It can make or break careers, and is perhaps the most pressure, real pressure, golfers ever face as they're playing for the futures - it's the DP World Tour Qualifying School.
First introduced in 1976, Q School offers golfers from around the world, both professional and amateurs, the chance to bag cards for the DP World Tour.
It's a gruelling and arduous path to the DP World Tour, with three stages from the very start to the very end - which again sees the culmination take place at the INFINITUM resort in Spain.
Overall, 15 venues will be used, with 10 events in the first stage, four in the second and then the final event, which in itself is a gruelling one. It's all worth it if you get your hands on a DP World Tour card though.
What is the format for Final Stage Q School?
The ultimate goal for those entering at any stage is to get to INFINITUM Resort in Spain, when they'll then really be put through their paces in perhaps the toughest event in golf.
There will be 156 players in the field for Final Stage Q School, which will be played over six gruelling rounds of golf under the most intense pressure.
Playing for tournament wins and Major titles is a privilege, playing just to get on Tour, and possibly your golfing career? Now that's pressure.
The full field will tackle the Lakes Course and the Hills Course at INFINITUM twice, with then a four-round cut taking place as the top 65 and ties play the final two nerve-jangling rounds on the Lakes Course.
After the dust has all settled, the top 20 players and ties will win get their hands on those coveted DP World Tour cards - which is down from 25 that were on offer last year.
The 2024 DP World Tour Q School schedule & venues
- FIRST STAGE
- The Players Club, Bristol, England - August 27-30
- Golf Nazionale, Sutri, Italy - August 27-30
- Millennium Golf, Paal, Beringen, Belgium - September 3-6
- Huddersfield Golf Club, Huddersfield, England - September 3-6
- Arlandastad Golf (Masters Course), Rosersberg, Sweden September 10-13
- Golfclub Schloss Ebreichsdorf, Ebreichsdorf, Austria September 11-14
- Donnington Grove Golf Club, Newbury, England - September 17-20
- Horsens Golfklub, Horsens, Denmark - September 24-27
- Golf de Léry Poses, Poses, France - September 24-27
- SECOND STAGE October 31 - November 3
- Desert Springs Resort, Almeria, Spain
- Isla Canela Links, Huelva, Spain
- Golf Las Pinaillas, Albacete, Spain
- Fontanals Golf Club, Girona, Spain
- FINAL STAGE November 8-13
- INFINITUM Golf Resort (Lakes & Hills Courses), Tarragona, Spain
Which famous players have come through Q School?
Major champions, World No.1s, European Tour and Ryder Cup stalwarts, you name it they've done it after coming through Q School over the years.
Looking down the list of names who have actually won the Q School event, we have Jose Maria Olazabal, Jesper Parnevik, Gordon Brand Jr, Sandy Lyle and Retief Goosen as standout star names.
Eight-time European No.1 Colin Montgomerie also came through Q School, as did former US Open and Olympic champion Justin Rose, three-time Major champion Padraig Harrington and Spanish star Miguel Angel Jimenez.
Who qualified from Q School in 2023?
Overall, 33 players made it through with some typical drama being played out - including Englishman Garrick Porteous making an eagle on the last to grab a card.
Freddy Schott topped the leaderboard with a host of DP World Tour winners managing to maintain or win back their playing privileges for the 2024 season.
Five-time DP World Tour winner Darren Fichardt ensured his return to the top tier of European golf alongside four-time tournament champion Kiradech Aphibarnrat of Thailand.
Two-time winners on Tour Tom Lewis, Renato Paratore and Kristoffer Broberg were also successful in winning cards from the toughest test in golf.
- Final Stage Qualifiers
- Freddy Schott
- Filippo Celli
- Sebastian Friedrichsen
- Darius van Driel
- Matthis Besard
- Sam Jones
- Tom Lewis
- Sebastian Garcia
- Haydn Barron
- Kristian Krogh Johannessen
- Jack Davidson
- Jacques Kruyswijk
- Renato Paratore
- Andrew Wilson
- Kiradech Aphibarnrat
- David Ravetto
- Pieter Moolman
- Garrick Porteous
- Nicolo Galletti
- Joshua Berry
- Benjamin Rusch
- Jonathan Gøth-Rasmussen
- Kristoffer Broberg
- Rhys Enoch
- Darren Fichardt
- Jannik de Bruyn
- Pedro Figueiredo
- Søren Broholt Lind
- Nicolai von Dellingshausen
- Lauri Ruuska
- Alfredo Garcia-Heredia
- Joe Dean
- James Nicholas
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