November 15-20
Lumine Golf Club, Tarragona, Spain
Round 1, Round 2, Round 3, Round 4, Round 5

Benjamin Poke completed an emphatic six-stroke victory at European Tour Qualifying School Final Stage to run away with the title as 28 players earned life-changing European Tour cards.

"To play on the European Tour is something that you always dream about when you are young, so to finally stand here with my card is unbelievable.

“I know that when I get it going I can shoot really low and that I'm playing well but I was still really nervous going out there this morning. I kept trusting my game and trusted my swing and my game plan. I never relaxed though, because I know that anything can happen in this game, so it was a matter of just taking things one shot at a time.

“Some weeks on Challenge Tour this year I gave myself a good shot at lifting a title and unfortunately got beaten, but they were good weeks and good performances.

“Before this week I knew that I had developed my game a lot since last year. I was happy to reach the Road to Mallorca Grand Final and I was thinking that anything I managed to do this week was a bit of a bonus. I managed to keep that mentality all week and not get too far ahead of myself, just focus on the day in hand.

“I'm planning to celebrate this moment for a while. You work so hard and then there are times when you are struggling and it's not easy, but you've got to get up and carry on and celebrate the good times when they happen.”

The Dane, who led from the second round at Lumine Golf Club, was in complete control throughout the marathon test, breaking 70 each day to post rounds of 67-67-69-67-69-64 and seal victory ahead of three-time European Tour winner Grégory Havret, who came second on 19 under par.

“I've missed the European Tour since last year and even though I had a great time playing on the Challenge Tour this season it was make-or-break for me this week in terms of my career, so it's a big relief to secure my card this week," said Havret.

‘'I'm turning 43 on Monday so I don't have too long left in my career but I'm going to take the positives from this week and come back out on the Tour a little bit fresher and enjoy being back in the company of my friends on the European Tour.”

Poke, 27, has just completed his rookie season on the European Challenge Tour and will be joined on the top tier by his 18-year-old countryman Rasmus Højgaard, who overcame an opening-round 74 to finish Final Stage in a share of fifth place on 16 under par.

“It feels amazing to have my European Tour card," said Højgaard. "It's been such a long week to get it done feels very special.

“I kind of knew once Nicolai was on the back nine that he wasn't going to get his card. It's sad that he isn't going to get his card and that we won't be together on the European Tour next year but that's just how it is sometimes. I can play good for a few weeks and then he can come in with a good few weeks, it's different almost every week and that is how golf is sometimes.

“When I hit my tee shot on 17 then I knew that I was going to be OK and I just relaxed a little, and thought ‘I've got this now' and to get a good drive away on the 18th was huge.”

The promise of a thrilling conclusion to Final Stage was fulfilled again on the Lakes Course as American Sihwan Kim carded an eight under par final round of 63 to jump 38 places and finish the tournament with a European Tour card in hand, as he cemented a share of 17th place

“I knew I had to post a number so I just went out there really aggressive, took the right lines and just swung at it.

“I've been in Europe for a while now, since 2012, so this is nothing new to me. I'm pretty tired but pretty happy about the score I posted.

“I knew what I had to do and I knew I had to post a really good number today so I just went out there and did it.”

Kim's fellow American Johannes Veerman also completed an impressive turnaround, and after opening Final Stage with a pair of 74s, the 27-year-old came storming back to close with rounds of 67-67-66-66 to end the tournament on 14 under par, booking his ticket to the European Tour with a tied 13 th place finish.

The greatest excitement was delivered by Rikard Karlberg, who holed a 50-foot putt on the 108 th and final hole to finish in a tie for 25 th place, picking up the last available European Tour card. The emphatic end to the gruelling tournament completed an emotional comeback for the Swede, who returned to professional golf in 2019 following a battle with a serious infection and depression.

“I hit my second shot a bit further away from the pin than I wanted and had around 50 feet for birdie. I had a feeling all day that the number would be 12 under par, so I knew I needed to hole it. When I hit it, I thought it should be good and then I saw it was tracing the line perfectly and saw the speed and thought ‘come on, just reach'.

“The euphoria I felt was just happiness. I don't think anyone really likes this week. It's horrible. It's pressure all week and you're walking with tension and you don't have much room for error. This week has been so frustrating with my putter; I missed so many putts and then to be able to hole that one when I needed, it just feels fantastic.

“I think I am a better golfer now than I was then. I've played a few years on Tour and I've learned about the pressure and I've learned that you need to hit the shots, even if you're nervous.”

Frenchmen Havret, Jean-Baptiste Gonnet, Adrien Saddier and Robin Sciot-Siegrist all booked their tickets to the European Tour at Final Stage, equalling the record for the number of French players to graduate from Qualifying School.

The 2019 European Tour Qualifying School was contested over 252 holes in three stages across 14 different venues. A record number of 1,063 entrants bid for one of the coveted European Tour cards, surpassing the previous record of 1,026 from 2017.