Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen is looking to finish an impressive debut season as a professional by securing a DP World Tour card when he tees it up in Final Stage Qualifying School at INFINITUM.
The Final Stage of Qualifying School will consist of six rounds with each player playing two rounds at the Lakes Course and two at the Hills Course at INFINITUM, before the top 70 and ties play the final two rounds at the Lakes Course.
The Dane impressed in Second Stage last week with a fourth place finish at Golf Las Pinaillas, and having already secured playing rights on the Challenge Tour for 2024, is hoping to go one better this week, with the top 25 and ties earning DP World Tour playing privileges next season.
“I know this is a very different week to any other week, but I try to keep the mindset that it’s just another tournament,” he said. “The stakes might be a bit bigger than any other event, but I’ll be trying to take it day-by-day and shot-by-shot. We’ll then see where I am at the end of the week.
“I like where my game is at, I really do. We were on and off the golf course last week because of high winds, so that was hard but I was pleased to get through and I’m excited for the week ahead.
“I know it’s a long week so I’m trying to prioritise staying as fresh as possible. Part of it is being as prepared as possible on the course, but it’s almost more important to be fresh at the end of the week. I think that can make a real difference.”
The 24-year-old turned professional in June, and alongside two top five finishes on the Challenge Tour, finished tied seventh in the BMW International Open and tied 22nd in the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship last month on the DP World Tour.
Neergaard-Petersen is hoping to use those experiences to his advantage this week and admits it would mean everything to earn his playing privileges on Golf’s Global Tour.
“I’ve done quite well with the starts I’ve had on the DP World Tour so far, but it would mean the world if I could secure a card for next season,” he added. “Hopefully I can start by putting a good number up in round one and take it from there.”
Neergaard-Petersen will be joined in Spain this week by the likes of five-time DP World Tour winner Alexander Levy and four-time DP World Tour winner Kiradech Aphibarnrat.
England’s Tom Lewis and Oliver Fisher, Frenchman Grégory Havret, Spaniard Alvaro Quiros and Scotland’s Marc Warren also join a star-studded field as past DP World Tour winners.
As well as seasoned professionals, young hopefuls are also aiming to seize playing privileges for 2024. Frenchman Martin Couvra won as an amateur on the Challenge Tour this season before turning professional, and he’ll be aiming for a spot in the top 25, as will Zimbabwean Benjamin Follett-Smith who narrowly missed out on earning promotion to the DP World Tour at last week’s Rolex Challenge Tour Grand Final supported by The R&A.
DP World Tour Qualifying School has produced a host of Major Champions, World Number Ones and Ryder Cup stars since the inaugural contest in 1976. Colin Montgomerie, Sandy Lyle, Justin Rose and Miguel Ángel Jiménez are just a few European greats to make it through ‘golf’s toughest test’ before going on to taste glory on the world stage.
INFINITUM, formerly known as Lumine Golf, hosted Final Stage from 2017-2019 and again in 2022 as Swede Simon Forsström secured a two-stroke victory to become one of 28 players to earn their DP World Tour cards.
The first round gets under way at 9:05am local time, with Neergaard-Petersen teeing off alongside Havret and Korean Jeunghun Wang at 11:12am.
