Scot David Drysdale was headed to Spain’s and this week’s second stage of the DP World Tour Q-School buoyed by his best finish all season, despite the disappointment of losing full 2023 Tour playing rights.
Drysdale went into the final round of the Portugal Masters sharing eighth place and needing to finish second on his own to retain his Tour card for what would be a 15th straight season.
‘Double D’ and contesting his 574th Tour event, signed for a closing 68 for a 15-under par tally for a gutsy eighth place, and a first top-10 in a 31-event, injury plagued 2022 season. It helped him pick-up 16 spots and officially end his season 158th on the money list but well shy of 117th for those who retained their cards.
England’s Jordan Smith, who soon turns 30, stamped his authority shooting a closing 63 to capture second Tour title by five shots, with his 30-under victory tally on the Dom Pedro Victoria course in Vilamoura.
Drysdale headed to the scorer’s hut, handed in his scorecard, and emerged to be mobbed not by well-wishers but youngsters seeking autographs.
The 47-year-old, along with his wife Vicky who is both manager and caddy, headed to the clubhouse to clean out his locker, and heading to the Desert Springs course at Almeria to the north-east of Malaga, and one of four Spanish host Q-School courses.
Proud of my hubby the way he played @PortugalMasters this week 💪⛳️ Thank you to all who supported us this season👍 It hasn’t been the best year However 574 tournaments ⛳️👊@DPWorldTour you aint seen the last off #TeamDD❤️ just yet 😂💪#nextstopQSchool
— Victoria Drysdale (@vicky_drysdale) October 30, 2022
Drysdale said: “It’s been a good week for me, posting four rounds in the 60s, so it’s nice to be showing a bit of form and looking forward to next week.
“The new Callaway irons I put into the bag on Tuesday have been great as I hit a lot of good iron shots this week, and that was a big plus.
“Overall, I’m heading back to Spain with the game in good shape. It was a little disappointing today I didn’t hole that many putts but all-in-all I’m very happy where the game is at.”
It will be four rounds starting Thursday on a course Drysdale has not played before and with the top finishers at each venue then heading to the following week to Tarragona for the final stage, and a six-round torture test to see who earns a 2023 Tour card.
Drysdale will be among around a dozen Scots teeing-up this week including Kingsbarns Links Daniel Young and Dumfries Liam Johnston and looking to regain his card after playing just one full season on the main tour in 2019.
A stunning-looking Desert Spings course. Photo with thanks to Stuart Adams)
And Dundonald Links Ewan Walker will be the lone Scot among 45 starters competing in this week’s final event on the secondary Challenge Tour at Mallorca, and with the leading 20 to earn full 2023 DP World Tour status.
Robert MacIntyre ended his Portugal campaign with a 67 to share 18th spot at 15-under and with David Law (69) at 12-under.
Marc Warren’s season ended also on a disappointing note, finding the water at the last on route to a triple-bogey ‘7’ in a round of 71 for a five-under tally.
The Glaswegian retained his card for an 18th straight season at 95th on the money list but missed out in qualifying for next week’s co-sanctioned Nedbank Challenge at Sun City in South Africa.
