Just eleven Irish players will tee it up in the Second Stage of DP World Tour Q-School across four golf courses in Spain this week as the race to secure a tour card for the 2025 season hots up.
Irish amateurs Max Kennedy (Royal Dublin) and David Kitt (Athenry) will be joined by Rowan Lester, Paul McBride, Cormac Sharvin, Mark Power, Liam Nolan, Niall Kearney, Paul Dunne, Jonathan Caldwell and Ronan Mullarney.
Teeing off at Fontanals Golf Club are Lester and Kitt who both came through the First Stage last month with Kitt shooting a low round to make the cut on the number last time out.
The Maynooth University student has been the surprise package of Q-School so far and in fact it has been the performances of some of Ireland’s young guns that have papered over the cracks of a disappointing examination so far which will only raise questions as to where Irish golf is going.
Kennedy also came through the first stage of Q-School last month, in the same field as Kitt and he is keeping his options open for when he eventually turns professional.
“I’m going to stay amateur until I get some sort of status on tour,” said Kennedy who is eligible to compete in the LIV Golf Promotions event in December but has ruled out a trip to Korn Ferry Tour Q-School.
“No it clashes with the DP World Tour and potentially the Asian Tour they just seem better dates for me so I will do both of them.”
Kennedy will be bidding to advance to the Final Stage after four rounds at Isla Canela Links where he will be joined by McBride, Sharvin and Power.
That trio all came through the First Stage with Sharvin’s career revival still on track after a T12 on his last Challenge Tour appearance as the 31-year-old looks to give tour life another crack.
Nolan came through the First Stage in dramatic fashion. Having led overnight he finished eagle, birdie for the best round of 76 he will ever shoot to qualify on the mark at two-under.
The Galway man tees off at Desert Springs Resort alongside former Walker Cup player Kearney and 2017 British Masters champion Dunne while Caldwell joins them after his Challenge Tour campaign came to an end in China.
Mullarney is the lone Irishman in Golf Las Panaillas as he looks to gain some confidence going into 2025 after a tough maiden campaign on the Challenge Tour.