Joy and despair as Q School Final ends at Camiral

After six gruelling days of golf at Camiral Resort, well seven if you include the half day that was abandoned due to frost, the European Tour Q School Final has come to an end and 30 golfers have beaming smiles having secured their place on the lucrative Race to Dubai in 2011.

Joint overnight leader Simon Wakefield from England shot a second successive 5-under-par to finish 21-under for the week and claim the top prize from Spaniard Carlos Del Moral who finished two shots behind.

It was another fine day for scoring on the Stadium Course of Camiral, and once again the players took full advantage with some outstanding low scores.

The big movers were Adam Gee, from England, and Germany’s Florian Fritsch, who both moved up into the qualification places with rounds of seven under.

Gee moved up 24 places after the final round to secure his Tour card. Fritsch, who led after the first two rounds of the week slipped out of the top 30 after his penultimate round, but the final day’s birdie blitz saw him climb a staggering 32 places to secure his European Tour playing privileges for next year.

The German is apparently petrified of flying, though I’m sure the lure of the European Tour and its potential riches will soon help him cure that.

Next year’s European Tour will see a second set of brothers joining the Molinaris, Eduardo and Francesco, after a final day surge by Elliot Saltman saw him and brother Lloyd, both finish in the top 30 and secure Tour cards.

Elliot enjoyed his first experience at Camiral, saying: “The course is awesome. This is the first time I’ve played here and both courses are phenomenal, and in fantastic condition.”

While there were celebrations for some, inevitably there was despair for others as they slipped out of the top 30 and missed out on their chance to compete on the European Tour.

Spain’s Jorge Campillo suffered a torrid final day at Camiral, dropping 50 places from fifth overnight to 55th after shooting a 9-over-par 81, destroying his dreams of a spot in the Race to Dubai.

The plaudits belong to Wakefield who claimed on the penultimate evening that he had changed his target of qualifying for a Tour card to winning Q School Final, and he achieved exactly that.