Tour School Final Qualifying: Former heroes get no favours at the last chance saloon. The European Tour final qualifying school, which starts today at San Roque, Spain, over the New and the Old courses, will see fledgling professionals, club professionals, journeymen and those who have contributed to Ryder Cup success start on an equal footing as they go in quest of one of the 30 cards available.
Philip Walton is one of three former Ryder Cup players in the field, along with Peter Baker and Jarmo Sandelin. And the Malahide man's journey to San Roque, where last year he regained his tour card for the first time since 1999, comes after a nightmarish season in which he made only two cuts in 15 tournaments and finished 275th in the Order of Merit, with earnings of €7,453.
Yet, the 43-year-old has decided to have another go at winning back his card, and has returned to San Roque in search of last year's swing. All season, he has been plagued by poor driving: he found only 48 per cent of fairways throughout the year. But, perhaps, the return to happier hunting grounds could prove to be the ingredient Walton has needed.
Winning a card won't be easy. There are five Irishmen in the field of 156 players - Walton, Stephen Browne, Colm Moriarty, John Kelly and Eamonn Brady - and they face six rounds of golf, 108 holes, before the top 30 and ties will be awarded cards to play on next season's European Tour.
Those who survive the four-round cut will at least be able to fall back on the Challenge Tour.
Browne, who won the Kazakhstan Open this season, already has a tour card for next season thanks to his 19th place on the Challenge Tour money list. However, he has decided to play in San Roque in an attempt to improve his status. Moriarty, who had a decent first full year on the Challenge Tour, will hope regular tournament play this season will give him a cutting edge.
Kelly and Brady earned their tickets to San Roque the hard way. The duo have already come through two phases of pre-qualifying, most recently at Costa Ballena last week.
Browne, Walton, Moriarty and Kelly start their campaigns on the Old Course today, while Brady's quest gets under way on the New Course. Players play alternate courses for the first four rounds.
Moriarty is in a three-ball which includes probably the unluckiest man on the full tour this season. David Drysdale finished 117th in the Order of Merit, and missed out on retaining his card by one spot. Now, though, he has to start off from scratch again. Just like the other 155 players competing.
