Tim Rice put up a brave fight but came up several shots shy of the qualification mark at the DP World Tour Q-School Stage One Qualifier at Golf PGA France du Vaudreuil.
The Limerick man closed out the week with a one-under 71, having opened with the same score and shot his best round of the week with a 70 on day three, but it was a two-over 74 in round two that ultimately left him too much to do in the final round.
Knowing that he needed to shoot a round in the mid 60s and hope for the best, Rice, having started on the 10th, made it to the turn at -1 but two bogeys on holes one and two ended all hopes. He kept plugging away and made back-to-back birdies on seven and eight, closing out the week at -2 and tied for 32nd with the top 17 and ties advancing.
It was an Argentine one-two at the top, with Andres German Gallegos cruising to medallist honours having hit the front after round two. He finished on -21 after a closing 68, six clear of fellow countryman Vicente Marzilio, with Norway’s Mats Ege finishing third.
Three players finished tied for 16th at -7, completing the lineup for Stage Two which is staged over four Spanish venues between October 30 and November 02.
Hugh Foley, John Ross Galbraith, Cormac Sharvin, Paul McBride, Tom Dowdall, David Carey, Robert Moran and Mark Power all managed to play their ways through Stage One, and will take their places in Spain along with several other Irishmen with the fields set to be confirmed over the coming weeks.
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