Get ready for one of the most dramatic and significant weeks in the DP World Tour calendar as 156 players battle it out for a card in 2025. Here are your five things to know about the DP World Tour Qualifying School Final Stage.
How did we get here?
The Qualifying School started at the end of August and over the course of the next five weeks, nine events took place across seven countries in the First Stage.
There were wins for Luca Cianchetti, Callum Farr, Matthew Cheung, Ben Jones, Dan Erickson, amateur Pablo Alperi López, Calum Fyfe, Jiří Zuska and Matt Sharpstene but they and all the other qualifiers still had a long way to go.
Last weekend, four Spanish courses hosted Second Stage, with Zuska claiming another win along with David Boriboonsub, Clément Sordet and Haydn Barron.
Now they and 90 other qualifiers will join the 62 DP World Tour and European Challenge Tour players already exempt at Final Stage.
The format
The DP World Tour Qualifying School Final Stage takes places over six rounds and two courses at INFINITUM, which has played host for the last five editions.
Each player will play two rounds over INFINITUM's Lakes and Hills courses before a 72-hole cut is made.
The final two rounds will then see the remaining players battle it out to finish in the top 20, with the top 20 and ties earning playing privileges on the DP World Tour for next season.
The field
With its combination of global qualifying events and exemptions from DP World and Challenge Tours, the Final Stage brings together one of the most eclectic fields in golf.
Last year's winner Freddy Schott agonisingly dropped out of the top 114 on the Race to Dubai Rankings in Partnership with Rolex at the regular season finale so he returns to defend his title alongside four-time DP World Tour winner Wu Ashun, the only other player in the field who also fell the wrong side of that line at the Genesis Championship.
Scotland's Stephen Gallacher tees it up a week after his 50th birthday and is joined by fellow Ryder Cup players Oliver Wilson, Chris Wood and Edoardo Molinari - who is currently serving as a Vice Captain to Luke Donald.
Multiple DP World Tour winners Eddie Pepperell, James Morrison, Renato Paratore, David Horsey, Justin Harding, Gonzalo Fernandez-Castaño, Marc Warren, George Coetzee, Lee Slattery and Tom Lewis are also in the field along with a host of rising stars.
Jacob Skov Olesen, Luis Masaveu, Bastien Amat and Max Kennedy were all in the Global Amateur Pathway Rankings last season and are looking to take their next step. Masaveu and Amat have turned professional but Tiger Christensen makes it three amateurs in the field along with Olesen and Kennedy.
The history
Since the inaugural contest in 1976, DP World Tour Qualifying School has proved itself to be a breeding ground that has resulted in a host of Major Champions, World Number Ones and Ryder Cup players.
Colin Montgomerie, Sandy Lyle, Justin Rose and Miguel Ángel Jiménez are just a few European greats to make it through ‘golf’s toughest test’ before going on to taste glory on the world stage.
In 2024, Joe Dean and Alfredo Garcia-Heredia both birdied the last to snatch a card at the death and this week they find themselves at the DP World Tour Play-Offs in Abu Dhabi.
Darren Fichardt, Kiradech Aphibarnrat, Jacques Kruyswijk and Andrew Wilson all also retained their DP World Tour playing privileges from last season's alumni.
The venue
INFINITUM will host the Final Stage of DP World Tour Qualifying School for a sixth time this week, having previously staged the event from 2017-2019 and again in 2022 and 2023 but this is the last time it will do so in its current guise.
After Final Stage finishes, nine holes of the Hills will be ripped up and redesigned, with the remaining nine getting similar treatment once the first nine are completed.
The Lakes and the Hills are the two courses which will be played this week, and present two very different challenges. The Lakes course surrounds the lakes and the Sèquia Major wetlands, one of the most important ecosystems in the region, while the Hills course is played between natural pine trees and cliffs, with panoramic sea views.
The resort as a whole is one of Europe’s most highly-sought after lifestyle and leisure experiences, with world-class golf, modern gastronomy, off-course activities, and a contemporary beach club featuring state-of-the-art facilities, including eight swimming pools, a Tapas Bar, and one of Costa Daurada’s best restaurants.
