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Mixed Cards For South East Hopefuls
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Nov 21, 2007, 15:56

Rye’s Ben Evans and Cherwell Edge golfer Gary Boyd both earned Category 14 exemption status from their top 70 finishes at the European Tour Qualifying School Finals.It should gift the duo a handful of appearances on the European Tour next year and a guaranteed card for the 2008 Challenge Tour.

Evans from Sussex may well see his experiences in Spain as a missed opportunity, having been in one of the treasured top 30 spots after four rounds only to fall away with a heartbreaking 79 during his final round to end up in a share of 64th. Oxfordshire’s Boyd also notched up a last round 79 to finish a shot and place behind Evans in the hunt for their European Tour cards.

Others from the south east were even more unlucky, missing the fourth round cut and therefore sacrificing their hopes of making a name for themselves on the Challenge Tour.

Adam Gee and James Heath, who both appeared on the European Tour last season, will rue their performances after finishing 15 and 10 over par respectively. Seve Benson, the Surrey man heavily tipped for stardom at the start of the season, fared even worse in his attempt to make the step up from amateur golf. The 20-year-old ended up at the bottom of the pile at The Santa Roque Club after rounds of 76, 74, 80 and 77 condemned him to a 19-over par total.

Richie Ramsay, the 2006 US Amateur winner who sacrificed his place in this year’s Great Britain and Ireland Walker Cup team to try his hand as a professional, was another unlucky loser in Cadiz. The Scot finished in a share of 88th on three-over par, ending his dream of following Walker Cup star Rory McIlroy to European Tour glory.