Benjamin Rusch is fighting for a card at the DP World Tour Qualifying School Final Stage having got through Second Stage with borrowed clubs.
As part of this week's collaboration with Monday Q Info, Ryan French tells some of the stories from Q School that often fly under the radar.
Friday at the Final Stage of DP World Tour Qualifying School, Switzerland’s Benjamin Rusch shot a bogey-free eight under 64 at the Hills Course at INFINITUM.
It was the best round of the day on the Hills Course but how he made it to this moment might be more impressive: last week, Rusch advanced through the Second Stage with a borrowed set of clubs.
When Rusch arrived in Spain from Zurich with fellow Swiss pro Jeremy Freiburghaus, neither of their clubs arrived with them. Multiple calls provided little information, so Rusch attempted other ways to get clubs.
Rusch called Ping in hopes of getting a new set but given the short notice, it was impossible. A local rep had a set that Rusch tried, but the specs were too far from Rusch’s own.
Just before the start of the first round, Freiburghaus received a call that his clubs had arrived but Rusch was still out of luck. The only option was to use a local professional’s set.
The irons were Ping but not the same type that Rusch played. The driver and three wood were the same heads but with different shafts, and the wedges were bent much differently than his.
"I spent a lot of time on the Trackman," Rusch told me when I asked how he got used to the new clubs.
He said the irons in the borrowed set had a hotter face and therefore the ball jumped a little bit more. In order to learn the new yardages of each club he hit as many balls as possible on the range with his Trackman, trying to dial in the yardages.
Benjamin Rusch shot 64 friday to open @DPWTQSchool but the story is about second stage, where Rusch used borrowed clubs to get thru after Air Swiss lost his clubs.
— No More Monday Q Info (@acaseofthegolf1) November 9, 2024
My article about phone calls, road trips, and surviving second stage. https://t.co/QNagv5iVtS
Rusch opened with a very solid 68 and although most of the clubs had worked well, the wedge specs were so different from his that he searched for a store to get them bent. The good news was he found a place. The bad news was it was nearly an hour away. He made the drive and was able to get the clubs worked on. Although not perfect, the clubs were much improved.
For the next three rounds, Rusch was able to shoot under par, finishing at 12 under and sneaking through to this week's Final Stage.
I have heard of professionals playing a tournament round or an event with borrowed clubs but I've never heard of a player getting through Q School with borrowed clubs.
Luckily, a few days after the Second Stage, Rusch’s clubs were located. Although they took 36 more hours to get delivered, Rusch and his clubs were reunited prior to the start of the Final Stage.
