Jamie Donaldson narrowly retains European Tour card

Almost exactly three years after securing the winning point in the Ryder Cup match at Gleneagles, Jamie Donaldson has clung on to his playing privileges on the European Tour by the skin of his teeth.

The Welshman finished fourth at the final regular tour event of the season, the Andalusia Masters at Valderrama, to move inside the top 101 of the Race to Dubai standings.

Starting the event ranked 118th, Donaldson knew that he needed at least a top-eight finish to avoid a trip to Qualifying School or using his Career Money List exemption next season.

A final round of 71 helped him consolidate the finish he needed and move up 19 places on the standings into 99th position.

And judging by his Twitter account, it’s clear that he was pretty relieved…

“You’ve got to finish a certain position to guarantee things, so
you’ve always got that in the back of your mind, but you’ve just got to
play the golf course as you planned to play it,” Donaldson told Sky Sports.

“I had a bit of a cushion knowing that I didn’t completely need to
keep my card because I do have a year left of my Career Money List
exemption but, even so, you don’t want to use it.”

As well as Donaldson, Daniel Brooks climbed to 97th place after
finishing third, with Australia’s Wade Ormsby also securing his playing
rights after finishing fifth.