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Players from six separate nations will take on Australians hoping to shore up their status on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia when the Final Stage of Qualifying School begins at Moonah Links on Tuesday.
A total of 36 players advanced from two sections of First Stage played across the Open and Legends courses at Moonah Links last week and are now joined by 24 players who finished between 51st and 100th on the 2023/2024 Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit.
West Australian Joseph Owen was exempt into Final Stage due to his finish on the Future Tour Order of Merit last season while Singapore’s Ryan Ang and Argentinian Segundo Oliva Pinto have been issued amateur exemptions for a total field of 66 players.
Ang (pictured) was 11th at the Australian Men’s Amateur Championship in January while Oliva Pinto has spent five years playing college golf in the US, firstly for the University of North Carolina Wilmington and most recently the University of Arkansas.
Justin Quiban of the Philippines already boasts top-10 finishes on the Asian Tour while Canadian amateur Dustin Franko is another recent college graduate from The University of Hawai‘i at Hilo.
Congratulations to the 36 players advancing to the 2024-25 Final Stage Qualifying School at Moonah Links next week!
— PGA of Australia (@PGAofAustralia) April 5, 2024
Final scores: https://t.co/x31wjbjXFB pic.twitter.com/kmboLdeGm9
Along with four Kiwis, American Matt Siporin completes the league of nations, the mini tour veteran in the US successfully navigating First Stage of Q School to pursue full status for the 2024/2025 season.
In addition to the international contingent, there are a host of familiar Aussie names also eager to secure playing opportunities for the coming season.
Amateurs Jordan Doull (WA), Jye Pickin (NSW), Connor McDade (VIC), Ben Henkel (VIC), Tyler Duncan (QLD), Ryan Swann (QLD), Siddharth Nadimpalli (VIC), Blaike Perkins (QLD), Harry Goakes (VIC) and Dominic Brettkelly (NZ) can all kick-start their journey into the professional ranks while others, such as Lincoln Tighe, Nathan Barbieri and Denzel Ieremia are out to enhance their category positions.
Twelve months ago, New Zealand amateur Kazuma Kobori was Q-School medallist, going on to win three times in his rookie season to claim the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit.
All four rounds of Final Stage will be played at the Moonah Links Open Course with Round 1 to tee off at 8am Tuesday morning.
The top 30 finishers will earn Full Tournament Membership of the PGA of Australia and be placed in a Tournament Exemption Category.
Those players finishing beyond 30th place and ties, who complete 72 holes at Final Stage, will be eligible for Full Tournament Membership of the PGA of Australia, however, they will not hold an exemption category for the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia.
All players who play 72 holes of the Final Stage will earn a pro-am exemption category and be eligible to enter adidas PGA Pro-Am series events.
