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As if the strain of trying to maintain playing rights on the European Tour wasn’t tough enough, the shocking weather at the Andalucia Valderrama Masters over the past few days has been very problematic.
With the tournament already reduced to 54 holes, weather curtailed the final day’s play meaning a rare Monday finish, with all of the players currently out on the course.
It also means that the futures of some household names of the European Tour are still up in the air.
We’ll start with what we do know, though.
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In missing the cut, Matteo Manassero and Gregory Havret are among those Q-School bound. Four-time European Tour winner Manassero has been on tour every year since 2010, while Havret – the 2007 Scottish Open champion – has been held full European Tour playing rights since 2001.
Players battling into Monday at Valderrama to avoid heading to Q-School to maintain their European Tour status include Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano, Richie Ramsay, Marc Warren, Matthew Nixon, David Horsey, Callum Shinkwin, Paul Peterson and Connor Syme.
The top 116 players on the Race to Dubai will keep their cards.
The best-placed of that current bunch is home player Fernandez-Castano. He’s currently T3 and scheduled to move up 30 spots from 125th to 95th in the Race to Dubai. A top ten finish will likely be enough to see him get over the line.
Horsey is currently T40 at Valderrama and currently projected 115th in the Race to Dubai, but only €5,000 ahead of the cut-off point. It’ll likely be a nervy closing few holes for the Englishman to maintain his status.
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Ramsay was T20 ahead of the resumption of play and €7,000 below the top 116. A top 15 finish would likely seal his status, should other results go his way. Meanwhile, fellow Scot Warren – currently T6 – needs to finish second to stand a chance of keeping his rights. He started the final day three behind second-placed Lee Westwood.
Nixon, like Warren, was among the players lodged at T6. Breaking into the top five could see him keep his card. It’s likely to be a tougher ask for the likes of Shinkwin (T48), Peterson (T20) and Syme (T58), all of whom needs massive final days to crack the top 116.
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