) and Ross McGowan (T31st). All will be hoping for strong finishes to the 108-hole marathon, the final round of which gets under way at at 9am local time tomorrow (Wednesday), with Forsström teeing it up in the final group alongside Brown and Figueiredo at 11.06am.

One of the most interesting form turnarounds this week has come from Germany’s Nick Bachem, who opened his campaign with a four-over-par 76, and then followed it up with a 10-under par 61 – fully 15 shots better than his previous round. He currently lies in tied 12th place on -18.

For the current leaderboard from Qualifying School, click here.

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Simon Forsström will take a two-shot lead into the fourth round of Final Stage Qualifying School after posting a brilliant seven under par 65 on the Hills Course at INFINITUM.

The Swede carded eight birdies and just one bogey to move to 15 under par at the halfway stage, two ahead of Englishman Daniel Brown and Denmark’s John Axelsen.

Forsström was delighted to climb to the top of the leaderboard in Tarragona and credited his iron play for his strong performance on day three.

“I’m really happy with my game today,” he said. “I focussed on hitting one-shot at a time, not stressing and luckily I ended up at the top of the leaderboard. My ball-striking was incredible, and I think it is probably the best I have ever hit the ball.”

The 33-year-old impressed on the Challenge Tour this season finishing 42nd in the money list having played just 11 events, and he is now targeting a DP World Tour card with the top 25 and ties this week earning top tier playing privileges.

“I know we are only at the halfway point so anything can happen which means I need to focus on the rest of the week,” he said. “I played really well on the Challenge Tour this year and I think I have taken that confidence into this week. t would mean everything for me to achieve a DP World Tour card because I have never played there before so it would be life-changing for me.”

Sweden’s Niklas Lemke sits in fourth position on 12 under par, while Englishman Sam Hutsby is a shot further back in fifth. Spanish duo Alejandro Del Rey and Manuel Elvira share sixth place with Ireland’s Gary Hurley and Frenchman Joël Stalter on ten under par.

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