Jose Luis Ballester and Rocco Repetto Taylor shared victory at the Final Stage of DP World Tour Qualifying School as 20 players earned their DP World Tour cards for the 2027 season at INFINITUM in Spain.
The Spanish pair carded matching rounds of six under par 65 to reach 32 under par for the week, one shot ahead of Australia’s Cameron John who secured his graduation with a 66 on the final day.
Ballester will be playing his first full season on the DP World Tour, while Repetto Taylor returns to golf’s global Tour at the first opportunity after finishing 152nd on the Race to Dubai Rankings last month.
Ballester said: “It’s super exciting and I am very proud of the job that myself and my caddie did throughout this long week. It’s been my first time in Final Stage and to get it done in this way is pretty remarkable.
“I’m happy that I’m going to have a full calendar next season. I’ve been fortunate to compete on the DP World Tour before and have done all right. I know I can do much better and I’m happy that I will have the opportunity again to prove to myself what I am capable of.”
Lewis plays it cool
Ivan Cantero fired a bogey-free 64 to finish tied fourth alongside England’s Tom Lewis, who only got into the field after winning a play-off at Second Stage earlier this month to be an alternate.
Lewis, who tied the lead going into the final round, closed with a steady three-under 68 – helped by a final hole eagle – to finish five shots inside the cut-off mark to secure his card.
Lewis, 35, who has spent the last two seasons competing on the Hotelplanner Tour after losing his DP World Tour card in 2024, said: “It’s been a long couple of weeks. These things take time to take on board, so right now I’m pretty calm, but I’m pleased with how I finished this week.”
He added: “I did watch the leaderboard a bit. I saw on the sixth hole that I had already dropped into eighth place, and I realised I was going to have to go low, but I just didn’t hit it as well today. Making birdie on 13 and 16 helped take the pressure off, and I didn’t make a bogey all day, so I’m happy with how I handled it today.”
David Nyfjall closed out his week with a bogey-free 65 to finish on 29 under par to secure playing status on the DP World Tour for the first time after coming through all three stages.
Joining Nyfjall in coming through all three stages to earn their DP World Tour cards were France’s Paul Beauvy, Jansen Preston of the United States and Germany’s Philipp Katich who shot a bogey-free 62 and only made Monday’s 72-hole cut on the number.
Final day drama aplenty
As ever with Qualifying School, there were storylines aplenty on the final day in Spain, with Niklas Lemke going six under for his final six holes to card a 64 and finish inside the top 15 and ties on the number to graduate for the fifth time he has played at Qualifying School.
There are four former DP World Tour winners who finished inside the graduation spots, with Lewis joined by Ryder Cup Europe Vice Captain Edoardo Molinari, Byeong Hun An and John Catlin.
Scotland’s Ryan Lumsden carded a third 68 of the week over the Lakes course to earn his DP World Tour card for the first time, and England’s Ben Schmidt earned his playing rights for the second time in three years via Qualifying School.
Final Stage Qualifiers (top 15 and ties)
Jose Luis Ballester; Rocco Repetto Taylor, Cameron John, Ivan Cantero, Adam Blomme, David Nyfjall, Byeong Hun An, Jannik de Bruyn, Ryan Lumsden, Paul Beauvy, Tom Lewis, Marcus Helligkilde, Albin Bergstrom, Niklas Lemke, John Catlin, Ben Schmidt, Edoardo Molinari, Jansen Preston, Philipp Katich, and Matteo Cristoni.