The DP World Tour Qualifying School enters its final stages in Spain and it's a make-or-break moment. Here's everything you need to know about one of golf's most competitive tests.
Since 1976, Q School has provided professional and amateur golfers from around the world with access to a Tour Card on Europe's premier tour, the DP World Tour.
With future livelihoods at stake and only 20 cards up for grabs — five fewer than in 2023 — the 2024 Class of Q School will be the most stressful and competitive yet.
To gain a chance to compete, players must pass two 72-hole stages before earning a spot in the 156-person field at the INFINITUM Golf Resort in Tarragona, Spain, for the final stage of a grueling six-round marathon. Decide who has the skills.
For those who prove their worth, a possible springboard to an honorable and lucrative career awaits. Just ask former alumni. Sandy Lyle, Jose Maria Olazabal, Colin Montgomerie, Jesper Parnevik, Retief Goosen, Padraig Harrington, Miguel Angel Jimenez and Justin Rose are among the stars who have graduated from Q School.

Q What is the format of School?
Q School's first phase will feature 72 holes of stroke play competition at nine European venues, with each venue sending approximately 15 players (subject to draws) into the second phase in Spain. Here, another series of four 72-hole tournaments determines the 156 players who will advance to the final stages of Q School.
In a way – that's the easy part. Now the pressure is on again in Tarragona, with two challenges at the INFINITUM Stadium on the Lake District and Mountain Courses before advancing, where the top 65 players will compete for 20 Tour cards at the Lake District.

Q School 2024: Schedule and Venue
final stage
- INFINITUM Golf Resort (Lake and Hills Course), Tarragona, Spain – November 8-13 November 3
second stage
- Desert Springs Resort, Almeria, Spain – October 31 – November 3
- Isla Canela Links, Huelva, Spain – October 31 – November 3
- Las Pinaillas Golf Course, Albacete, Spain – October 31 – November
- Fontanas Golf Club, Girona, Spain – October 31st – November 3rd
first stage (complete)
- Players Club, Bristol, England – August 27-30
- Sutri National Golf Course, Italy – August 27-30
- Millennium Golf, Paal, Bellingen, Belgium – September 3-6
- Huddersfield Golf Club, Huddersfield, UK – September 3-6
- Arlandastad Golf (Masters Course), Rothersburg, Sweden, September 10-13
- Schloss Ebreichsdorf Golf Club, Ebreichsdorf, Austria September 11-14
- Donnington Grove Golf Club, Newbury, England – September 17-20
- Horsens Golf Club, Horsens, Denmark – September 24-27
- Poses Golf de Léry Poses, France – September 24-27
Which Tour pros have lost their Tour cards?
The DP World Tour concluded its regular season at the Genesis Championship on Sunday, October 27, with Byeong Hun An winning in a playoff against Tom Kim on home soil in South Korea. This day is also the last chance for players to consolidate their place in the top 114 of the Race to Dubai rankings. The reward for doing so is… a shiny new 2025 Tour card.
Five-time DPWT champion Ross Fisher is ranked 114th despite missing the cut. But while the Englishman breathed the biggest sigh of relief in Asia, others admitted their careers were hanging on a knife's edge.

Some of the better-known names fall woefully short, including:
No.115——Wu Ashun
No.119 – David Law
No. 120 – Eddie Pepperell
No. 127 – Rafa Cabrera Bello

Who won Q School?
Sandy Lyle (1977), José María Olazábal (1985), Jesper Parnevik (1988), Retief Goosen (1992), Adrián Otaegui (2015) and Sam Horsfield (2017) are all past qualifying school champions. The list of recent winners includes:
Year | site | Winner | nation | Fraction |
---|---|---|---|---|
2023 | unlimited golf | freddie short | Germany | 401 |
2022 | unlimited golf | Simon Fostrom | Sweden | Chapter 399 |
2019 | Snowland Golf Club | Benjamin Polk | Denmark | Chapter 403 |
2018 | Snowland Golf Club | Alejandro Cañizares, Xander Lombard | Spain, South Africa | 404 |
2017 | Snowland Golf Club | Sam Horsfield | England | 401 |
2016 | PGA Catalonia Golf | Nathan Kendi | England | Chapter 415 |
2015 | PGA Catalonia Golf | Ulrich van den Berg, Adrian Ortegui, Daniel Im | South Africa, Spain, United States | 410 |
2014 | PGA Catalonia Golf | Mikko Korhonen | Finland | Chapter 408 |
2013 | PGA Catalonia Golf | Carlos del Moral | Spain | Chapter 402 |
2012 | PGA Catalonia Golf | John Parry | England | 409 |
2011 | PGA Catalonia Golf | David Dixon | England | 407 |
2010 | PGA Catalonia Golf | Simon Wakefield | England | 407 |

Who wins the 2023 Q School Tour Card?
Final stage qualifiers:
- freddie short
- Filippo Celli
- Sebastian Friedrichsen
- Darius Vandrill
- Matisse Bessard
- Sam Jones
- Tom Lewis
- Sebastian Garcia
- Haydn Barron
- Christian Crow Johannessen
- jack davidson
- Jacques Kruswijk
- Renato Paratore
- Andrew Wilson
- Kiladek Afibanarat
- David Lavitto
- Peter Moorman
- Garrick Portis
- Niccolò Galetti
- Joshua Berry
- Benjamin Rush
- Jonathan Gott Rasmussen
- Christopher Broberg
- Rhys Enoch
- Darren Fitchart
- Jannik de Bruin
- Pedro Figueiredo
- Søren Broholt Lind
- Nikolai von Deringshausen
- Laurie Ruska
- Alfredo Garcia-Heredia
- Joe Dean
- James Nicholas
About the author

Ross Tugwood – Senior Digital Writer
Ross Tugwood is a senior digital writer at Todays-golfer.com, focusing on data, analytics, science and innovation.
Ross is passionate about optimizing athletic performance and has ten years’ experience working with professional athletes and coaches at British Athletics, British Institute of Sport and Team GB.
He is an NCTJ certified journalist with graduate degrees in performance analysis and sports journalism, which allows him to critically analyze and review the latest golf equipment and technology to help you make more informed purchasing decisions.