The European Tour Qualifying School Final Stage will return to PGA Catalunya Resort from November 15-20, 2014, where 156 players will battle it out over six rounds in an attempt to earn a European Tour card for The 2015 Race to Dubai.
Located less than an hour from Barcelona in the north-east of Spain, the 36-hole European Tour Destination boasts two championship layouts alongside state of the art practice facilities, which include Spain’s largest chipping and putting green, measuring an expansive 2000m2 and featuring a unique set-up of five bunkers each containing different sand types (Augusta, St Andrews, Hawaii volcanic, PGA Catalunya Stadium Course and Pebble Beach) and different grass surfaces, including Bent, Bermuda, Paspalum and Poa, for practice putting.
The first four rounds of the Final Stage are played over Spain’s No.1 course, the world-renowned Stadium Course, designed by former European Tour Chairman Neil Coles and Vice Chairman Angel Gallardo, and the shorter and slightly less challenging Tour Course.
The Stadium Course, which hosted The 2014 Open de España in May, won by home favourite Miguel Angel Jiménez, is then the stage for the final two rounds, at the end of which the top 25 players plus ties gain their playing privileges for The 2015 Race to Dubai.
As an indication of the Stadium Course’s pedigree, it has been listed in Golf World magazine’s ‘Top 100 Courses in the World’ and Golf Monthly magazine’s ‘Top 50 Courses in Continental Europe’, among others.
European Tour Qualifying School Director Mike Stewart said: “PGA Catalunya Resort is a superb venue which has proved the perfect set-up for the Qualifying School Final Stage, year after year. This season will be the seventh time the climax to the Q-School has been staged there, and we are always welcomed back with open arms.
“It is a stressful week for the players, but knowing they have two world-class courses on which to compete and arguably the best practice facilities in Europe at their disposal certainly helps. It promises to be another exciting conclusion to the long and winding road that is The European Tour’s Qualifying School.”
Julio Delgado, Chief Executive of PGA Catalunya Resort, added: “Our longstanding relationship with The European Tour has enabled us to understand and deliver on the needs of all stakeholders involved in the Qualifying School Final Stage, from players and caddies to officials, tournament staff and media.
“We constantly strive to accommodate and work with what can be very specific requirements. Our knowledge and understanding of what the job entails from concept to execution have proven a critical element in enabling players taking part in the Final Stage to focus 100 per cent on their golf and the important task at hand.”
As one of the game’s most exciting events unfolds in November, a full live scoring service as well as comprehensive editorial coverage will be provided on europeantour.com.
Last year, Spain’s Carlos Del Moral won the Final Stage by five shots with a 26 under par total, marking his fourth successful trip to the Qualifying School in six years. A total of 27 players from 15 countries earned their playing rights for the 2014 season on The European Tour, and the leading graduate currently is Paraguay’s Fabrizio Zanotti, who won the BMW International Open in June.
PGA Catalunya Resort www.pgacatalunya.com
Qualifying School www.europeantour.com/europeantour/qualifying